The International Labor Organization (ILO) has deemed a union’s complaint against Saudi Arabia, organizer of the 2034 World Cup, “admissible”, its director general, Gilbert Houngbo, said on Thursday.
Despite criticism regarding respect for human and workers’ rights, FIFA entrusted the organization of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, the sole candidate, last month, recalling the controversies surrounding the organization of the World Cup. 2022 in Qatar.
The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) filed a complaint with the ILO in June 2024 on behalf of 21,000 alleged victims of “serious human rights violations” and confiscation of wages. She denounces “the exploitation of the living and working conditions of the vast migrant workforce” in Saudi Arabia, conditions which “amount to forced labor”.
The complaint was deemed “admissible” by the ILO Governing Body in November, Gilbert Houngbo said during a meeting with the media. He stressed that he could not comment on the matter but considered Riyadh’s statements to the ILO “very constructive”.
The Governing Body appointed a committee to examine the complaint, and “the government is now required to provide its response,” the ILO explained. The committee will then present its report to the Board of Directors for adoption, but “at this stage no date can be given.”
-At the same time, ILO experts are working with Saudi Arabia on the issue of “decent work,” said Houngbo, who is traveling to Riyadh in two weeks for a conference on the labor market. “The authorities told me that they really want to work with the ILO” and that, if there are “gaps”, “they are ready to (…) correct them”, he said. added. Discussions are underway to strengthen the presence of the ILO in the country.
Human rights defenders fear that cases of mistreatment will explode with the construction of the World Cup, when more than ten stadiums must be built. The BWI’s accusations target in particular two Saudi construction companies which went bankrupt in 2016. But the union federation, like the NGO Equidem, affirm that the situation has not improved in the country, where foreigners represent more than 40% of the 32.2 million inhabitants.
Neighboring Qatar, which had been the subject of similar criticism in the context of the organization of the 2022 World Cup, had collaborated with the ILO to reform the “kafala” system, introduce a minimum wage and impose health measures and security.
Despite these measures, thousands of workers died in the run-up to the tournament, according to Amnesty International, although Doha reported only 37 deaths linked to World Cup construction sites.
