Dutch union plans to sue FIFA over Qatar workers' rights

The Netherlands’ largest trade union and one of its members are threatening to sue FIFA for failing to halt alleged abuses of workers’ rights in 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, the union said yesterday

The Hague: The Netherlands’ largest trade union and one of its members are threatening to sue FIFA for failing to halt alleged abuses of workers’ rights in 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar, the union said yesterday. 

The FNV Bondgenoten “together with (a) Bangladeshi worker wants to take FIFA to court to demand an end to modern slavery”, the union said in a statement.

It served a summons against FIFA on Monday, saying: “FIFA has three weeks to react to the demand, after which a case will be opened at a Zurich court,” where football’s governing body is situated. The summons comes after rights groups accused Qatar of abusing the rights of more than 5,000 workers helping to build the facilities for the Gulf state, which will host the 2022 World Cup.

In March, Amnesty International published a report saying workers at the Khalifa International Stadium, mostly from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, were lied to about their salaries, went unpaid for months and were housed in squalid accommodation, which it claimed amounted to forced labour.

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