The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is far more than a month-long tournament. By tapping into the transformative power of the world's biggest football tournament, we can make a positive difference to the workers involved on the road to 2022. In doing so, we are consciously building a legacy of welfare standards for the wider migrant workforce in the country, which will accelerate Qatar's ongoing efforts to spearhead labour reforms in the region.
Workers' welfare is the cornerstone of our legacy. Our dedicated team is focused on bettering the lives of our workers and ensuring their health and safety throughout their time on our projects. We have pioneered a number of ground-breaking initiatives and are laying the groundwork for a broader, nationwide implementation that goes well beyond 2022.
"The Workers' Welfare & Labour Rights programme continues to evolve as we move closer to 2022. Our responsibility now extends to the tens of thousands of service workers and operational staff who will be involved in the delivery of the historic tournament. The work we are doing today will ultimately help establish best practices that will benefit the wider workforce even beyond 2022."
Our work is governed by the Workers' Welfare Standards that we introduced in 2014 to protect the rights of workers throughout their journey with us. These standards are instrumental to establishing an institution of best practices in the country that will benefit migrant workers in the long term. We are moving ahead on our roadmap, bringing innovation and passion to all that we do. The milestones we celebrate every year are a result of strong partnerships with our stakeholders and contractors. We continue to engage with them at every step, seeking collaborative support wherever we can, to ensure our legacy is felt far and wide.
Legacy in action
As we move closer towards the Tournament, we are proud to see our legacy in action. Our contractors have recognised the value that our standards can bring to their workers and many are implementing them on projects beyond our mandate in order to safeguard the rights of the wider workforce. The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy's (SC) Universal Reimbursement Scheme, which puts money back in the pockets of workers who paid illegal recruitment fees, is benefitting over 18,000 non-SC workers. To date, our contractors have committed to reimbursing QAR 103.95 million (USD 28.5 million) to SC and non-SC workers, while ensuring future workers are protected throughout the recruitment process.
We have also recorded a spill-over effect of the SC's flagship grievance platform – the Workers' Welfare Forums. Several of our contractors are extending these forums to more than 12,600 non-SC workers, providing them an equal opportunity to share grievances and seek remediation, just like their peers on Qatar 2022 projects. This platform has also garnered the attention of other major stakeholders including the Ministry of Labour (MoL) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) as they looked to replicate it for a wider roll-out in Qatar.
By the end of the tournament, we envision our welfare initiatives to have positively impacted thousands of migrant workers in the country. The legacy we leave beyond 2022 will continue to serve our goal of improving the lives of workers across Qatar and the region.
Figures are as of 31 December 2022.
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