HASSAN AL-THAWADI, SECRETARY GENERAL of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy has claimed in an interview that the reported migrant worker deaths is a lot higher than first reported.
The World Cup in Qatar has become a hot topic for debate around human rights involving LGTBQ+ people and migrant worker conditions.
The Guardian reports that 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar since the Gulf state was awarded the tournament in 2010.
Construction on the new stadiums has come with huge backlash due to the working conditions offered to migrants,
The official count among workers on World Cup sites is 37 non-work related deaths and only three from work-related accidents but many believe that is a vast undercount.
Speaking today to Piers Morgan on TalkTV, Al-Thawadi has confirmed the deaths are north of 300 people.
Al-Thawadi told Morgan: "The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500… I don't have the exact number. That’s something that’s been discussed."
World Cup boss Hassan Al-Thawadi tells Piers Morgan 400-500 migrant workers have died as a result of work done on projects connected to the tournament.
"Yes, improvements have to happen."@piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #PMUQatar pic.twitter.com/Cf9bgKCFZe— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) November 28, 2022
"One death is a death too many, plain and simple. I think every year the health and safety standards on the sites are improving, at least on the World Cup sites, the ones that we’re responsible for.
"To the extent that you’ve got trade unions – representatives of the German trade union, the Swiss trade union have commended the work that’s been done on the World Cup sites and the improvement.
He added that improvements around infrastructure had to happen before the bid was made
"Improvements had to happen. This was something that was recognised before we bid.
"The improvements that have happened aren’t because of the World Cup, these are improvements that we knew we had to do because of our own values, whether it’s in terms of health and safety standards, accommodation standards, dismantling the kafala system (giving companies control over workers’ lives).
"The World Cup served as a catalyst. Because of the spotlight, which we recognised early on was going to be shed, it caused a lot of these initiatives. We’ve got to a position today where our most ardent of critics consider us to be a benchmark in the region."
The World Cup will end December 18th.
