Qatar World Cup construction workers sue US firm for labor trafficking

Jacobs Solutions

12/10/2023 19:02

By Daniel Wiessner
       Oct 12 (Reuters) - Dozens of Filipino workers who helped
build stadiums that hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
filed a lawsuit on Thursday claiming U.S. construction firm
Jacobs Solutions Inc  J.N  subjected them to dangerous and
inhumane conditions.
    The nearly 40 plaintiffs in a complaint filed in federal
court in Denver, Colorado, said Jacobs and several subsidiaries
that oversaw the construction projects forced workers to live in
cramped, dirty barracks and work up to 72 hours straight in
blistering heat without food and water.
    The plaintiffs also claim they were not paid all of their
wages and had their passports confiscated, barring them from
finding new jobs or returning home to the Philippines. 
    Dallas, Texas-based Jacobs did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. 
    Qatar has faced intense criticism from human rights groups
over its treatment of migrant workers, who along with other
foreigners comprise the bulk of the country's population. The
scrutiny intensified in the years leading up to the 2022 World
Cup, when hundreds of workers were reportedly killed and
thousands injured during construction projects. 
    The government of Qatar has said that far fewer workers were
killed or injured, and in 2020 raised the country's minimum wage
and applied it to foreign workers for the first time. 
    The plaintiffs in Thursday's lawsuit claim Jacobs knew or
should have known about human rights abuses in Qatar and chose
to knowingly exploit workers.
    Jacobs and its subsidiaries are accused of violating a U.S.
law that prohibits trafficked or forced labor even when the
alleged conduct occurs outside the United States. The plaintiffs
also accused Jacobs of negligence and unjust enrichment, among
other claims. They are seeking unspecified damages. 

 (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by
Alexia Garamfalvi and Josie Kao)
 ((daniel.wiessner@thomsonreuters.com))