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In pictures: Qatar’s construction workers

One of the world’s wealthiest countries is also home to thousands of migrant workers who live in extreme poverty.

Qatar has the highest percentage of migrant workers in the world. Eighty-eight percent of people living in the Gulf state are citizens of other countries.
By Sorin Furcoi
Published On 11 Nov 2013

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Doha, Qatar – Tens of thousands of migrant labourers – mostly from Nepal, India, and the Philippines – live and work in Qatar. However, criticism regarding the treatment of these workers is growing, with labour groups and human rights organisations condemning the government and employers for low wages, a lack of safety equipment, and squalid housing. 

Amnesty International is set to release a report, titled “The Dark Side of Migration”, which claims there is widespread exploitation among employers, unpaid wages for workers, and the inability of workers to leave the country. 

The report follows previous exposes featured in both Al Jazeera and The Guardian.

Migrant labourers(***) contracts often differ significantly from what they were promised when they were recruited in their home countries. 
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Temperatures regularly reach above 40 degrees during the summer months, making manual labour an often gruelling process. 
Some workers are housed in cramped living quarters, with as many as a dozen men sharing a single room. 
Many labourers work 12-hour shifts, with one day off per week. 
The vast majority of Qatar(***)s migrant workers come from South and East Asia.
A lack of safety equipment is a major issue for construction workers.
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Francois Crepeau, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, said Qatar(***)s labour laws "still lack implementation on the ground".
Crepeau called for the establishment of a minimum wage, a more robust labour inspection system, and the abolishment of the kafala system, which binds migrant workers to a single employer.
Qatar is undertaking ambitious development projects as it gears up to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Qatar(***)s wealth has led the country to rapidly develop.
Employers often confiscate their workers(***) passports, despite a 2009 law forbidding them to do so.