Grievance and remedy mechanisms for workers
Initiative description: Implementation of the SC’s grievance and remedy mechanisms and expanding their scope to all future workers engaged in the provision of services for tournament sites, including during the staging of the tournament.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Workers’ Welfare & Labour Rights Department (WWD) put in place a three-tier grievance mechanism to allow workers to raise their concerns and make suggestions, as well as to address and resolve complaints in a timely manner.
The first tier included workers’ welfare officers (WWO), who were appointed by contractors to oversee the wellbeing of workers at project sites and accommodation facilities.
The second tier was the Workers’ Welfare Forums (WWF), the SC’s flagship grievance mechanism that empowered workers to collectively identify and raise their concerns and suggestions to management through their WWO and elected workers’ representatives, without fear of retaliation. These forums informed the establishment of joint committees across Qatar.
Over 113 WWF were established at peak construction, with 96 active forums currently operational on SC sites as at December 2022, the majority of which have elected representatives appointed through democratic elections. A total of 18,156 workers (equal to approximately 52% of the active workforce) and 12,590 non-SC workers are covered by these forums.
The third and final tier was the SC’s anonymous grievance hotline, which is available at all hours, 365 days a year, and is accessible in ten different languages.
As at December 2022, a total of 2,441 complaints had been received and 90% of them were resolved. For more information about this target and other top-level targets, please visit the sustainability targets web page of this report.
With the expansion of the application of Workers’ Welfare Standards (WWS), to service companies the tournament organisers started implementing effective grievance mechanisms in sectors beyond construction. As at December 2022, 70 hotel operators were conducting Workers’ Welfare Forums for their workforce. For more information, please visit the standards for tournament services workers web page of this report.
In addition to the grievance mechanism operated by the SC WWD, FIFA implemented its own Human Rights Grievance Mechanism for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Whilst the focus of that mechanism was on non-worker-related grievances, it was also accessible to workers. For more information, please visit the FIFA human rights grievance mechanism web page of this report.