Behind the decorated portals and the magnificent halls with the lights on the fringes of a luxury hotel palace overlooking the sea in Doha, there are tales of a dark reality of poor workers who came from faraway countries to earn a living but found themselves in one of the forced labor fields in Qatar, Sparking controversy over the unfair conditions of foreign workers, according to a report by The British Guardian.
The Mersa Kempinski Hotel, a luxurious palace in a fairy tale, rises on an island-related industrial island in the Qatari capital of Doha.
As the hotel stands, Ferrari and Rolls Royce, hangs from a 20-meter ceiling in the marble lobby, where the visitor sees the price of the royal suite exceeding $ 16,000.
The hotel, which opened in 2015, is popular among the elite of Qatar, where wealthy families gather on weekends to enjoy its luxurious rooms and beachfront location.
However, life is very different for men and women guarding cars, cleaning rooms and decorating green spaces, according to the British newspaper report.
These workers come from some of the poorest regions of the world - South Asia, East and West Africa and the Philippines, after paying a large recruitment fee of up to $ 5,000, to work in simple jobs in the hope of bridging their families.
Paying agents to secure jobs in Qatar is a widespread practice, but leaves workers vulnerable to heavy debt and forced labor.
Severe working conditions
Security guards have to work for more than 12 hours at temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius, while receiving a fee of no more than $ 12, roughly the price of a fresh glass of juice at the luxury hotel.
Some say the newspaper, which did not publish the truth so as not to be hurt, said they worked for three or four months without a day's leave, but they are subject to a five-day wage deduction if one of them was asleep during his shift.
The newspaper's interviews with 19 hotel staff reveal violations of labor laws in Qatar, including salaries below the minimum wage, and that the documented exploitation of construction workers in Qatar also extends to the hospitality sector.
One of the guards told the newspaper: "Have you ever stood for 12 continuous hours?" He said: "At first I could not walk properly because I felt my joints had slipped out of place. But I had to do it anyway, because I have to get back the money I paid the agent for Chalabi here ... It looks like you've been hit hard in the head a thousand times. "
Subcontractors
Kempinski Hotels, based in Switzerland, classifies itself as an exclusive and prestigious brand, rooted in European heritage. Unlike many international hotel chains, Kempinski runs its hotels directly instead of a brand franchise.
But most workers, including security guards, cleaners and garden specialists, work through subcontractors rather than directly under the management of the hotel.
Kempinski Hotels said it has launched an investigation into reports of employment fees paid by workers at the Málaz Kempinski berth to subcontractors, the ensuing debt bondage, lower-than-minimum wage rates, and pressure on workers to work in Days of leave and fines for sleep during service.
"We are committed to the highest ethical standards as a luxury international hotel operator, and we expect all subcontractors to comply with the same standards," said a spokesman for the company. "Given the seriousness of these allegations, we have conducted an investigation and will take Appropriate remedial action as required. "
"International standards are clear: Companies have a responsibility to respect all workers in their operations and supply chains, not just those that use them directly," the Guardian quoted Bobby Sta Maria of the Business and Human Rights Center as saying, meaning hotels should use their influence with Subcontractors to ensure that workers are treated fairly and not exploited. "
Painful testimonies
The workers' testimonies are a stark warning to international hotel chains, eagerly opening up new properties for the World Cup in 2022, which has taken a bad reputation for hundreds of deaths among workers in the construction of playgrounds and infrastructure.
A landscaper, Rafik, says he has been working in the gardens surrounding the hotel for three years, but has so far been unable to pay his debts due to agent fees.
When one of his country's employment agents offered to work in Qatar, the proposed salary was $ 350 a month, which seemed good to him at first, and was paid for $ 4,000 in agent fees, three times the average annual income In his own country.
At the airport, a few hours before leaving his country, he got the contract to sign, to find the salary half the promised by the agent.
"I had no choice but to sign it," Rafik said. "I already paid a lot.
His colleague at work was a victim of the same fraud: "I was shocked to see the contract. I had the anger, and then I realized that there was nothing I could do about it." Another worker adds, "It's plain cheating."
Rafiq's basic salary remains only QR 600 ($ 165), far below the minimum wage of 750 riyals announced by Doha last November.
The minimum wage was part of a package of reforms announced by Qatari authorities in an effort to stave off UN investigations into forced labor in the emirate.
The United Nations has withdrawn its investigation, but the report of the British newspaper has shown that it has not changed in the country ahead
