The Saudi Arabia Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al-Fafaisal, said that an investigation into the death of a worker was being carried out at the construction site of a stadium in the 2034 World Cup and said that local officials were taking the issue “seriously” concerns about the rights of workers in the Gulf nation.
Muhammad Arshad, a Pakistan foreman in the mid -30 years, died on March 12 at the Aramco stadium site in Al Khobar, according to The Guardian. Arshad fell to his death by a higher level of the construction site and his is the first known death associated with the construction of the 2034 World Cup that will be housed in Saudi Arabia. The Nation officially won the host rights in December, but the unconventional decision of FIFA in October 2023 meant that Saudi Arabia was de facto hosts long before the formal announcement.
“Every incident we took seriously, we present an investigation, we observed what went wrong,” Al-Fafaisal said on Sunday before the Formula One Grand Prix, the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, according to ESPN. “Unfortunately, in construction, these things happen. We do not want them to happen … As soon as it stood out, we present an investigation, we verify what is happening, we ensure that they put the correct system and make sure that it does not happen again at the Aramco stadium. And we supervise it with the contractors, etc., so that they ensure these things to make sure we deliver our commitment, and supervise it with the contractors and so much Successively so that they meet these things so that we give ourselves in our commitment, and supervise it with the contractors, and so on, so that they meet these things so that we give ourselves in our commitment, and we supervise the world. “
Human rights groups have criticized the decision of the FIFA to grant Saudi Arabia the rights of host of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, especially with regard to the impact of construction projects on migrant workers who will work there and the premises that will be affected by them.
“Today, there is no shortage of evidence that migrant workers are exploited and subjected to racism, activists sentenced to decades in prison for expressing themselves peacefully, women and LGBTI people who face legalized discrimination, or residents evicted by force to give way to state projects,” Wuman Rights Watch and Amnesty International, among others, said in a joint statement in December. “It is evident that without urgent actions and comprehensive reforms, the 2034 World Cup will be tarnished by repression, discrimination and large -scale exploitation.”
In the case of Arshad, there are concerns that its employer, the Belgian construction company Besix Group, has not followed the Saudi law since its death. In the days after his death, Arshad’s family, which includes his three young children, between two and seven, had not received compensation, as required by law. There are also reports that the workers of the Aramco stadium were ordered to eliminate videos and images associated with Arshad’s death and they were told not to talk about it.
“We just fell from the sky to the ground. The whole family is in a state of shock,” said Arshad’s father, Muhammad Bashir, The Guardian last month. “It will have a lasting impact on their lives. Arshad’s income was their only source of life. We will have to endure their living and educational expenses. We will try to meet their needs.”
Concern about working conditions in Saudi Arabia occurs shortly after the 2022 World Cup organized in Qatar, where several migrant workers died while building stadiums. Although local officials said that only three workers died in work -related accidents and another 37 died in incidents not related to work, the count could be significantly greater. In February 2021, The Guardian estimated that more than 6,500 workers died when building the stadiums of the Qatar World Cup, although the exact figure is still clear.
Al-Fafaisal claims officials in their country have learned the World Cup lessons in Qatar.
“We have learned from that, said Al-Faisal.” We meet with the Qatar, for what they have happened, for what they have happened. We also have continuous communication with them, with FIFA, in what we have to do, how we ensure that workers’ safety is a higher priority. And it is a mandate for us, and it is one of the most important things for us because we saw the impact it had on Qatar. “
FIFA has not commented on Arshad’s death at this time.
