Qatari authorities have acknowledged that migrant workers staged a rare protest over their unpaid wages.
Most of the protestors are in the construction sector, which has been facing criticism for allowing foreign workers, especially Asians, to experience inhumane conditions.
Authorities announced on Saturday that a probe will be openedagainst the companies involved in non-payment of salaries.
Following an immediate investigation, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs stressed it has taken steps to ensure that all salaries will be promptly paid in the coming days.
“In response to the late settlement of salaries, a small number of expatriate workers conducted a peaceful protest in the Msheireb area on May 22,” the ministry said in a statement.
Images on social media showed more than 100 men blocking a main road in the Msheireb district of the capital Doha, clapping and chanting as police looked on.
The government has been facing an economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices.
It has been frequently slammed by international organizations and the international community for its leniency in protecting the rights of foreign workers, in light if their harsh working conditions and their safety in housing and residence.
Foreign workers also top the list of those infected with the novel coronavirus in Qatar, which recorded the highest rate of infections in the Middle East with regard to its 2.75 million population.
Almost 90 percent of Qatar’s population are expatriate workers as the country completes dozens of mega-projects ahead of its hosting of the 2022 World Cup.
On March 31, a coalition of 16 non-governmental organizations and trade unions sent a letter to the Premier and Interior Minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al-Thani.
The coalition includes the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Migrant-Rights.org.
It urged the authorities to ensure that migrant workers receive adequate protection during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Qatari authorities should, among other recommendations, ensure that all migrant workers including undocumented workers, quarantined or otherwise, have access to testing and get appropriate medical treatment,” the letter read.
In February, the Human Rights Watch said Qatari authorities failed to address an employer’s months of delayed wages to employees despite a 2015 system built to ensure employers paid their employees on time and in full.
“Qatar has passed some laws to protect migrant workers, but the authorities seem more interested in promoting these minor reforms in the media than in making them work,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
