File photo of labourers working on a construction site, used for reference only.
Doha: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its affiliates have once again come under fire for conspiring against some countries including Qatar by using expatriate workers returning home to elicit false testimonials.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has been asked to look into the issue.
A new report, published on the ITUC website, shows how the World Solidarity Movement (WSM), a Brussels-based NGO, has persuaded a set of workers on their way back home to India and Nepal from Qatar, to reportedly speak about their alleged poor working conditions.
The report is a collection of damaging testimonials from around ten workers, from both labour supplying countries. The report was in fact made up by ITUC affiliates. It has elicited sharp reaction from a leading member of the international labour union community.
It was clear that WSM is working in favour of GEFONT (a Nepal-based ITUC affiliate), an organization funded by ITUC.
The WSM was reportedly helped by inputs from GEFONT, among others, that identified the workers to be interviewed.
ITUC Asia Pacific Vice-President, Dr G Sanjeeva Reddy, who is also president of the India's largest trade union, INTUC, and a former member of Indian parliament, says that he has been told by reliable sources of the lack of transparency of the new report.
Dr Reddy says that he has written a letter to Guy Ryder, Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and urged him to look into the matter.
However, Ryder, who was the ITUC General Secretary and still have strong connections with the Sharon Burrow, seems to have shelved the letter.
Maintaining that certain organisations are bringing disrepute to the trade union and worker fraternity, Reddy in his letter said, "In the recent past, ITUC has faced criticism from several quarters for its aggression towards Middle East regions like Qatar and UAE. While it is our job to raise our voice against atrocities that the workers are facing all over the world, we need to be careful of not coming across as an organisation with specific interests."
Reddy further says in his letter, "World Solidarity Movement (WSM), a Belgium-based NGO, is working in collaboration with local trade unions in India and Nepal with the agenda-based objective of collecting negative testimonials from workers returning home from the Gulf ... This practice of taking testimonials of workers to enquire about their working and living conditions has been known to be misused to target certain entities ...
We need to stop this exploitation and adopt more engaging and meaningful means for their welfare." Dr Reddy has questioned the role of the WSM, which is considered a proxy of ITUC.
Of late, the ITUC, led by Sharon Burrow, has faced criticism over its reported over projection of death tolls of workers at FIFA 2022 sports construction sites in Qatar without evidence.
Qatar initiated labour reforms with support of ILO
Burrow has voiced down criticism against worker conditions in Qatar following the facts that showed their 7,000 deaths report in the 2022 world cup facilities was nothing but false.
Dr Reddy is of the view that ITUC is now using the WSM to spread the same kind of allegations.
In a completely documented file brought to the knowledge of the ILO, it appears that the WSM had paid GEFONT and Tamil Nadu-based NDMW in Euros to look out for 'returning' workers, who may have in need for a financial incentive to testify about their work-related experiences.
Dr Reddy has asked ITUC headquarters to take a position based on the evidences gathered. He has asked whether the world's largest trade union confederation has a stake in the WSM project and to what extent?
Suggesting that testimonials can be manipulated, either for good or bad, he says, "What matters is a collective effort towards the realisation of workers' dreams. That takes ground work, not manipulation of new age media."
Ever since Qatar was awarded the right to host FIFA World Cup 2022, it has faced frequent criticism, and this has had an impact on meeting infrastructure-related deadlines, either for the World Cup, or for the Olympics. Numerous reforms have been initiated by Qatar with the support of the ILO, but it is being reported that the unprofessional actions of some side organisations have damaged efforts to enhance the quality of life of migrant workers.
According to western and Indian trade union observers who prefer to remain anonymous, trade unions should work together for the benefit of all workers and not be counter-productive to each other.
