May 8 – Vinci Construction Grand Projets (VCGP) will be put on trial for labour abuses in Qatar, the French Court of Cassation has decided.
A decade ago, human rights NGO Sherpa, launched a complaint against Vinci Construction, a major construction company in France, over labour conditions on construction sites for the 2022 World Cup. This week the country’s top court ruled that the case can be heard on its merits, reports Liberation.
In several appeals, Vinci argued that the French judge had exceeded his powers and could not investigate an extraterritorial case, claiming that events should be attributed to Diar Vinci Construction, its Qatari subsidiary. That line of argument was rejected by both the Versailles investigating chamber and the Court of Cassation.
Vinci will be prosecuted for “forced labour”. Accusations include “labour conditions incompatible with human dignity”, “holding people in servitude” and “obtaining services from people who were vulnerable or in a situation of dependence.”
Laura Bourgeois of Sherpa said: “By strengthening the French judge’s investigative power regarding the multinational’s actions, the Court is sending a very positive signal in the fight against impunity for economic actors. While Vinci had hoped to exclude certain grounds for the complaint from the proceedings, this decision allows the investigation to continue on all the alleged offenses.”
In 2014, Sherpa gathered testimonies and documentation about working conditions at certain sites operated by Vinci’s Qatari subsidiary and found a series of labour abuses, including labour in heat of over 45° with insufficient water or shade, withholding passports, high fees to recruitment agencies and poor accommodation.
Operative in Qatar since 2007, Vinci helped build a part of the Doha metro network as well as the Lusail Light Rail Transit system. On its website, the company claims that it is “controlling risks related to the quality of the structure, the environment, ethics, human rights as well as the health and safety of everyone involved on its construction sites.”
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the first global finals in the Middle East, was overshadowed by persistent labour abuses of migrant workers in the build-up to the tournament, reported and documented by international media and human rights groups.
FIFA failed to compensate workers after the world governing body ignored the recommendation of its own sub-committee for social responsibility and human rights and, instead, steered a $50 million legacy fund toward UN agencies, overseeing social causes, and the WTO.
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