FIFA World Cup 2022: French company charged with forced labour in Qatar
Paris (AP): A subsidiary of French construction company Vinci was handed preliminary charges Wednesday of forced labour and other alleged violations of the rights of migrant workers hired to build infrastructure in Qatar around the World Cup.
The company denies the charges and is appealing them, and accused magistrates of rushing through the decision ahead of the tournament opening Nov 20.
But a human rights group behind the initial legal complaint against Vinci seven years ago hailed Wednesday's move as a breakthrough, after protracted efforts to hold the company accountable for the alleged abuses.
Leading up to the World Cup, Qatar has faced scrutiny for its labour laws and treatment of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, mostly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other South Asian countries.
Vinci subsidiary Vinci Construction Grands Projets was given preliminary charges of holding multiple people in servitude through forced labour; submitting workers to conditions and lodging incompatible with human dignity; and obtaining services from people who were vulnerable or in a situation of dependence, according to a judicial official and French advocacy group Sherpa.
Sherpa filed the original complaint in 2015, along with several former workers.
Sherpa said it collected testimonies about the working conditions at some construction sites operated by Vinci's subsidiary, which included working in temperatures over 45 C (113 F) with insufficient water, the withholding of passports, and lack of access to showers in accommodations.
The charges are a strong signal for these economic players who profit from modern slavery, Sherpa president Sandra Cossart told The Associated Press. We hope that it will make things move.
Vinci said earlier this week that its representatives were being summoned by investigating magistrates to face potential charges in the case.
Reacting to the charges Wednesday, the Vinci subsidiary's lawyer Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi said on France-Info radio that the company will seek to have the decision annulled.
He denounced what he called the insufficient time frame given to lawyers to lay out useful responses, and the hasty choice of the date (for the summons), just a few days before the opening of the football World Cup.
Vinci said Monday that none of the projects awarded to its Qatari unit QDVC had any connection to the World Cup, and that it is committed to improving the living and working conditions of all workers at its construction sites, all around the world.
The construction group has worked on some of the infrastructure that will be used during the World Cup, including the Doha metro connecting the airport with the historic city center, and the Lusail light-rail transit system transportation network.
The judicial official said that the preliminary charges relate to work carried out in connection with the World Cup. The official was not authorized to be publicly named discussing an ongoing investigation.
Preliminary charges under French law mean there is reason to suspect a crime has been committed but allow magistrates more time for investigation before deciding whether to send the case to trial.
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Wrong to ban meat sale on Aug 15: Ajit Pawar on order by some civic bodies
Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Aug 13 (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has expressed displeasure over some civic bodies ordering the closure of slaughterhouses and shops selling meat on August 15, saying it was wrong to impose such a ban.
Such types of restrictions are generally imposed considering faith-related sensitivities on occasions like Ashadhi Ekadashi, Mahashivratri, Mahavir Jayanti etc, Pawar said, adding people eat vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in Maharashtra.
"It is wrong to impose such a ban. In major cities, people of different castes and religions reside. If it is an emotional issue, then people accept it (ban) for a day. But if you clamp such orders on Maharashtra Day, Independence Day and Republic Day, then it is difficult," Pawar told reporters on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation announced the closure of slaughterhouses, outlets and shops selling meat within city limits on two days - August 15 and 20 - in view of festivals.
It stated the closure was ordered on August 15 on the occasion of Gokul Ashtami, a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, and August 20, which marks the beginning of 'Paryushan Parva'- a key festival of the Jain community characterised by fasting and prayers.
On these two days, there will be a ban on slaughtering animals and selling meat in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, the civic corporation stated, and warned of action for violation.
The order comes on the heels of the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in Thane district near Mumbai directing the closure of meat shops on August 15.
There are reports that the Malegaon Municipal Corporation, too, issued such an order.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray has said the KDMC commissioner should be suspended because it is not their issue to decide on vegetarian or non-vegetarian food consumption.
"It is our decision what to eat and not to eat on Independence Day. We will definitely eat non-veg food. The commissioner should instead address the issue of potholes on streets," Thackeray said.
NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad has said he will consume non-veg food to protest against the ban by the KDMC.
