Thirty-eight Filipino workers allege they were trapped in Qatar and forced by contractors or subcontractors to work long hours on soccer event projects managed by the company.
Related Links: Reuters: Qatar building boom proves a challenge for foreign construction firms Construction workers from India and Nepal are believed to make up the largest contingent of migrants in Qatar, building an estimated $150 billion worth of buildings and infrastructure in the ambitious Gulf nation over the next decade.But even as global media and organizations speculate on poor—some say slavery-like—working conditions and other risk factors that they say have spiked fatalities over the past several years, home-country governments are mixed in their responses to the plight of their expatriates.Of the estimated 1.5 million workers in the country, 600,000 come
Related Links: U.S. Engineering Firms Land Big Contracts In Qatar Qatar, CH2M Hill Advance Nations $4-Billion 2022 Soccer World Cup Program Global contractors, especially from China and France, are making the most of Qatar’s prodigious investment in infrastructure development. The emirate, which will host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, is spending $182 billion over the next five years. Major projects on hand include the completion of Hamad International Airport, the New Doha Port project, railway and metro projects and roads.The 26-square-kilometer New Port Project is being built in phases, with the first phase scheduled to for completion in 2016.
AP Photo Ex-MWH Global engineer Matthew Huang and his wife, Grace, are suing his former employer related to a troubled deployment to Qatar. Related Links: Construction Industry Learning Goes Borderless: Adjusting Training to Differing Cultures Jan. 6 Practicing Law Institute seminar with Donald Dowling: Developing International Employee Handbooks, Global Codes of Conduct and Cross-Border HR Policies While construction-industry firms that deploy expatriates to far-flung and risky global jobsites have taken notice of the saga of one MWH Global Inc. engineer caught in a two-year legal wrangle in Qatar with new U.S. developments, employment experts say the situation is highly unusual.Matthew
Courtesy of Odebrecht Norberto Odebrecht, pictured (sitting) with son Emilio in the 1990s, died on July 19 at age 93. Related Links: ENR: Odebrecht Sues State of Florida Over Anti-Cuba Law Odebrecht Blog Marking 30th Anniversary of Key Merger with Brazil Contractors CBPO ENR: 2008 Q&A with Marcelo Odebrecht, President of Construtora Norberto Odebrecht SA Bloomberg: Brazilian Builder Odebrecht Emerges as World Cup Winner Odebrecht Foundation website ENR: Brazil Places Its Bets on Hydroelectric Dams, Despite Protests ENR: Brazilians Say Government Deserves a Good, Swift Kick for Broken World Cup Promises Norberto Odebrecht, whose launch, in the 1940s, of a
Related Links: Brazilians Say Government Deserves a Good, Swift Kick for Broken World Cup Promises (ENR 6/16/14) Two Years to World Cup Kickoff for Brazilian Stadiums (ENR 8/22/12) Reports are coming in about abusive practices and possible corruption in the World Cup stadium construction projects in Brazil. With fresh memories of angry protests by Brazilians prior to the start of World Cup and Brazil set to host the 2016 Olympics, we have a unique opportunity now to learn.ELLISFor example, a recent government audit reportedly found that the project costs for the state of Brasília's brand-new taxpayer-funded stadium have tripled, to
AP Wideworld Brazilian 22-year-old superstar Neymar got the host country off to a strong start, scoring two goals in a 3-0 victory over Croatia in the opening match. AP Wideworld Protesters took to the streets of Sao Paolo in May to decry government ineptitude and FIFA's directives in the run-up to the World Cup. Related Links: Two Years to World Cup Kickoff for Brazilian Stadiums South Africa Toasts Itself With 2010 World Cup In 2007, when the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced that Brazil would sponsor the 2014 World Cup, the soccer-mad country was euphoric. That celebratory spirit
Work has resumed on the site of a Brazilian soccer stadium where a crane fatally collapsed on Nov. 27, but a ban on crane operations is in place while the incident continues to be investigated.
AP Wideworld Two people died in a Nov. 27 accident that toppled a crawler crane and part of the Itaquerao stadium, future site of the opening of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Related Links: Two Years to World Cup Kickoff for Brazilian Stadiums Report: 40% of World Cup Projects Behind Schedule A leading expert on crane collapses describes a Nov. 27 accident at a World Cup soccer stadium under construction in Brazil as "highly unusual" after an initial assessment of damage photos."It is unusual because the boom snapped off the car body," says Jim Wiethorn, a forensic specialist at
Image courtesy South African Government Services The investigation revealed more than 300 incidents of collusion, including on World Cup soccer-stadium projects, such as the $460-million Green Point venue in Cape Town. Related Links: South Africa Toasts Itself With 2010 World Cup South Africa will fine 15 construction firms a total of more than $151 million as part of agreements reached last month that settle bid-rigging claims related to at least $4.8 billion worth of projects.The Competition Commission of South Africa said the companies "colluded to create the illusion of competition by submitting sham tenders ('cover pricing') to enable a fellow
