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TWO of Britain’s largest construction companies were accused yesterday of abusing migrant labour workers in Qatar.
Balfour Beatty and Interserve have allegedly carried out a raft of abuses against workers employed on projects the companies co-own in the country.
Labourers claim they work under a culture of fear, with threats of arrest or deportation, the Guardian reported.
They say they’re given erratic or reduced wages, have had their passports confiscated, entered jobs with high levels of debt bondage and given pay levels below workers recruited in their home countries.
It was claimed that many were living in dire conditions in camps in the desert.
The companies involved include the Gulf Contracting Company, 49 per cent co-owned by Interserve, and BK Gulf in which Balfour Beatty also has a 49 per cent share.
Balfour Beatty and Interserve said they were working within the parameters of Qatari law and rigorously monitored the companies to ensure good practice.
