International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) general secretary Sharan Burrow slammed Qatar’s labour law reforms yesterday calling them a “sham,” as migrant workers are still being forced to build the 2022 World Cup stadiums working under the kafala system.

Law changes announced by the government have added a new layer of repression for trapped workers, who now supposedly have the right to appeal to the Interior Ministry if they are refused permission to leave the country by their employer.

But with workers still unable to join a union or set up elected workplace and representative committees, the change does nothing to improve the terrible conditions migrants are forced to work under.

The kafala system, likened to modern-day slavery, sees workers forced to pay recruitment fees, having their passports confiscated, non-payment of wages as well as health and safety breaches.

Burrow said: “Promises of reform have been used as a smokescreen to draw in companies and governments to do business in Qatar as the Gulf state rolls out massive infrastructure developments to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup.”

“International companies doing business in Qatar can no longer be lured by Qatar’s promises of reform. The threat to the reputation of international companies using an enslaved migrant workforce in Qatar has increased with the government’s sham reforms.

“The tragedy of 1.7 million migrant workers trapped in Qatar defines modern day slavery and the denial of trade union rights for workers in the Gulf states. Qatar continues not only to deny workers their rights, but to obscure and ignore the deaths of migrant workers building the 2022 World Cup infrastructure.”

Since Qatar was awarded the World Cup in 2010 the population has increased by 40 per cent, according to data released by the government last week.

But it is estimated that more than 7,000 workers will die before a ball is kicked in 2022 and as the Gulf state is exposed for its treatment of migrants, the government is becoming increasingly restrictive over its labour camps and workers.

“Qatar has to stop covering up its treatment of migrant workers, and governments and business need to end their complicity with modern slavery,” Burrow added. “Qatar’s migrant worker population is set to peak by 2017, to deliver the infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

“Only by ending the kafala system now, giving workers the right to freedom of association, can we ensure migrant workers in Qatar have a safe and secure future.”