BWI to hold annual sports conference on migrant workers’ rights

On 29 and 30 March, BWI will hold its annual international sports conference on migrant workers’ rights and the legacy of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. The event aims to provide BWI’s affiliates a platform to share lessons learnt from its decade-long global sports campaign for decent work in Qatar, assess results and remaining challenges, with a view to frame future actions with regard to workers’ rights at future mega-sporting events (MSE).

The conference will also engage with representatives of national and global sports bodies and other sports governance stakeholders on issues of due diligence, human and workers’ rights and international labour conventions in the framework of a broader MSE’s rights legacy.

BWI and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) will also assess their cooperation for labour rights and discuss priorities and future actions for sustainability and legacy beyond the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Remaining gaps for the implementation of labour reforms, and concrete measures to ensure a World Cup legacy beyond the tournament will likewise be thoroughly discussed. 

Also on 30 March, a Migrant Workers’ Cup will be held in Doha. BWI’s young union members will be playing football with migrant workers and football players from FIFPRO to symbolise unity and solidarity amongst trade unions, migrant workers and professional football players. 

Prior to all of these, BWI, under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour of the State of Qatar, will hold a Community Leaders’ Forum (CLF) on 27 March regarding Labour Reforms in the State of Qatar. the Ministry of Labour and BWI will discuss with community leaders, FIFPRO, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) the far-reaching labour reforms in the State of Qatar, recommendations for a sustainable implementation, challenges, and opportunities to ensure that the ‘rights legacy’ is sustained.

The groups will also reflect on mechanisms to guarantee the respect of the new labour laws and to implement reforms, including through effective dialogue systems.

The CLF is a platform for dialogue between community leaders from the various migrant communities working and living in Qatar, workers’ representatives, and representatives from the Ministry of Labour of Qatar. 

To join the conference, register here.