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Qatar鈥檚 construction sector is 鈥渞ife with abuse鈥� of workers, raising fears workers could be exploited during construction of venues and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, Amnesty International has said.

The human rights campaign group launched an extensive report cataloguing abuses within the Qatari construction sector in Doha yesterday, entitled 鈥楾he Dark Side of Migration鈥� .

In the report, based on interviews with workers, employers and government officials, Amnesty claims many workers are suffering  鈥渟erious exploitation鈥�, 鈥渨idespread and routine abuse鈥� and in some cases conditions 鈥渁mounting to forced labour鈥�.

Abuses documented by Amnesty include non-payment of wages, harsh and dangerous working conditions and 鈥渟hocking鈥� standards of accommodation.

Construction has not yet begun on schemes directly linked to the 2022 World Cup, but Amnesty said its findings raised fears workers on these projects 鈥渕ay be subjected to exploitation鈥�.

The Amnesty report is a further blow to Qatar鈥檚 World Cup preparations, which have been hit by a FIFA corruption probe and controversy over plans to move the tournament from the summer to the winter.

The head of the Qatar 2022 supreme committee, Hassan Al Thawadi, told a press conference this weekend , that workers鈥� rights and conditions on Qatar 2022 construction projects would be protected.

He said the committee launched a workers鈥� charter in April that would 鈥渆nsure the health, safety and dignity of workers.鈥� He added: 鈥淎ny number of deaths over zero is unacceptable.鈥�

The contract to build the Zaha Hadid and Aecom-designed Al Wakrah stadium will be the first to incorporate contractual standards to enforce the workers鈥� charter, the supreme committee said.

But Sail Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International, urged the Qatar government, FIFA, the Qatar 2022 organising committee and domestic and international companies working in Qatar to do more to end exploitation of workers.

He urged companies to 鈥渂e proactive鈥� and 鈥渘ot just take action when abuses are drawn to their attention鈥�, adding: 鈥淭urning a blind eye to any form of exploitation is unforgivable, particularly when it is destroying people鈥檚 lives and livelihoods.鈥�

UK firms Gardiner & Theobald, Arup, Zaha Hadid and EC Harris are all working on plans for Qatar World Cup 2022 venues and infrastructure, while dozens of other UK firms operate in the country.

Amnesty did not mention any UK firms in its report.

Shetty said the Qatar 2022 World Cup offered the Qatari government a 鈥渦nique chance to demonstrate on a global stage that they are serious about their commitment to human rights鈥� and become a 鈥渞ole model鈥� for the region.

Qatar is experiencing mass migration of workers, at a rate of 20 an hour, mainly from south and south east Asia, to meet the demands of its booming construction sector.

Many of these migrant workers are recruited under Qatar鈥檚 鈥榢afala鈥� system, whereby migrant workers are subjected to strict controls by their employer, or 鈥榮ponsor鈥�, leaving some workers unable to leave the country or change jobs without their employers鈥� permission.

Amnesty called for Qatar to overhaul the kafala system.

Amnesty researchers interviewed 鈥渄ozens鈥� of migrant construction workers employed under the kafala system who were prevented from leaving Qatar for many months by their employers.

One Nepalese worker told Amnesty: 鈥淧lease tell me - is there a way out of here? 鈥� We are going totally mad.鈥�

He said he had been unpaid for seven months and prevented from leaving Qatar for three months.

Amnesty said it found cases that constituted forced labour, where workers were 鈥渓iving in fear of losing everything鈥�, threatened with penalty fines, deportation or loss of income if they did not turn up to work, even though they were not being paid.

Researchers also found workers who were suffering from severe psychological distress, with some on the brink of suicide.

Nepalese workers on one project - which Amnesty said was associated with FIFA鈥檚 planned Qatar 2022 World Cup headquarters - told researchers they were 鈥渢reated like cattle鈥� and required to work up to 12 hours a day seven days a week during Qatar鈥檚 searingly hot summer months.

Amnesty said there was a culture of violating labour standards in the Qatari construction sector and discriminatory attitudes towards migrant workers were 鈥渃ommon鈥�.

Amnesty said its researchers overheard one manager at a construction firm refer to the workers as 鈥渢he animals鈥�.

Qatar鈥檚 labour protection laws are not adequately enforced and are 鈥渞outinely flouted鈥� by companies, Amnesty said.

Many workers reported poor health and safety standards at work, while a representative at Doha鈥檚 main hospital told Amnesty earlier this year more than 1,000 people had been admitted to the trauma unit having suffered falls from height at work, with a 鈥渟ignificant鈥� mortality rate.

Amnesty researchers also found migrant workers living in 鈥渟qualid, overcrowded accommodation鈥� with no air conditioning, exposed to overflowing sewage or uncovered septic tanks.

Amnesty found migrant construction workers often work for SME subcontractors  that are sometimes not adequately vetted by companies further up the supply chain.

Amnesty said it contacted several major companies about its findings and some had carried out investigations as a result, while one company had tightened up its inspection regime.