Migrant workers in Qatar stage protest to demand unpaid wages

Migrant laborers in Qatar staged a weekend protest over unpaid wages, the regime in Doha admitted on Saturday, amid an economic collapse from the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 100 men blocked a main road in the Msheireb district of the capital Doha late on Friday, clapping and chanting as police looked on.

“In response to the late settlement of salaries, a small number of expatriate workers conducted a peaceful protest in the Msheireb area on May 22,” the

Labor Ministry said. “Following an immediate investigation the ministry has taken steps to ensure that all salaries will be promptly paid in the coming days.”

Legal action had been taken against the companies involved in nonpayment of salaries, the ministry said.

The protest is the latest embarrassment for Qatar over its treatment of migrant laborers, mostly from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Many live in squalid camps far from Doha’s skyscrapers and malls.

Almost 90 percent of Qatar’s population are expatriate workers as the country completes dozens of megaprojects ahead of the 2022 football World Cup.

But the coronavirus and its devastating economic impact have left many workers sick and others unemployed, unpaid and at the mercy of sometimes unscrupulous employers.

Last month, Amnesty International accused Qatar authorities of rounding up and deporting hundreds of migrant workers from Nepal after telling them they were being taken to be tested for coronavirus.