In its Dec. 18 editorial “An undignified World Cup” The Post rightly identifies multiple human rights abuses in Qatar that demand our attention. Here is another: Virtually every construction worker coming to the country pays for their own recruitment, including airline tickets and fees for recruiting agents, expenditures that typically equal a year’s wages. This means that they spend the first year paying off burdensome loans rather than taking home a paycheck.
This system, which the government continues to tolerate, leaves poor workers vulnerable to further exploitation. Qatar can change this practice simply by telling construction firms that it will not consider their bids for public contracts without a line item for recruitment. Recruiting is a business expense. It should be treated as such by the government of Qatar.
Michael Posner, New York
The writer is director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.