Vinci Faces More Legal Action Over Qatar Labor Conditions

   By Nathan Allen 
 

France's Vinci SA (DG.FR) faces legal action over working conditions at its construction projects in Qatar, after Paris-based labor-rights nonprofit organization Sherpa said Thursday that it was filing a joint complaint with former employees and another activist group.

Sherpa said it is jointly filing the complaint with six Indian and Nepalese former employees and anti-slavery group Comite contre l'Esclavage Moderne.

They allege Vinci and its Qatari subsidiary engaged in forced and bonded labor, human trafficking and concealing profits from these offences at projects for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. The groups claim migrant workers were forced to work in extreme heat without proper equipment while their passports were confiscated.

Vinci denied all the allegations and said it has long endeavored to improve working conditions in Qatar.

No passports were ever confiscated and no serious accident has ever been recorded as a result of heat, the company said.

Qatar's preparations to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup have been beset by claims that migrant workers face exploitation and human-rights violations. Rights groups such as Amnesty International have alleged abuses of workers at projects for the soccer World Cup--a potential reputational risk for one of France's largest contractors.

Earlier this year a French public prosecutor dropped an investigation into Vinci that was opened in 2015 after Sherpa filed its first complaint.

However, Sherpa said the investigation failed to probe deep enough and was limited to a hearing of a few Vinci executives.

"The weakness of the preliminary investigation reveals the lack of political will of the public prosecutor's office," the group said.

Sherpa said it has since gathered new testimony from India that confirms the initial allegations.

Write to Nathan Allen at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 22, 2018 06:39 ET (11:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.