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Workers' rights group to FIFA sponsors: Take responsibility for 'horrific' conditions in Qatar

Associated Press
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FILE - In this Sunday, May 3, 2015 file photo taken during a government organized media tour, Nischal Tamang from Nepal takes a break in his work, in Doha, Qatar. Tamang lives in a housing facility for laborers that has been cited by labor inspectors for substandard conditions. Advocates for workers' rights are urging FIFA sponsors to take more responsibility for the treatment of World Cup workers in Qatar, calling the "horrific" working conditions there a blot on any company's brand. At a press conference Monday, May 18, 2015 they singled out FIFA sponsors such as McDonalds, Visa, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Budweiser, Gazprom, KIA and Hyundai, saying they have the power to pressure both FIFA and Qatar into improving the treatment of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sunday, May 3, 2015 file photo taken during a government organized media tour, Kuttamon Chembadnan Velayi from Kerala, India, speaks to journalists while sitting on his bed in a room he shares with seven other Indian laborers in Doha, Qatar. The housing facility has been cited by Qatari labor officials for substandard conditions. Advocates for workers' rights are urging FIFA sponsors to take more responsibility for the treatment of World Cup workers in Qatar, calling the "horrific" working conditions there a blot on any company's brand. At a press conference Monday, May 18, 2015 they singled out FIFA sponsors such as McDonalds, Visa, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Budweiser, Gazprom, KIA and Hyundai, saying they have the power to pressure both FIFA and Qatar into improving the treatment of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Monday May 4, file photo taken during a government organized media tour, a foreign worker climbs scaffolding at the Al-Wakra Stadium that is under construction for the 2022 World Cup, in Doha, Qatar. Advocates for workers' rights are urging FIFA sponsors to take more responsibility for the treatment of World Cup workers in Qatar, calling the "horrific" working conditions there a blot on any company's brand. At a press conference Monday, May 18, 2015 they singled out FIFA sponsors such as McDonalds, Visa, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Budweiser, Gazprom, KIA and Hyundai, saying they have the power to pressure both FIFA and Qatar into improving the treatment of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) (The Associated Press)

Advocates for workers' rights are urging FIFA sponsors to take more responsibility for the treatment of World Cup workers in Qatar, calling the "horrific" working conditions there a blot on any company's brand.

At a news conference Monday, the International Trade Union Confederation singled out FIFA sponsors such as McDonalds, Visa, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Budweiser, Gazprom, KIA and Hyundai, saying they have the power to pressure FIFA and Qatar into improving the treatment of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC general secretary, said migrants are packed "8-10-12" to a room, work in 50 degree Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) temperatures and are unable to leave abusive employers. She says the International Olympic Committee "put a criteria for human rights ... (but) FIFA refuses to talk about the issue."