For first time, Dubai Expo 2020 says 5 workers died on site


PTI, Oct 2, 2021, 12:45 PM IST

Dubai: Dubai’s Expo 2020 on Saturday acknowledged that five workers had been killed on site during construction of the massive world’s fair, revealing for the first time overall statistics for worker fatalities.

Expo previously said that its 200,000 labourers who built the site worked some 240 million hours in its construction.

It had not offered any overall statistics previously on worker fatalities, injuries or coronavirus infections despite repeated requests from The Associated Press and other journalists.

The admission comes after the European Parliament last month urged nations not to take part in Expo, citing the United Arab Emirates” “inhumane practices against foreign workers” that it said worsened during the pandemic.

Ahead of Expo, businesses and construction companies are “coercing workers into signing untranslated documents, confiscating their passports, exposing them to extreme working hours in unsafe weather conditions and providing them with unsanitary housing,” the resolution said.

At a press conference a day after the event”s opening, Expo spokesperson Sconaid McGeachin said the information about fatalities was previously available to journalists and referred reporters to a press release about a monument honouring the labourers who built the site from scratch, which offered no additional details.

She said authorities would offer more information about casualties at a later, unspecified time.

McGeachin also acknowledged that authorities were aware of cases involving contractors “withholding passports” and engaging in suspect “recruitment practices” and workplace safety violations on site.

“We have taken steps to ensure those have been addressed and very much intervened in cases on that,” she said, without elaborating.

The UAE, an oil-rich sheikhdom that relies on low-paid migrant labour from Africa, Asia and Arab countries to keep its economy humming, faces long-standing criticism from human rights groups for treating those workers poorly.

But officials have battled to present a positive image for Expo, the first world”s fair in the Middle East that seeks to show off Dubai”s pride and draw millions of foreign visitors.

Labourers in the UAE are barred from unionisation and have few protections, often working long hours for little pay and living in substandard conditions.

Dubai”s searing early autumn heat proved hazardous even for those visiting the site on its opening day Friday, with some tourists fainting in the 40 degree Celsius (104 degree Fahrenheit) humid weather.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Indian boxer Mandeep Jangra wins WBF’s world title

IOA submits ‘Letter of Intent’ to host 2036 Olympics in India

CBDT allows tax officials to waive or reduce interest due from assessee

Like UP, bring BJP to power in Jharkhand to ‘bulldoze’ mafia: Yogi at Koderma poll rally

Govt asks Wikipedia why it should not be treated as publisher instead of intermediary

Karnataka HC issues notice to CM, others on plea seeking transfer of MUDA case to CBI

SC upholds validity of UP madrassa law, says it does not violate principle of secularism

Related Articles More

‘Idiot’: Former Canadian Sikh minister slams Justin Trudeau over Khalistan issue

Canadian cop suspended for attending pro-Khalistan protest outside Hindu temple

US going to historically tight presidential election

Expect Canadian government to ensure justice, uphold rule of law: PM Modi

Khalistanis clash with people at Hindu temple in Canada, Trudeau says unacceptable

MUST WATCH

Gho Pooja in Deepavali Festival

Melukote Deepavali

Ganapathi Co-operative Society Ltd

Udayavani Chinnara Banna 2024

Annapoorna Aahar | Food Places In Mysore


Latest Additions

Indian boxer Mandeep Jangra wins WBF’s world title

IOA submits ‘Letter of Intent’ to host 2036 Olympics in India

CBDT allows tax officials to waive or reduce interest due from assessee

Like UP, bring BJP to power in Jharkhand to ‘bulldoze’ mafia: Yogi at Koderma poll rally

Govt asks Wikipedia why it should not be treated as publisher instead of intermediary

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.