With reporting from Elysia Windrum
Several fire trucks, four buses of riot troops and a handful of ambulances have responded to a brawl at the under-renovation Sheraton Doha hotel this afternoon.
An altercation apparently took place between some construction workers and security guards there, prompting the police response, according to people on site who spoke to Doha News.
A handful of people were treated for minor injuries, Doha News has learned.
A supervisor there said the altercation started because some workers tried to leave on break, but were stopped by security guards. Words and eventually pushing and shoving ensued, he added.
Workers on site told Doha News that the guards would not allow them to step out of line while going on their lunch breaks to use the bathroom and grab a drink of water. They added that the guards struck them with steel rods and stones.
However, others who spoke to Doha News said that many of the workers threw stones and rocks at the guards.
The incident appeared to escalate into the smashing of windows of a portacabin and breaking of scaffolding, witnesses there told Doha News.
A video taken by an employee on the site showed groups of workers swinging large pieces of wood and throwing stones at a portacabin:
Speaking to Doha News, a Lebanese expat who works as an architect for UrbaCon Contracting and Trading (UCC), the main consultant on the Sheraton’s renovation project, said:
“At around 12pm we suddenly started hearing shouting. Everything just went crazy. The workers starting fighting and screaming. They started throwing rocks at the windows of our office and broke the door…
Everyone was shocked. We were trapped inside the office and couldn’t do anything, waiting for transportation for us to arrive so we could escape. When we were escaping there were police and ambulances on site.”
Another UCC employee reiterated a similar experience, and added that the workers were also displeased with their new schedule for Ramadan.
“Their hours for Ramadan are now 6am to 5pm. They’re protesting their new hours of work.”
However, workers who spoke to Doha News said they were not aware of a new schedule, and that they were currently working from 6am to 9pm, with a one-hour break. While Qatar’s summer midday work ban came into effect on June 15, it only covers those working outdoors.
Sheraton has been closed since March as the 32-year-old building undergoes extensive renovations.
At the same time, work is taking place outside the hotel to complete the Sheraton Park Project, which will include a large recreation center and parking lot. Both the hotel renovations and the park are slated for a December completion.
Neither the Sheraton or UCC were immediately available for comment.
Clearing up
By 2pm, a few hours after the fight erupted, Doha News observed that the site was being cleared and that the riot troops remained inside of their buses.
The heavy police presence, however, appeared to rattle some residents, who tweeted questions wondering what happened:
Heard of a protest/tussle between labourers and Security Personal along corniche. Anyone can confirm? @dohanews
— Khanan (@alikhanan) June 25, 2014
What is going on at the Sheraton? There's 5 fire engines and a bunch of red police card there! @dohanews pic.twitter.com/zEiowl9B4F
— Laura Hamilton (@lauraannham) June 25, 2014
Apparently a lot of fire trucks/law enforcement in front of the Sheraton. Anyone knows more? @dohanews #Doha #Qatar pic.twitter.com/Yo0xz07pWK
— Miloš Vasić (@Milos_Vasic) June 25, 2014
Protests are rare in Qatar, but due to the high number of construction workers here, are taken very seriously by authorities.
News of the fight sparked conversations online about workers’ treatment in Qatar, which has been under increasing scrutiny in the past few years because the country is hosting the 2022 World Cup.
Thoughts?
Not a good image for @Sheratonhotels
Firstly well done DN for reporting this, it’s been a long time of regurgitated report releases, must be the season, it’s nice to see fresh news with some investigating & interviewing, a sincere well done.
Sheraton is a brand part of the Starwood Hotels Group who largely manage hotels on behalf of owners and in this case local owners. I happened to eat at the Italian just before they suddenly closed and one of the managers said (along the lines of) The Emir said to close right now, it wasn’t planned, we were going to do it in stages, but the owner said very suddenly on a walk around to close it, it took the GM by surprise.
Can DN confirm the owner? I thought it might of been the Katara Hospitality Group? Not sure. It’s the owners who approve contractors (capex) and who ultimately have the final say. Let’s see who they support in this holy month or even if they care. Can DN ask the owners for comment? Go on stir the pot.
Sounds like ‘the slaves’ are retaliating. And not before their time……………those hours sound extremely unfair and unjust. I thought that Ramadan was supposed to be a time of good deeds towards those less fortunate. I hope the workers will not suffer any consequences for making their feelings known, though it is often those that have no hand in the decision-making that bear the brunt of the anger. I hope nobody was seriously injured in the incident.
A friend of mine works in the renovation team for the sheraton. She is an arab expat. She claims they dont pay salaries till the middle of the month and that they keep them from 7am till 10pm on most days and refused to pay overtime till they asked repeatedly and threatened not to show to work. You want that kind of reaction? Treat them horribly. Some people still don’t understand that people have rights and should not be treated as slaves. Even for normal working hours these timings are horrible.
6am-5pm?! 11 hours in Ramadan? Shame on you.
Reveal the name of the contracting company & the supervising consultant. Shame for both of them & the client.
That’s very true my friends who work for such firms go through the same thing! Recently I heard them complaining about them working from 9 PM to 6 AM (proposed Ramadan timings)
I’m pretty sure she can go to court if they do that constantly. Contracts are legally binding.
So, at what point did the security guards decide that they are legally authorized to use force or to impose their will on others – such poor judgment, if accurate. Sounds like the training is weak, at best.
This is disgusting! We need to find out whom these contractors are and let them know that this type of treatment of others is unacceptable and will not tolerated. Legally, they can’t work from 11am – 5pm outdoors. Legally, during Ramadan you can’t drink or eat in public. So how on God’s green earth is working 6am-5pm even an option? How is 6am-9pm even allowed?
I sincerely hope no one was injured and pray this ruffles a few feathers.
Nah, probably just wind up like the Vietnamese experiment.
Make them work indoors, and define their work site as ‘private’?
Similar to the way the thermometers only go up to 49 degrees C
they are supposed to be doing photosynthesis like plants do on sunlight… simple as that…
Brilliant!
“Legally, during Ramadan you can’t drink or eat in public”
Forcing your beliefs on others is ok?
We are guests here, remember that. It is their country and their religion, we should abide by the rules.
That’s not to say I don’t have a drink, I do it discretely and behind closed doors as it is unfair on folks to completely throw it in their faces, not to mention downright rude. Many Muslims don’t expect us to fast along with them, thought they appreciate it if we do. What they do expect, and rightly so, is a little common decency.
Not long ago, in a Muslim majority country, I was served at a bar by a Muslim barman. In the course of a light but sincere conversation I discovered he was indeed fasting; it being Ramadan at the time. Having experienced several Gulf Ramadans up to then, I asked him if it bothered him to serve me during his Fast. He gave me a very puzzled look, and replied “why should I be bothered, it’s my fast, not yours” Then he went to serve another customer.
Your talking about one person only and not everybody..She’s talkin about respect to others….isnt difficult? do to others…if you want to do it to you…respect..that’s all.
I think his point was that the Gulf is the only Muslim-majority place where fasting rules are enforced to such a Draconian degree (nearly all restaurants are closed until iftar, it’s actually illegal to eat/drink in public even if you’re a non-Muslim). In other predominantly Muslim places (Egypt, Shams countries, Morocco) the fast seems to be viewed as a very personal thing for individuals (almost the way Lent is in the Christian world), rather than something that everyone has to follow in lock step. It seems odd to many of us non-Muslims because it seems to go against the spirit of the fast (which as I understand it, is that fasting is done to demonstrate self-control and restraint, an increased awareness of sacrifice and sympathy for those who regularly do not have enough water/food). So when Muslims here in the Gulf get to start work/school late, go home early, sleep until iftar and nothing tempting is permitted to be around them, it seems rather counterintuitive.
And though you may disagree with me, I think most non-fasting folks would be respectful enough to not ‘throw it in their faces”.
Counterintuitive maybe but that doesn’t make it nonsensical. If a few rules can make it easier then why not?
Isn’t making it easier cheating? By that logic, those wealthy Muslims who travel around to spend Ramadan in latitudes with shorter fasting times are to be admired rather than scorned.
Then where is the actual *effort* to follow the fast, if it is a rule enforced externally?
Being *made* to follow a path is not as spiritually pure as choosing to do so, and in effect the rules become mere window dressing to the actual event.
It’s shallow and breeds a veneer of piety – and THAT is toxic to true faith.
Well maybe but these rules seem to be more about maintaining respect for others who are fasting. If someone really wanted to they could sneak off in eat in private. There are always intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The rules are extrinsic but ultimately this is always going to be an intrinsic one.
In Malaysia…during Ramadan…the muslims fast and the non-muslims go about eating a drinking. Fasting is all about self control in the face of temptation. Its not the job of the non muslims to hide just because you or I fast,
That works in 2 directions.
Next Lent I will give up balloon sand-tyres, for 40 days, should I expect everybody else to do likewise, out of respect?
By any chance was it in Malaysia ?
No it was the Caspian area
🙂
So this example of a man’s experience with fasting should apply to the rest of muslims in the region because it coincides with your own beliefs of how people should practice their religion, a belief based on what is most comfortable for you as opposed to what is comfortable for them in their own country.
There are a lot of things I don’t understand or agree with about many different cultures and societies, but instead of being bigoted enough to presume they should hear my way of practicing their beliefs, I either mind my own business or simply avoid the place.
I’d say my point, supported by other commentators, is that imposing fasting rules on all, including those whose well being, and safety, relies on basic sustenance during the working day, is somewhat un-reasonable.
If those in sedentary office jobs, and such, require a shorter day because of fasting, how can it be acceptable to impose fasting rules on workers who are not only working in arduous conditions, but even after an hours reduction are working a shift that would be unacceptable to most even under ‘normal’ conditions?
A very long shift ‘and’ being deprived of basic food water, for the duration, is nothing short of inhumane. Is it any surprise the Sheraton workers ‘snapped’?
We are often reminded of the presence of 1.5 – 2 billion Muslims in the World. Only a small minority insist that everybody else be forced to refrain from public eating & drinking. The vast majority of the World’s Muslims seem to be able to fast without the compulsory assistance of the non-Muslims around them.
Perfect answer. I am not forced to fast I choose to fast so why should others be forced to fast or have to hide while drinking and eating. I really would like to see an Islamic reference for fining and jailing people who eat or drink in public.
This is the law in Qatar, not mine. As a Muslim American, I never expected anyone to not eat or drink around me during Ramadan while I worked my usual full schedule and broke my fast during my evening classes in grad school.
However, in Qatar things are different and as residents it is to be respected and followed. For these contractors to make their employees work long hours in 45C+ heat without any form of hydration is against the law and defeats the idea of Ramadan in the first place.
How dare the slaves take a break. Whip them till they bleed so we can have beautiful buildings made from their blood sweat and tears.
And these people want to host the world cup. Shameful.
Fifa has so much of evil …watch..So qatar and FIFA will go neck and neck in it….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I
If you don’t have time, start watching from 10:32…
I’m sorry…?
Why such a grudge, are you jealous? I bet you are a racist too?
Never mind these outright lies printed here.
Those workers are happy 99% of the time, today they were just having a petty disagreement over the type of china their hourly tea is served up in. There is NO proplem, I assure you!
This fine, upstanding contractor makes sure that all workers rights are respected.
Shame on you!
I have to agree with slblack…sorry!!! You think there is no problem. You need to take those wonderful rose tinted glasses off and have a look around you.
Sarcasm, Wavey, Sarcasm. Perhaps I should have made it more obvious?
I would have thought the ‘China’ gave it away?
Ahhhh sorry, it’s been a long week!!
No probs… we all have bad weeks!
Not as bad as those poor workers. I won’t moan again about how crappy my weeks been!!
So was slblack’s (I hope)
Just an overview of the problems
Current timings 6am to 9pm, with one hour break and no mid afternoon break
thats 14 hours of hard labour.
Ramadan timings – 6 am to 5am, no break is mentioned so thats a 11 hours of work.
And the workers got beat up for trying to ‘get out of line’ by trying to use the washroom at lunch time. And when they fought back, riot troops were called in.
Bravo Qatar.
I’m just happy DN are reporting this. If The Sunday Times broke this story it would probably be grounds for a full-scale diplomatic incident?
According to Peninsula this morning, it was just a minor scuffle that broke out. Maybe it was just coincidence then that the emergency services and riot police just happened to be in the same area at that time.
Not sure how accurate this reporting is, unless I’ve been misinformed, by law you’re only allowed to work 6 hours per day during Ramdan, so it can’t be 6am to 5pm. Are these 2 shifts with a break in between? Were they protesting the timing rather than the number of hours?
Or if it’s actually 11 hours I hope they’re held accountable.
The workers were very adamant about their current schedule including only one hour break – no midday break. This could possibly be because some of them work inside the hotel.
Inside or out is not relevant, than can only impact timing of work, not number of hours. Here’s a translated extract from the employment law:
—-
Article (73)
The maximum ordinary working hours shall be forty eight hours per week at the rate of eight hours
per day with the exception of the month of Ramadan when the maximum working hours shall be
thirty six hours per month at the rate of six hours per day.
—-
So if what the workers are saying is true the company is in trouble as I believe Ramadan hours are dealt with quite seriously by the government, will be interesting to see what the consequences are
To be clear, workers can obviously work overtime in exchange for the correct compensation, but I don’t think this applies to Ramadan when the 6 hour max is fixed
Indeed. Ramadan hours are 36hours per week, 6 per day maximum.
In terms of Summer Time work ban, it only applies to workers out in the sun, without any protection. Companies involved in fit out works can continue to work their labour force during the ban, as long as those works do not involve any works out in the sun.
So working indoors without any AC is ok.?!?
Unfortunately, as the current regulation stands, yes.
Remember, exposed to direct sun, the apparent temperature is some 10C to 15C hotter, so if it is 45C in the shade, its 55C to 60C in the sun! And that is without considering the effect of humidity
Shabina- if workers did something wrong, why should the company be penalized for…??right???
Hello Shabina,
Your article notes ‘they were currently working from 6am to 9pm’ with a one hour break which would be a 14 hour work day. Have you, or your colleagues contacted Sheraton International for their corporate reaction for the labour practices being carried out on its behalf? Might lead to some interesting stuff as well as an article that dohanews could have syndicated too!! 😉
In line with common hotel practice in the Gulf, the Sheraton will not actually belong to Sheraton Group, they only manage the operation on behalf of the, local, owners of the building.
Whereas I’m sure Sheraton would take an interest, they would be powerless to control the restoration process. Their only recourse would be to disassociate themselves from the building?
I’m happy to defer to anyone who can put me straight on that.
“At the same time, work is taking place outside the hotel to complete the
Sheraton Park Project, which will include a large recreation center and
parking lot. Both the hotel renovations and the park are slated for a
December completion.”
Since there is work outdoors, the midday break law should apply, which doesn’t seem to be the case here with these contractors.
@dohanews – Just an editorial question but why do you refer to them as “workers”? I know nearly everyone else does it here but is this intended to be some sort of status distinction. After all aren’t we all “workers” – i.e. working. I would have thought in most English speaking countries they would have been referred to as the “employees” or if you wanted to distinguish them from the security guards then they would have been the “construction workers” or something more specific.
Gee, maybe, just maybe, this company, like so many others, doesn’t follow the law. And why would they, where’s the enforcement? The laborers will one be in trouble for NOT working when it ought to be the company being punished for making them work.
I don’t know how it will work in the construction industry, but I do know for a fact that non-Muslim employees at Hamad Hospital were asked to work full hours during Ramadan last year.
Whether or not this is allowed under the law I don’t know, but it does make a certain amount of sense that it should be business as usual if you’re not fasting.
It shouldn’t be allowed because Labour Law makes no distinction on the basis of religion for the work hours, see Jared’s post above with the extract from the Law.
So, if a non-Muslim worker wishes to glug a bottle of water, or partake of a sandwich, is that OK? Or will he be carted off to the ‘pokey’?
In public view, everybody has to fast, Muslim or not!
I know what the law says. I’m just saying that it has happened. A memo was sent to Hamad staff asking non-fasting employees to work the full 8 hours.
Besides, I’m sure one could find a place out of sight to eat or drink. Most workplaces are not exactly public.
Asking, or telling, I would safely assume the latter.
I am fortunate that I have, usually, been able to use a ‘behind closed doors’ hidey hole’ for us non-Muslims to eat/ drink. Having said that, in using those facilities, I have enjoyed the vindictive condemnation of citizens (not in Qatar) doing their utmost to get us sacked for doing so. So I’m damned sure those workers will have little or no opportunity, not even to drink.
BTW, how do you find a place ‘out of sight’ when you are stuck in a cradle on the side of a building, still in full view of the poor manager fasting in his air conditioned office?
I believe this would have been along with overtime pay. But then who knows, government companies are probably the first ones to flaunt the government laws.
This is technically illegal. Reduced hours are a law, not a preference based on whether a person just so happens to be fasting or not. They should file a complaint.
We all fast during Ramadan, Muslim or not, unless you can sneak a bottle of water into the Restroom. Until it is no longer mandatory not to eat or drink in public, everyone should be treated the same.
At least the riot police got a good work out in preparation for 2022
Must be a brief induction cos when fans get turned away at the staidum entrance gates this Sheraton debacle will be a cake walk.
Security guards are not detention camp guards, they should stick to doing security no restraining workers ! If a worker has a valid reason to leave who should stop them or beat them ? This is a construction site, not a penal colony
“This is a construction site, not a penal colony”
Are you sure?
Sign of the times. More to come perhaps. It just takes a few incidents for it all to get out of control.
Treat people like sh£t, what do you expect.
Shouldn’t the video be censored? lol
I hope ministry of Labor takes action against udc and ucc for abusing the labors!
Ali i hope the ministry of labor will look into these companies because my friend is also an employee of ucc and their management sucks. He doesn’t have overtime pay and he works for 12 hours in the site office. Maybe they are not afraid because their sponsor is the Al Thani. Their camp is not good and four people in 1 very small room in double decks. Their nurses and doctors doesn’t have licenses and their clinic in the camp is not licensed. Supreme council of health should also look into this. This company is big but they don’t care about their employees. Some of the salaries of their employees were reduced. If the employees will not sign, they will be terminated. So the employees are forced to sign the new contract with low salary. For my friend, it’s really unfair and unjust. I can feel his suffering. He wants to transfer to another company but ucc will not give noc.
Reminds me of Zimbardo Prison Experiment…Twenty-four male students out of seventy-five were selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The participants adapted to their roles well beyond Zimbardo’s expectations, as the guards enforced authoritarian measures and ultimately subjected some of the prisoners to psychological torture. This is exactly what is happening in Qatar, and NOT ONLY in this case…security guards in Doha have horrible attitude and they seem to power trip on everyone! We will have more and more case of it I’m sure about it and the question is if the government can see what is being created in Qatar…Let’s hope Khaleesi is on her way with her dragons…..
I demand a trial by combat !!!
Agreed. Make the riot police give half their equipment – shields, batons, armour etc. to the workers and ‘let battle commence’
My money is on the workers, they might be poor and hungry, but they are far more ‘pi$$ed off!
Shall we take a quick look at the UrbaCon Code of Ethic on their website? They claim……
UCC is committed to:
Observe the local legislation of the State of Qatar. This is, of course in addition to international legislation and best practices in force.
Carry out its activities with respect for human rights and to pursue an attractive working environment in which the employees’ qualities are optimally utilized and in which employees of various nationalities are employed and given the opportunity to collaborate and develop.
Carry out its activities in an honest manner, in all openness and with integrity.
Contribute towards the long-lasting development of communities.
Protect the safety and health of its employees and limit the impact on the social environment to a minimum. UCC goal is continuous improvement in these fields and commitment to comply with legislation in force locally and internationally.
Do everything in its power in order to protect its installations, machinery and especially all personnel against external threats, by strictly applying local and international legislations.
Make its vision common knowledge to all its employees involving its mission, goals and objectives and provide the necessary training to achieve the goals that have been set.
Refrain from any form of bribery and not relate any misleading or derogatory information about the Company and its activities. UCC subcontractors may not abuse their positions to gain any advantage for themselves or others.
Execute its activities in compliance with internationally accepted principles concerning good company management. UCC will provide its shareholders with reliable information with regard to its activities, structure, financial situation and performance and this at regular time intervals.
Did u guys hear the lebanese woman ( from her accent ) speaking on the video call the worker – a dog? And again arabic she called them animals. Very ethical of her.
I really hope she gets exposed for that…name and shame,
Hope So!
Dear All,
There are a lot of non-accurate points of report, and a lot of exaggeration, i witnessed the whole problem from the beginning, it was pure personal action of a security guard who was totally wrong when he just thought that he could use his muscles with labors,
UCC is a well known respectful company and for sure the information you have reported about RAMADAN timing is not real or accurate as there will be many shifts with no more 6 hours working hours for each.
UCC with many qualification skills ans many ISO certificates will not accept it’s labors to be handled the same by guards and will do the needful to keep everybody satisfied and for sure will take a hard serious actions against this security guard.
this was the accurate information about what happened in SHERATON today and to clarify to all that UCC is Deplores such acts.
EKH
Wow..nice scripted official response…what else certification which UCC holds…???may be UCC
can apply for more…
It’s a shame you didn’t have time to find an English speaker to proof read your statement. But let’s just ignore the poorly prepared statement, and ask why we ought to believe something posted anonymously on an internet forum.
I’m not in public relations, but I’m pretty sure that if a company has nothing to hide and wishes to clarify misconceptions they front a press conference and deliver the statement in person.
As a fun exercise you could also invite the media to speak directly to the workers and let them speak the truth about what happened from their perspective too.
“and will do the needful to keep everybody satisfied”
I hate, hate, hate this phrase.
I can only imagine it’s a direct translation because to native speakers it sounds like a robot that has been programmed to talk in medieval English.
“Hey Dave, I need those files on my desk by tomorrow morning, do you think you could help me out? ”
“I WILL DO THE NEEDFUL”
“Ok, cool man. Please don’t stab me”
The phrase I hate is, “I forgot it at home”. Nooooo you didn’t “forget it at home”, you left it at home. Arrrrggghhhh. Sorry rant over. Lol.
“Method of Statement” instead of “Method Statement” or “Statement of Method”. My stock answer to the first is generally: “Your method of statement is p!ss poor, and fails to convey your meaning clearly”.
Hahaha!!!
Where have you been all my life? Same.
My next most hated misuse of the English language is when people say would of… could of… should of… Argghhhh.
People it’s have.. have…have .
Ahhhh feel better already .
I could of said the same myself!
Don’t shoot – I’m in a silly mood!
🙂
Lol I was expecting someone to come back with … I should have of done it.
Hahah!!!
You hate, you hate … it is your personal problem to be a hater. Jealous i think you are working in another construction company, or had a bad rate interview in UCC and stay jobless ..
Hahaha I don’t even live in Qatar anymore you muppet.
If UCC is the type of company where employees like yourself post nonsense like you did above about “ISO Certificates” and “use muscles with labours” in retaliation to a news article I think I’d bend over backwards to actively avoid it.
Similar to other companies who paid off the auditors or own the audit company themselves. Yeh we can get any certification we desire.
Yes you have a lot of certificates but are you sure you are following the rules, policies, and procedures mandated on that certificate? It’s a respectful company but are you sure the management of that company is respectful to its employees/workers? I don’t think so because I’ve heard lots of complaints from your employees including my friend but they couldn’t voice it out. This company even cut some of the salaries of their workers. You hired lots of british or white people in your company and then suddenly those people resigned because they could not bear how cruel you are in your employees. This company is manage by an arab so it is expected that slavery is normal to them. Mr. Michael Fryer is right, you can invite the media to speak to the workers directly especially those workers that are living in your labor camp.
Obviously the Arabs were historically heavily involved in the slave trade (as were many western countries) but isn’t it a bit of a blanket statement to say “This company is manage by an arab so it is expected that slavery is normal to them”?
I apologize. I mean not all Arabs. I just couldn’t find the right kind of word/s to describe this type of people who loves to enslave others but that’s what I observed in this company (UCC).
Yes, because it was Arabs who shipped slaves to the USA and colonized Africa alone, the poor “white people” were just poor bona fide purchasers… Dumb ass.
First, your level of English is the same as that of a kindergartner. That’s someone 4 years old in case you had to calculate. Please take some classes or something because its painful to read.
Second, if your employees are so happy, lets see them give an interview to an independent party. I’m sure all your amazing ISO certificates give you all the confidence in the world.
Third, In the video, one of your employee of the month called the workers dogs and animals. You’re just going to ignore that right? UCC culture at its finest I guess.
You people are mentally sick.
For someone who has made quite a few grammatical errors in their post, you need to work on your own English skills before lecturing others about their command of English.
I believe that you had a bad interview when you went to UCC seeking a job, that is all about? or you have been working there and get fired ? if you just asked anyone about those employees ( speaking in the video ) you will find that they are not UCC employees and related with external consultant office ..
so please .. never try more ..
Hello EKH, we certainly don’t want to put anything incorrect out there. The reporting here took hours and involved speaking to more than a dozen people on the scene of the incident. If you have additional insights to share, please do send us an email, [email protected] (not com).
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
*cough* bullshit *cough*
The era of Spartacus anyone?
Qatar : the only nation on Earth where Special Forces/SWAT officers arrive on scene in a VIP bus with privacy glass and air conditioned seats.
Be fair. They would have turned up in red Landcruisers, each, but there simply wasn’t sufficient parking space.
Were they going to park outside and honk their horns so the rioters could come to the car for a thrashing?
Oh man, I almost snorted my cola all over my keyboard at this :). Well played, sir!
Probably one of the best, if not the best comments I’ve ever read on here.
Ace remark 🙂
This is too good. Touche.
Gold! And if the rioters didnt come they would send their driver to get them
UrbaCon? – I am glad the C is capitalized instead of the R..
Ha – best and wittiest post on here! Well played.
The beauty of the English language, and its humourous manipulation!
😉
A small ‘incident’ to be sure, but surely no one in power will be laughing the way the UCC employees were. This is the official worst nightmare, isn’t it. You can buy peace by paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars per year but those who are paid pennies owe no such allegiance.
Do you know what, get treated badly enough and one day you are going to snap… Today looks like they snapped and I don’t bloody blame them.
What a disgrace…. Certainly no way to treat workers and certainly no way to treat other human beings at the height of this hot summer season. How can you intimidate the poor workers by threatening them and abusing them in this manner. Looks like the more they try to cover things up the more things get out in the open
Can someone clarify for me the law about shorter working hours in summer for workers in construction etc.? I understand clearly that anyone exposed to the heat outdoors is included, but what about those working ‘indoors’ where there is no a.c. or protection from the build up of heat. Have you ever tried to work in a space which is not cooled in mid summer? Probably as dangerous for the worker as being outdoors. Does the law not apply to such workers on the assumption that indoors means controlled environment. I’m sure someone out there knows.
Offensive and disgusting behavior and language from the Lebanese staff. By the end of the video, I was hoping they would get a rock through their mouths.
Transcript in English @Dohanews?
Its beyond disguesting to hear the lebanese folks is the background laugh and call them ‘animals’.
Articles 73 and 74 of the Law cover the topic. Overtime for hours over 6 per day, 1.25 times basic salary per hour.; ”…actual working hours per day shall not exceed ten hours…””.
What is encouraging about the commentary for this story is that, apart from the pathetic ‘doing the needful’ post, there is almost no evidence of people ‘defending the indefensible’.
I sincerely hope that the story has touched a nerve, and that maybe, just sodding maybe, it might provoke some positive action. We can but hope!
the Quatar government prefers to bribe fifa officals like they did in 1995 then to have human rights. Sheraton International consider this a warning, that I for 1 will never stay in a Sheraton ever again since you allow such horrendous conditions on your property. And FIFA we know your just a bunch of old farts who have ruined the game and do nothing but take bribes, your as bad or worse then the Olympic officals. Both of whom have taken a movement and turned it into a money grabbing franchise. Exit visa’s as well..Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, please stop calling yourself a Muslim, your the instrument of the devil to allow this.
You really should learn how to spell “Qatar”.
The ucc video does not show the lebanese grp as bad people, they are in a scary situation when the workers might harm them, and they are joking to try and keep each other company. As u can hear from their reactions the are shocked. I will try and translate the video for you guys.
Full translation of the video:
the woman: “they are coming they are coming! *laughs”
the man1: “its a whole tribe man!” *laughs more*
man2: “what is he doing?!”
man1: “I might go out and break things with them! cheer them on okay?”
man1 again says something that didnt make any sense: “im going to the workshop now, i dont know any body, i am going to wear a blue bowl (trying to be funny and make a joke about helmets), curse the animal you are!” *to one of the workers*
man2: “what is that guy doing by the wall?”
woman: “look at that guy jump, he is letting his anger out! kareem does this door have a lock?”
man (kareem): “no, why?”
woman: so we are here without a locked door? *laughs*”
man: “i dont wanna die among indians!” then he askes the worker, “whats the problem?”
the guy in the back mocks the worker by saying “you are number one”
man1: “they are throwing rocks. maybe there is a fight between the workers?”
woman: “they sent us two months back in terms of reconstruction”
man: “look, look! he is breaking the A/C! the woman inside must be screaming” “call the police, did any one call the police?”
woman surprised: “they are throwing things from up there”
man: “curse your religion!(a common Levantian) insult he is gonna hit us!”
woman: “they are focused on breaking the A/C”
man: “stop fucking around” “some one go and talk to them”
woman: “it sounds like something is being dragged”
man: “they are dragging a portacaben” *laughs*