Fifa joins up with trade union to promote ‘safe working conditions’

Fifa has announced new measures for promoting “decent and safe working conditions” at its tournaments after agreeing a five-year partnership with trade union the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI).

The BWI, which has been critical of Fifa’s decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, will now partner with world football’s governing body on conducting labour inspections in the Gulf state and elsewhere. The agreement will also incorporate training for workers and their representatives, and the creation of a “time-bound corrective action plan” that will ensure remedy for those workers who are exploited or otherwise impacted in their jobs.

“The Building and Wood Workers’ International and Fifa have signed a new collaboration agreement that sets a framework for joint inspections, training, and reporting to promote decent and safe working conditions for all workers involved in the construction and renovation of stadiums and other infrastructure linked to Fifa tournaments,” a Fifa statement said.

Fifa and BWI worked together in Qatar where, alongside the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in the 2022 World Cup host country, they worked to introduce inspections dialogue and training initiatives that contributed to improved labour standards.

However the BWI went on to criticise Fifa for failing to see through further changes in Qatar and the decision to award the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia was criticised heavily by its general secretary, Ambet Yuson, who accused Fifa of conducting a bidding process “without any robust assessment” and saying the tournament left the risk of a “permanent stain in the world of sport”.

Speaking on Wednesday, Yuson said the new agreement was built “on years of experience and critical partnership” and would provide “a clear process not only to monitor but also to prevent and remedy abuses, ensuring that commitments to human rights translate into concrete improvements for workers”.

Fifa’s secretary general, Mattias Grafström, said: “Like Building and Wood Workers’ International, Fifa takes workers’ rights very seriously. It is essential that all workers involved in projects connected to Fifa tournaments enjoy good working conditions, a fair income, safety in the workplace, social protection and integration. We want to ensure that everyone benefits when a country hosts a Fifa tournament, and that includes those who build the infrastructure.”

The four central elements of the agreement are: joint labour inspections at stadiums and other worksites related to Fifa tournaments; training for workers’ representatives and in occupational health and safety; the securing of “corrective action and remedy” with a “time-bound corrective action plan”; and the publication of annual progress reports via Fifa’s Human Rights and Sustainability sub-committee.

The tournaments that will fall under the Fifa and BWI deal include next year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027, the six-host men’s World Cup in Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay in 2030, the 2031 Women’s World Cup in Mexico, the United States, Jamaica and Costa Rica, and Saudi Arabia in 2034.