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Since the reforms came into force the Qatari authorities say around 400,000 workers have been able to change jobs, and 280,000 workers saw their pay rise in line with the minimum wage. And yet, three months after hosting the “best World Cup ever”, interviews with scores of workers and experts suggest the promises of change remain largely unmet. Fifa’s claim that the World Cup would leave a lasting legacy of better workers’ rights in the country rings hollow to employees who say they continue to be forced to pay illegal recruitment fees, are underpaid or not paid at all, and struggle to change jobs or get access to justice. Their repeated message is that the reforms are “only on paper”...

The SC’s stance is that not all groups working at stadiums have done so under SC contracts. Nonetheless, all of the affected workers have been on duty at World Cup stadium sites....

Ambet Yuson, the general secretary of the Building and Wood Workers’ International, one of the unions that published the statement, told the Guardian: “Legacy? What legacy? They made so many promises that they would deal with issues after the World Cup, but there has been nothing. Their promises are empty. As the tournament left town, so did the hopes of migrant workers.”

In a remarkable development even the ITUC, which under its former president Sharan Burrow had been a vocal supporter of the Qataris, issued a statement this month expressing concern that there “will be no positive and lasting legacy of the Fifa World Cup”...

Asked whether it was satisfied with the implementation of Qatar’s reforms, Fifa said: “It is undeniable that significant progress has taken place in Qatar. It is equally clear that the enforcement of such transformative reforms takes time and that heightened efforts are needed to ensure the reforms benefit all workers in the country.”...