Contractors working in Qatar will need to update their employment contracts, and can expect tougher competition in attracting labour, thanks to a new law that guarantees a minimum wage and makes it easier to change employers, a law firm says.

Coming into effect 9 October this year, Law No. 17 sets the minimum wage at QAR 1,000 per month ($275), plus QAR 500 per month ($137) for accommodation and QAR 300 per month ($82) for food. — Global Construction Review

United Voices of the World (UVW) will support the Section of Architectural Workers (UVW-SAW), as the new union is named, with free in-house legal advice, employment law and organiser training, skill-sharing, workplace representation and negotiation, as well as cross-sector experience and campaigns. Membership is between £6 and £10 per month, depending on income. — The Guardian

The myth of the calling obscures the role of architectural support staff and encourages architects to surrender their workers’ rights. It stands in the way of solidarity between all architectural workers. — Failed Architecture

Seven Chinese labourers who worked on the construction of a casino and resort in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are suing the owner of the project and two of its contractors, alleging they were victims of a forced labour scheme and had suffered injuries on site.

The labourers were working on the Imperial Pacific casino and resort in Saipan, the largest island in the South Pacific commonwealth. — Global Construction Review

The Louvre in Paris turned away thousands of tourists waiting in line to enter the museum yesterday after security staff staged a walkout. The employees are on strike to protest the museum’s handling of its exploding attendance, which exceeded 10 million people last year. This growth has resulted in “unprecedented deterioration in visiting conditions, and obviously working conditions,” according to the guards’ union. — Artnet

A law change that will allow the majority of migrant workers to leave Qatar without permission from their employers has been heralded by campaigners as a landmark in the battle against labour abuses in the build-up to the next World Cup. [...] Under the new law, employers will no longer have the power to deny exit permits to most of their workers, though they will retain this right for 5% of their workforce.

The reforms are a “step towards fundamental rights for migrant workers.” — The Guardian

A Romanian man who used threats of violence and indebtedness to keep a group of his countrymen as slaves while he pocketed their wages from a London construction site has been sentenced to seven years in jail. — Global Construction Review

Migrant workers constructing stadiums for the Qatar 2022 World Cup continue to be trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and exploitation, according to new research by Amnesty International.

Fifa is already under pressure from its own advisory board to act over the kafala system, used to monitor migrant labourers, which has been described as modern slavery. Now, a survey by Amnesty has found two-thirds of migrant workers have paid excessive or illegal recruitment fees. — The Guardian

The French architect Jean Nouvel has defended his Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, a massive domed complex that opens in November, from accusations it was built by exploited and abused migrant workers. [...]

In an interview as the finishing touches are put to the colossal construction, the architect dismissed accusations over exploited workers as an “old question” and insisted conditions for those building the museum were better than for some employed in Europe. — The Guardian

The program was tested in states like New York, California, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania and involved viaduct construction, pavement rehabilitation and highway development projects. The study was extended for five years in January, just before President Trump took office.

Advocates of local employment allowances say hiring from the neighborhood helps offset longstanding racial and gender imbalances in the construction industry. — The New York Times

Migrants building a state-of-the-art stadium for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar are abused and exploited – while FIFA makes huge profits. — Amnesty International

Raised as a monument to Dubai’s aspirations as a center of international commerce, the Frame is now a physical manifestation of the crude system that erected it. — The New York Times

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has announced the launch of a body to oversee the treatment of workers on Qatar’s World Cup stadiums.

Fifa has been under pressure from Amnesty International, among others, over the alleged human rights abuses suffered by construction operatives at World Cup venues. — globalconstructionreview.com

In an interview with The Times, Dame Zaha Hadid said that the Qataris “should do something” about the issue of migrant workers. [...]

“I’m not a defender of the Qatari situation, but it’s important to get the facts right and then we can discuss it. I’m very happy that the press make the government aware of problems on certain sites. But it doesn’t apply to this site.” — designmena.com