Construction in Qatar: What are the Moral and Bottom Line Risks of Oppressive Labor Practices? How do we Account for These Risks?

The Guardian Newspaper has a report this week about abusive working conditions on Qatar construction projects.  Here is Bloomberg Business Week:

Should American construction and engineering groups () be called to account for worker mistreatment at offshore projects they manage?  Britain’s Guardian newspaper reports that immigrant workers on a massive construction project in Qatar are being treated inhumanely and dying at a rate of almost one per day from on-the-job accidents and heart failure.   

Parsons Corp., in Pasadena, Calif., is managing construction of the $45 billion Lusail City project near the capital city, Doha, that’s being built by Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund to accommodate the 2022 soccer World Cup. A British unit of CH2M Hill, in Meridian, Colo., is listed on Lusail City’s website as one of three key contractors on the project. The two others are Hyder Consulting (HYC:LN) of Britain and Denmark’s Cowi.

Sitting in tall buildings in New York, London, Chicago, or San Francisco, the labor practices on the ground, far away, are not apparent when we negotiate construction and CM services contracts for projects like the Qatar World Cup stadiums.  Do local abusive labor practices present a risk factor for our clients working abroad?  How do we mitigate against this risk?  In this case, Parsons, CH2MHill, and Hyder Consulting seem to convey a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil approach ....  Is it enough to say "we don't have control over, and are not responsible for the labor practices of local contractors?"

The Guardian:

[C]ritics of a system that has been likened to modern-day slavery point out that Qatar already has more robust labour laws than many other countries in the region, but they are often not adhered to by the web of contractors and subcontractors in a huge construction boom with tens of thousands of migrant labourers who are tied to their employer by law.

What are the risks for companies like Parsons and CH2MHill?  There is, of course, risk that a company's reputation and image will be adversely affected, there is heightened risk of sabotage or insurrection with an oppressed workforce, and there is increased risk of high rates of accident and death.  Abusive labor conditions can disrupt work progress, impact the quality of work, and expose Western general contractors and construction managers to possible legal action by human rights groups, or labor groups.   Finally, there is the moral hazard:  do we as individuals, or as companies, want to be associated with abusive labor practices?  These risk factors should be considered when we negotiate these contracts.

Here is a link to the Guardian's Video.