I would be delighted to see Scotland qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but I have grave concerns about the way the host country is preparing to host this great event.

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That’s why I am supporting the UCATT and BWI campaign to demand FIFA and the Qatari government to, amongst other things, uphold respect, dignity and equality for migrant workers and ensure they are paid a living wage.

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UCATT representatives on a recent Building Workers International mission to Qatar uncovered shocking human rights abuses.•Migrant construction workers are being worked to death, and treated as slaves by employers and agencies, as the country increases construction in the run-up to the football World Cup in 2022.

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The visit revealed horrific exploitation of migrant workers from Nepal, India and Pakistan. They are being forced to live inside inhumane and squalid work camps, drink salt water and get paid just 57p an hour. It is reported that some 1,200 construction workers have died in recent years. The levels of poverty pay are especially stark given that Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

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UCATT is leading an international political campaign to increase worldwide pressure on the Qatari authorities to take actions to end these practices.

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It has joined forces with Building Workers International to put pressure on the international football authority FIFA to show Qatar a World Cup red card following the exposure of mass deaths and vile exploitation of construction workers in the region.

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Fellow Labour MP Jim Murphy supporting the campaign.

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Steve Murphy, General Secretary of construction union UCATT, said: “The support of so many current and future MPs is putting more pressure on Qatar to end the appalling exploitation of migrant workers. FIFA can no longer ignore this human misery and must tell Qatar that if they do not end this exploitation they will be stripped of the World Cup in 2022.”

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For more information see:•www.ucatt.org.uk/shocking-exploitation-found-qatar-fact-finding-mission.

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