Commenting on Johanna Karlsson’s expose on Qatar Airways, Gabriel Mocho, ITF aviation secretary said: “This excellent piece really gets to the heart of the issue for staff at Qatar Airways. Told by flight attendants, we hear about the surveillance, curfews and imprisonment of Qatar Airways crew. The invasion of privacy and extreme rules are all […]
There is little doubting the ambitions of the giant Middle Eastern airlines, but recent large plane orders demonstrated just how aggressively these carriers plan to compete in coming years. The three airlines — Emirates, Etihad Airlines and Qatar Airways — all based in a small area, already operate more wide-body airplanes than all the American […]
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), a grouping of trade unions representing 4.5m transport employees around the world, was never going to be Qatar’s biggest fan. Unions are banned in the ultra-rich Gulf state, where expatriates account for 94% of the total work force. Little wonder, then, that one disgruntled cabin-crew member at Qatar Airways […]
By James Dorsey Controversy over conditions for unskilled and semi-skilled workers in Qatar involved in the construction of World Cup-related infrastructure as well as for flight attendants of Qatar Airways, the 2022 tournament’s likely official carrier, has moved center stage as world soccer body FIFA prepares to debate next week the Gulf state’s hosting of […]
Qatar Airways has come under scrutiny on Wednesday after it was accused of forcing its female workers to seek permission from the company when they decide to get married. In a report released by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) on Tuesday, the airline was found to also mandate that women tell a supervisor if they become […]
The session on anti-union Gulf states this morning heard from an ITF panel composed of Sarah Finke, Mahendra Sharma, Stuart Howard, and Gabriel Mocho. They covered the following points: Freedom of association in the Gulf States is a regional matter but also a global one. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways are global businesses that avoid […]
Commenting on the failure and withdrawal of the Qatari government’s bid to have the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) headquarters relocated from Canada to the country’s capital, Doha, ITF president Paddy Crumlin said: “This is great news. Democracy, common sense and a respect for workers’ rights have triumphed. Qatar has to change. The outrage that […]