Security guards in Qatar still being paid as little as 35p an hour

Security guards employed by a company with contracts at sites linked to the World Cup in Qatar are allegedly still being paid as little as 35 pence an hour, four months after the Guardian first revealed their plight.

In a Guardian investigation, published on the eve of the World Cup, the guards alleged they were being subjected to abusive practices, including overtime pay below the legal minimum. Interviews this month with security guards employed by Al Nasr Star Security Services at multiple sites suggests the issue of illegal pay remains.

While the company pays a basic wage in line with the law, overtime pay appears to be far below the legal limit, with workers claiming they receive only 150 rials (£34) for up to 104 hours of overtime in a month, the equivalent of less than 35 pence an hour. The Guardian has seen pay notifications that support these allegations.

The findings call into question the repeated claims made by Fifa and the Qatari authorities that the World Cup would transform the treatment of hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers in the country. One guard claimed staff at the company had become emboldened in the wake of the World Cup, telling him: “Now Fifa is done you have to put up with the situation. There’s nowhere you can go and nothing you can do.”

In some cases, workers alleged they are being paid even less than before, after Al Nasr Star Security Services required them to take time off in an apparent attempt to comply with regulations limiting working hours. The guards opposed the change, saying they need to work long hours to make up for their low wages.

“The situation has become worse. Now they are punishing us,” said one guard, who explained that after the Guardian’s report some workers were