Mick Hartley

From, of all places, the Sun:

One of the showpiece stadiums for next year’s World Cup in Russia is being built using North Korean “slaves” who earn just £8 for a 17-hour day, a shocking report claims.

At least 110 North Koreans have toiled on the 68,000-capacity Zenit Arena in St Petersburg, with most workers forced to sleep in freezing and crowded shipping containers fenced off by barb wire just yards from the construction site. One migrant was allegedly found dead inside one from a heart attack.

Various humanitarian organisations describe the workers as slaves and hostages, according to Norwegian researchers Josimar, who compiled the report. They have absolutely no rights, never get a day off and many have no choice but to commit to ten-year contracts.

Four stadium workers died between August and Christmas after being electrocuted or falling into concrete, with one project manager calling it the “most chaotic site I have ever seen”.

Fifa was said to have been alerted over the death of the North Korean, but reportedly failed to act.

Workers from the secretive state go to Russia under the orders of Kim Jong-un’s regime and face serious consequences back home if they do not comply.

Up to 90 per cent of the money supposed to go the workers is taken by the North Korean government, with the UN estimating the rogue state makes £1.6billion a year through its workforce abroad.

Andrey Yakimov, a lawyer and social anthropologist with the St Petersburg-based PSP Foundation, said of the workers: “They don’t come here voluntarily. They are under contract with the regime at home. Companies in Russia set up by the North Korean government sell their workers to potential employers.

“They’re under almost constant surveillance. They have very little contact with others. They’re paid a minimum. There is no end to the ungrateful job tasks they are given. These are unskilled labourers, with little or no knowledge of modern tools. When recruited, they are promised bigger rice rations and Kim Jong-un’s eternal gratitude.”

Ha.

More at South Korea's Chosun Ilbo.

There were reports back in November last year of a North Korean worker dying at the St Petersburg stadium. That's presumably the same case mentioned here, but now with added information from the Norwegian researchers.

Certainly we have plenty of accounts of the appalling lives of these North Korean workers in Russia. That they're working on a World Cup stadium should really be no surprise, given FIFA's record. In fact, as with Qatar in 2022, it's becoming part of the great World Cup tradition.