The monitoring system put in place to review and strengthen working conditions in stadiums being renovated or built for the FIFA World Cup™ has proven a success since its inception over two and a half years ago.

The system was developed by FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) in collaboration with the Klinsky Institute of Labour Protection and Working Conditions, to determine whether or not the working conditions at the stadiums hosting the event complied with applicable conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the laws of the Russian Federation, and best practices in ensuring health and safety and decent working conditions.

In the almost two years that the system was running, the average number of incompliances in labour documentation found by the experts of the Klinsky Institute was reduced by 74 per cent. The number of inconsistences at stadiums’ construction sites diminished by 60 per cent since the introduction of the monitoring system.

To further strengthen the monitoring system, FIFA and the LOC have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) and the Russian Construction Workers Union (RBWU). As part of that collaboration, BWI and RBWU provided input to the monitoring methodology and accompanied in over 30 monitoring visits.

“In preparing for the tournament, construction and major renovation of stadiums is almost always necessary,” Federico Addiechi, FIFA’s Head of Sustainability and Diversity said. “And, as with all construction, there are considerable risks to construction workers. With the system and our collaboration with trade unions in Russia, we were able to identify issues and bring them to the attention of the companies, review them regularly and thereby contribute to reducing the risks to construction workers in significant ways.”

During each stadium visit, the monitoring team reviewed all relevant documentation, followed up on critical issues, inspected the construction sites and interviewed employees at random and provided relevant training to construction supervisors.

“This complex system of monitoring and assessing working conditions was introduced for a mega-sporting event as part of our Sustainability strategy,” Milana Verkhunova, the LOC’s Head of Sustainability said. “We are sure that the knowledge and experience gained during the implementation will be helpful for future FIFA World Cups and will also become best practice in the construction industry in the Russian Federation.”

“I think it is very important that FIFA has undertaken this role, which allows us, the responsible trade union to monitor the working conditions of people in the construction industry,” Boris Soshenko, Chairman of the Russian Construction Workers Union said. “There was more order on the construction sites and there were fewer unfortunate accidents.”

For more information, please see the attached factsheet.