international trade union confederation

Cornell University Assembly Resolution Urges Weill Qatar Investigation

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The University Assembly passed a resolution Tuesday requesting specific information on labor practices at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar in response to allegations of labor abuses. The resolution requests that details of any and all previous labor investigations or audits conducted at Qatar be sent to Cornell. It passed with a final vote of 10-0-1. Recent protests have revealed a substantial interest in labor practices and conditions in Qatar among students, staff and faculty, according to the resolution. The motivation for the resolution was a report from the International Trade Union Confederation that raised concerns of labor exploitation in Education City in Qatar, possibly even in Cornell facilities, according to Alexander Thomson ’13, executive vice chair of the U.A.
Qatari labor practices enforce the kafala system — a migrant-labor monitoring process which requires all unskilled laborers to have an in-country sponsor but also allows employers to commit massive labor exploitation with minimal legal repercussions, according to the resolution.

Columns

POOR | Better FIFA, Better Cornell

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Last Tuesday, Sepp Blatter returned to FIFA headquarters in Zurich to challenge the ruinous end of his 17-year reign as the leader of the world’s most powerful soccer association. After a year of explosive corruption allegations, raids  and resignations, the FIFA ethics committee found Blatter guilty of conflict of interest, exchanging illicit gifts and dereliction of duty. Citing his approval of a $2 million payment to UEFA president Michel Platini, the committee sentenced Blatter to an eight-year suspension from FIFA soccer in December. Blatter’s suspension is the culmination of many years of alleged corruption, money laundering and bribery within FIFA — international scandals that involved hefty sums of money, national pride and corporate cover-ups. While FIFA’s commercial sponsors, fans and players can appreciate a governing body that mediates internal corruption, FIFA has not yet held itself to the same pinnacle of liability for abuses of power at lower levels of the organization.

Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar

Garrett’s Response to Issues in Qatar Frustrates Students

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Clarification appended
Students from the Cornell Organization for Labor Action are frustrated by the administration’s lack of action, after President Elizabeth Garrett acknowledged through a letter on Nov. 9, but did not approve, a Student Assembly resolution that calls for an investigation of labor practices at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar. Resolution 16 —”Addressing Labor Issues in Qatar” — was sponsored by COLA and adopted by the S.A. in a 24-1-0 vote on Oct. 16. The resolution, which was then conveyed to Garrett on Oct.

News

COLA Holds Weill Workers Teach-In, Responds to Garrett Letter

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Approximately 50 students gathered for Cornell Organization for Labor Action’s teach-in in Warren Hall Wednesday, which aimed to raise awareness about alleged human rights violations at Weill Cornell Medicine in Education City, Qatar. Following the presentation, the students marched to President Elizabeth Garrett’s office to deliver a letter demanding a third-party investigation of Cornell’s Qatar campus. Wednesday afternoon’s teach-in and letter drop are the latest actions in COLA’s Weill Workers Suffer campaign, which demands that the University conducts an independent investigation of the labor practices at Cornell’s Qatar campus and that it upholds its mission of fair labor practices regardless of location. COLA has had difficulties investigating the workers’ conditions since any contact with human rights organizations would result in the workers’ deportations, according to COLA member Hadiyah Chowdhury ’18. However, a report about labor practices on Qatari satellite campuses that was sent to COLA from the International Trade Union Confederation in January 2015 has further motivated their campaign, she added.

News

Students Challenge Garrett On Police Tactics, Labor Issues

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Activists from different student groups publicly challenged President Elizabeth Garrett to respond to instances of intimidation from University police toward protesters as well as alleged labor rights abuses at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar during the inauguration events on Friday. Beginning at 9:10 a.m., before Garrett’s inauguration ceremony, student activists gathered on Ho Plaza and on the Arts Quad to distribute an open letter airing grievances regarding campus police actions against student protesters. The letter, addressed to Garrett and signed by the Cornell Independent Students’ Union, Cornell Graduate Students United, the Cornell Progressive and Students for Justice in Palestine, was distributed to visiting alumni, students and faculty members as they entered the seating area in the Arts Quad. “Last semester the Cornell Police used threats of jail time and fabricated charges to intimidate students who voiced dissenting speech,” the letter reads. “Police, wearing armor and carrying guns, are a common sight at peaceful political demonstrations on the Cornell campus.”

According to Alec Desbordes ’17, a member of CISU, the letter was written in response to a campus police investigation of student protester Daniel Marshall ’15 in April, in which the police investigator threatened criminal charges against Marshall if he did not cooperate by answering the investigator’s questions.

Uncategorized

Qatar Campus Expands Despite Current Economy

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While Cornell faces a $200 million budget shortfall and University-wide budget cuts, the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is continuing to expand. The Qatari campus, which is largely funded by a non-profit organization established by the Qatari government, expects a larger budget and expanded research program next year.
Cornell’s campus in Qatar, a small nation on the Persian Gulf, was established in 2002. It has not yet reached its “full maturity,” said Stephen Cohen, the associate provost of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
“Overall, the student body is still growing and faculty is growing,” he said.

Uncategorized

Weill Qatar’s First Dean and Pioneer Retires Post

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After 43 years as professor and administrator of the Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Daniel R. Alonso announced his retirement as dean of the school’s Qatar campus. When he leaves this January, he will be replaced by Deputy Dean Dr. Javaid Sheikh. Alonso’s retirement comes shortly after the graduation of WCMC-Q’s first class in May.
“He brought really bold vision to the project,” said Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson, senior associate dean of education, WCMC in Manhattan. “He had faith in the project at a time when people weren’t sure it would work.”