The head of the body responsible for World Cup stadium inspections has told ESPN FC that FIFA is bowing to Russian political pressure and afraid to confront construction companies over implementing better working conditions.

Ambet Yuson, the general secretary of Building and Woodworkers International, the global trade union for construction workers, told ESPN FC that "the political climate and sensibilities in Russia" meant "FIFA is unwilling to take on the stadium construction companies and tell them what to do.

He said: "The World Cup stadium inspection system is failing because our recommendations are being ignored.

"The Russian construction companies are not listening to us, and neither FIFA nor the Russian World Cup organising committee do anything about it."

Speaking about the challenges facing BWI's World Cup inspection work, Yuson said FIFA "is not fulfilling its human rights obligations and has to start intervening."

He stressed that it was the responsibility of world football's governing body "to ensure that our recommendations are fulfilled."

Yuson said the World Cup inspection system had effectively been outsourced by FIFA to the Klinsky Institute, a Russian-based company that specialises in labour protection and working conditions.

It carries out stadium inspections jointly with BWI.

He said: "We pass our recommendations to the Klinsky Institute who are responsible for liaising with the construction companies and ensuring that they are implemented.

"But you can't leave it to local inspectors who want to maintain Russian national interests. This is why FIFA has to step in.

"No sanctions have been imposed on any construction companies for not fulfilling our recommendations. Sometimes our recommendations are watered down.

"Monitoring is good, but it has no value if it's not accompanied by change and penalties."

The Klinsky Institute was not available for comment.

Yuson is also a member of FIFA's Human Rights Advisory Board, created in an attempt to ensure that human rights are incorporated into the organising of next year's World Cup, Qatar 2022 and future tournaments.

He was speaking following publication of a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) which claimed World Cup workers in Russia faced exploitation and labour abuses.

Figures compiled by the BWI showed 17 people had died on World Cup stadium sites.

The Saint Petersburg Stadium is one of the Russia 2018 venues. Getty Images

"We are concerned that more will die as we approach stadium completion deadlines with the tournament less than a year away" Yuson said.

"That is why FIFA has to start taking action. The same problems are recurring, and it is the workers who are paying the price."

Yuson said FIFA and Russian construction companies had ignored a number of key recommendations including an independent investigation into the 17 fatalities, contracts for all workers and ensuring that people were paid on time.

He added: "We have had no response from anyone to any of these."

A FIFA spokesperson told ESPN FC: "FIFA does not share the positions voiced by Mr. Yuson. Based on the results of the 58 monitoring visits carried out since April 2016, FIFA has clear evidence that the monitoring system leads to significantly improved labour conditions on the stadium construction sites.

"The average number of inconsistencies and incompliances found per monitoring visit has been reduced by 72 percent during the first year of the system's implementation. Moreover, we find that companies take great strides to address the issues found during our inspections."

Yuson revealed that he would meet FIFA officials next month to discuss improvements to the World Cup monitoring system.

He added: "Our attitude is that we still have time, but it's up to FIFA to ensure that we have a more effective mechanism in place to stop workers from being exploited."