“Die First, and I'll Pay You Later”: Saudi Arabia’s ‘Giga-Projects’ Built on Widespread Labor Abuses
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Saudi Manpower Supply Company (SMASCO) - Employer , Public Investment Fund - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Irregular Work , Wage Theft , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Restricted mobility , Contract Substitution , Recruitment Fees , Precarious/Unsuitable Living ConditionsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Human Rights Watch
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The company did not respond to HRW. Researchers identified Saudi Manpower Supply Company as a company either specifically engaged in either PIF-linked projects such as NEOM and the Red Sea Project or backed or partially owned by PIF or serve other PIF-backed companies.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Red Sea Global - Other Value Chain Entity , Public Investment Fund - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Recruitment agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Wage Theft , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Restricted mobility , Contract SubstitutionResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Human Rights Watch
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Red Sea Global did not respond to HRW
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Takamol Holding - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to InformationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Human Rights Watch
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: In their response to a Human Rights Watch question on the number of successfully completed job transfer requests, Takamol Holding wrote, “Since 2021, a total of 4,389,950 sponsor transfer requests have been submitted via Qiwa platform.” However, Takamol did not share how many transfer requests were successfully completed, nor provide a detailed breakdown on the reasons for rejected requests. In their response on Human Rights Watch’s question about accessibility of the Qiwa platform for migrant workers, Takamol Holding wrote, “Qiwa offers its services in six different languages to cater to the diverse linguistic needs of the workforce in Saudi Arabia. Qiwa also regularly conducts workshops, with a minimum of 50 sessions held annually. Additionally, a knowledge center on the Qiwa website provides detailed service explanations, frequently asked questions, and guidelines.”
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Public Investment Fund - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Construction ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Construction , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Recruitment Fees , Contract SubstitutionResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Human Rights Watch
Action taken: PIF did not respond to HRW.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Furniture ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Contract Substitution , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 40
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal - Sector unknown , Gender not reported , Documented migrants )Issues
Contract Substitution , Irregular Work , Access to Information , Restricted mobility , IntimidationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Manufacturing: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Manufacturing: General , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Contract Substitution , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Denial of leave , Access to Non-Judicial RemedyResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
NEOM Co. - Other Value Chain Entity , Public Investment Fund - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Construction , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Contract Substitution , Wage Theft , Heat exposure , Restricted mobility , Illness , Occupational Health & Safety , Right to Food , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Excessive production targets , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to Water , Denial of leaveResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Human Rights Watch
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Human Rights Watch received responses from NEOM, saying they intend to respond in the near future.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Deaths , Occupational Health & Safety , Access to Non-Judicial RemedyResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Cleaning & maintenance ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - India , Cleaning & maintenance , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Deaths , Occupational Health & Safety , Access to Non-Judicial RemedyResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Cleaning & maintenance ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Cleaning & maintenance , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Wage Theft , DeathsResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Food & beverage ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Food & beverage , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Deaths , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to InformationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 4 Dec 2024
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Construction ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Construction , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Deaths , Access to InformationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
...Migrant workers are the engine of Saudi Arabia’s massive construction boom. There are 13.4 million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, representing 42 percent of the country’s population. Yet despite their indispensable contributions, Human Rights Watch has found, based on interviews with 156 current and former workers from Saudi Arabia or workers’ family members between 2023-2024, that migrant workers are facing widespread labor abuses across employment sectors and geographic regions. Saudi authorities are systematically failing to protect them from and remedy these abuses.
This blatant failure to protect migrant workers creates a near certainty that the 2034 World Cup, which the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has engineered to award to Saudi Arabia as the sole bidder, will be stained with pervasive rights violations...
The FIFA World Cup is just one of the significant planned projects requiring massive construction under Vision 2030. Saudi Arabia’s government has been on a petro-wealth spending spree over the past half decade that has allocated hundreds of billions of dollars to develop megaprojects and self-described “giga-projects” across the country...