2034 FIFA World Cup Bid: BWI Lodges Complaint Against Saudi Arabia Over Forced Labour and Wage Theft
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 5 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Other
Not Reported ( Labour supplier ) - Employer , Not Reported ( Restaurants & bars ) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Services: General , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Contract Substitution , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Mandatory overtime , Wage Theft , Intimidation , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 4 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Kenya , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Rape & sexual abuse , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Freedom of Expression , Access to Justice & Legal Protection , Injuries , Violence , Intimidation , Right to Food , Wage Theft , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 5 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Other
Not Reported ( Security companies ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India , Security companies , Men , Undocumented migrants )Issues
Denial of leave , Restricted mobility , Intimidation , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to Justice & Legal Protection , Failing to renew visas , Retention of identity documentsResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: After almost a year, with the support of the Embassy services to which his family had appealed in the home country, the Saudi Court delivered a judgement in his favour, and the case was dismissed. At present, the worker is still in jail, awaiting the completion of the administrative procedures that will allow hm to return to India.
Source type: News outlet
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 5 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Other
Not Reported ( Retail ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Filippine , Services: General , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Retention of identity documents , Wage Theft , Denial of leave , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Contract Substitution , Sexual harassment , Rape & sexual abuse , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , IntimidationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 5 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Companies
Saudi Oger - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Filippine - Sector unknown , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Retention of identity documents , Wage Theft , Right to Food , Intimidation , Freedom of Expression , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Freedom of Association , Freedom of AssemblyResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: To date, the workers wages have still not been settled.
Source type: NGO
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 5 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Companies
Mohammad Al-Mojil Group - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Construction , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Issues
Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Riepilogo
Date Reported: 5 Giu 2024
Location: Arabia Saudita
Companies
Saudi Aramco - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Construction ) - Employer , Not Reported ( Construction & building materials: General ) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Construction , Men , Unknown migration status )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Contract Substitution , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Precarious/Unsuitable Living ConditionsResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: NGO
In a landmark case, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) is filing two formal complaints with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against Saudi Arabia for severe human rights abuses and wage theft involving at least 21,000 construction workers by various but mainly two now-bankrupt Saudi construction companies alone.
The complaint emphasises the exploitative living and working conditions among the country’s vast migrant workforce: conditions that BWI notes are akin to forced labour. As Saudi Arabia positions itself to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, this complaint demands immediate attention from FIFA and the international community. FIFA is expected to receive the single bid for the 2034 World Cup host in July.
The complaint calls for a thorough ILO investigation into these violations, emphasizing the urgent need for remedy and adherence to international labour standards. In response to BWI’s complaint, numerous trade unions in South and South-East Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa and human rights organisations who have identified and documented similar violations in Saudi Arabia are supporting this call to the ILO…
Among the many cases received by the BWI and other human rights organisations, findings based on direct evidence from around 200 migrant construction workers, paint a grim picture. Indicators of forced labour, as defined by the ILO, are rampant…