January 17 – A complaint accusing Saudi Arabia of abusing migrant workers has been deemed admissable by the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation amid fears this could increase as the country prepares to host the 2034 World Cup.
Last June, the Building and Wood Workers’ International union filed a complaint with the ILO, a United Nations agency, on behalf of 21,000 alleged victims of “severe human rights abuses” and wage theft in Saudi Arabia.
It alleged that “exploitative living and working conditions among the country’s vast migrant workforce” were “akin to forced labour”.
The complaints focussed on two Saudi-based construction firms, BWI and Equidem, that went bankrupt in 2016.
Human rights groups have warned that a pending stadium construction boom could expose many workers to danger, similar to concerns that were raised in advance of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo refused to discuss the substance of the individual complaint but in a briefing ahead of a visit he is making to Saudi Arabia insisted the country was being transparent over the issue of migrant workers.
“The authorities have told me that they really want to work with ILO,” Houngbo told reporters, adding that the Saudis were “ready to work and correct” any potential violations.
But, he stressed, “the proof is in the pudding”.
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