Migrant workers are seen at a construction site near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 03 March, 2024. (Photo … More
On Wednesday, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its African affiliate filed a formal complaint against Saudi Arabia, calling on the International Labour Organization (ILO) to investigate the alleged exploitation – and deaths – of migrant workers in the Arab Kingdom. Earlier on the same day, Saudi Arabia and the ILO renewed their cooperation.
“This next phase of cooperation focuses on practical reforms to strengthen labour market institutions, improve working conditions and expand protections for vulnerable workers,” said ILO director-general Gilbert Houngbo. “It reflects a shared commitment to advancing labour policies that are aligned with international standards and national priorities.”
Houngbo, the former PM of Togo, has repeatedly praised Saudi labor progress in the past, but trade unions disagree with the ILO boss. They called for “urgent international action and accountability” through the establishment of a “Commission of Inquiry”, which is a powerful tool within the ILO system, serving as a “quasi-judicial procedure”.
ITUC and ITUC Africa pointed to widespread abuses of migrant workers’ rights, including examples of workers being forced to work up to 20 hours a day, wafe theft, and even subjected to beatings.
“Workers are being treated as disposable in Saudi Arabia. They leave alive and return in coffins,” said Joel Odigie, General Secretary of ITUC-Africa, in a statement. “Enough is enough. The world cannot stay silent while migrant workers are enslaved, abused and discarded. This is a defining moment for the international community. The ILO must act.”
The ITUC decision follows the complaint of the Building and Wood Workers’ International that focused on the violation of freedom of association and representation under article 24 of the ILO Constitution. ITUC Africa previously raised the fate of African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia with FIFA, but last January, soccer’s governing body in a letter from its general secretary Mattias Grafstrom rejected a request to monitor the conditions of migrant workers.
The Arab Kingdom received the hosting rights to the 2034 tournament, prompting more scrutiny of its labor practices and legal framework. Eleven years ago, ITUC filed a similar complaint but dropped it when Qatar, the 2022 World Cup host nation, promised reforms. It was part of the lengthy buildup to the first global finals in the Middle East that shone a spotlight on the plight of migrant workers who helped transform the Gulf nation. Migrant workers often faced high recruitment fees, passport confiscation, long working hours, heat stress and wage theft.
The scale of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup preparations will exceed Qatar’s with giga-projects all over the Kingdom, including a futuristic, linear city in Neom, eleven new World Cup venues, the Mukaab and an “aerotropolis”. To realize these projects, Saudi Arabia will rely on millions of migrant workers, mostly hailing from the subcontinent and Africa. They will be subjected to kafala which ties workers to their employers.
Kafala dominates the labor market in the Middle East. Qatar’s reforms remain deeply contested. Saudi Arabia has already enacted reform on paper and last year, Saudi World Cup organizers assured FIFA they would provide “equitable wages and decent working and living conditions for all individuals involved in World Cup preparations.”
“This (kafala) system strips workers of their freedom and dignity, silences complaints and grants employers near-total control over their lives,” said ITUC, pointing out that Saudi Arabia “has shown no real intention to address the situation.”
Saudi Arabia has not yet signalled a willingness to engage with NGOs or other rights groups. Unions remain prohibited in Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi government minister Ahmed Al Rajhi said at the 113th International Labour Conference: “Safeguarding workers rights is one of the initiatives by the Kingdom. It has implemented a wage protection system. We also paid importance to domestic workers who have full rights.”
Qatar worked with the ILO, but the UN body’s role was controversial, receiving $25 million in funding from the host state to fund the Doha-based office. The Gulf nation pressed the ILO not to investigate abuses. Saudi Arabia’s new agreement with the ILO includes the establishment of an ILO office in Riyadh, according to sources close to the UN body.
“If this programme is to be truly transformative for migrant workers, it must among other things fully tackle the core features of the abusive kafala system that leave workers wholly dependent on their employers,” said Iain Byrne, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice. “The fact that global unions filed a formal complaint against the country at the ILO on the very same day as this agreement was signed, speaks volumes of just how far Saudi Arabia still has to go to protect the rights of migrant workers in the country.”
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has been approached for comment.
