The docket of alleged abuses, from “rampant wage theft” to near-forced labor, read just like a chapter of recent World Cup history. On a Zoom call last week, Michael Page outlined the findings of a Human Rights Watch report that, based on 155 interviews and two years of research, detailed “dangerous” conditions for migrant workers. He explained how the notorious kafala system binds those migrants to employers. He said that many are “compelled” to pay “near universal, exorbitant, illegal recruitment fees.” He touched on “pervasive enforcement gaps” in labor laws, “minimal protections for heat,” “insufficient” investigations of worker deaths, and the lack of a minimum wage.
Saudi Arabia 2034: Another FIFA World Cup of migrant worker abuse, repressed human rights and ‘sham’ processes
