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In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Marjan in the Eastern Province.
A worker at Marjan Increment Project said that during July and June temperatures could reach above 50 degrees Celsius, leading workers to faint "due to a lack of water". One worker paid USD2,160 in fees for the job, taking out a loan at an interest rate of 36% - the worker also describes poor quality food later in the report. He was told he would be directly employed but was instead employed by a supply company. Workers describe waiting 'months' for a day off at the site. A scaffolder at the plant, who reportedly worked 'hard' and would not always get a day off each week, collapsed while at work. The medical site at the project could not treat him and so he had to go to Jubail an hour and a half journey. He allegedly died on his way to hospital. His family were told if they wanted a post-mortem, the repatriation of the worker's body would be delayed. The family did not receive compensation.
A safety official at the site said site managers would be told about safety visits in advance so they could "temporarily upgrade" their standards.
A work permit receiver at the site said he had 'no way' of raising concerns with Aramco. He worried about reprisals if he complained.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Client
,
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Sub-contractor
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
, Services: General
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
,
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
, Construction
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Occupational Health & Safety
,
Heat exposure
,
Injuries
,
Recruitment Fees
,
Contract Substitution
,
Deaths
,
Excessive production targets
,
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time
,
Access to Non-Judicial Remedy
,
Restricted access to medicines
,
Freedom of Expression
,
Right to Food
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Tanajib in the Eastern Province. One 27-year old Nepali worker employed at the Tanajib gas plant was told he would be employed in a hotel only to arrive to find himself working for a construction firm. The worker was charged USD1,010 in recruitment fees, and his passport was confiscated upon arrival. He reportedly worked 12-hour shifts in extreme heat. His colleague reportedly collapsed on site as a result of the heat. The worker was sent home.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Construction
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
, Construction
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Contract Substitution
,
Recruitment Fees
,
Retention of identity documents
,
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time
,
Heat exposure
,
Injuries
,
Occupational Health & Safety
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Al-Jubail in the Eastern Province.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
- Sector unknown
, Gender not reported
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Work & Conditions
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Ras Tanura in the Eastern Province. One welder at the site described 'regularly' working in over 40 degrees Celcius heat and high humidity. The worker says they lacked adequate rest.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
- Sector unknown
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Heat exposure
,
Occupational Health & Safety
,
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Haradh in the Eastern Province.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
- Sector unknown
, Gender not reported
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Work & Conditions
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Duba in Tabuk Province on the Red Sea Coast. A driver at the Duba project said he would wait for over 10 hours for his tanker to be filled and would then drive overnight, without any sleep. If drivers were caught sleeping on Aramco sites then they would allegedly be "barred" from working for Aramco again.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
, Shipping & handling: General
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time
,
Intimidation
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Tabuk on the Red Sea Coast. A tanker driver at Tabuk Bulk Plant said the tanker drivers can be left waiting inside plants for between 12 and 13 hours for their vehicles to be filled up, after which they immediately drive, as they must comply with tight delivery deadlines and are subject to salary deductions if they are delayed. Further, a fuel tanker driver employed by an Aramco subcontractor allegedly died in a traffic accident when returning to his accommodation. The worker allegedly found the job difficult due to extreme hours. His family have not been provided with full details about the incident, and his wife believes he may have fallen asleep at the wheel. His family did not receive compensation from any 'entity in Saudi Arabia', according to the report. The worker had debts from recruitment fee charges to travel to Saudi Arabia. Another worker who drove petroleum from Duba Bulk Plant Terminal to Tabuk reportedly died in Tabuk's parking lot. In the days before his death, he allegedly told colleagues he was not sleeping well and was exhausted from the workload. At the Aramco parking lot in Tabuk, the worker was found unresponsive inside the cubical. His wife was only told about his death three days later. His employer never contacted her, and his death certificate said he died of 'natural causes'. The wide did not receive compensation, and allegedly his employer deducted the cost of the ambulance, post-mortem and flight ticket from his final salary.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
, Shipping & handling: General
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time
,
Excessive production targets
,
Wage Theft
,
Deaths
,
Occupational Health & Safety
,
Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time
,
Access to Information
,
Access to Non-Judicial Remedy
,
Recruitment Fees
,
Debt Bondage
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites in Jeddah in Mecca Province.
The report describes a range of violations, most of which have been added to the appropriate allegations linked to each of the nine sites. However, the report also contains allegations that are not linked to a specific site, including poor living conditions, intimidation, and the death of a worker called Krishna Bahadur Gurung (the worker was a driver who was injured in a traffic incident).
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
- Sector unknown
, Gender not reported
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Deaths
,
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions
,
Intimidation
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 21 May 2026
Location:
Saudi Arabia
In 2026, FairSquare released a report documenting human rights violations impacting Nepali workers on nine Saudi Aramco sites in Saudi Arabia. The workers were employed by 21 direct contractors and indirect subcontractors. The workers were employed as drivers (transporting fuel, other materials or staff), construction workers, and as work permit receivers. One was a warehouse worker.
One of the sites was at Jizan in the Eastern Province. One worker at the site said he had seen people collapsing due to the heat. A Nepali colleague reportedly collapsed while working. The worker was reportedly 'sent' to his room and left alone.
Companies
Saudi Aramco
- Client
Other
Not Reported (
Sector not reported/applicable
)
- Employer
Affected
Total individuals affected:
Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: (
Number unknown
- Nepal
- Sector unknown
, Men
, Unknown migration status
)
Issues
Heat exposure
,
Occupational Health & Safety
,
Access to Non-Judicial Remedy
Response
Response sought: Yes, by NGO
Action taken: FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding its findings and received no reply.
"“Blood, sweat and oil”: new FairSquare report details abusive working conditions at Saudi Aramco sites",
FairSquare research has uncovered serious abuses of migrant workers in Saudi Aramco’s supply chain...FairSquare investigations revealed that workers in its vast supply chain are exposed to extreme heat, subject to excessive working hours, forced to reside in slum housing, and rarely receive compensation following fatalities and injuries...
FairSquare’s report is based on interviews with 27 individuals including former and current workers, and colleagues and relatives of deceased workers...
In the six cases we examined where workers died or sustained disabilities through their work, in only one case was adequate compensation paid to the men or their families, leaving them in debt and unable to meet basic expenses...”
FairSquare has written to Aramco regarding these findings and has received no reply. FairSquare has also written to FIFA regarding its ongoing partnership with Aramco and has received no response...