McDonald’s and Chuck E Cheese tied to alleged foreign worker exploitation
Summary
Date Reported: 10 Oct 2023
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
IHG Hotels & Resorts - ClientOther
Not Reported ( Hospitality ) - Labour SupplierAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Philippines , Cleaning & maintenance , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Asia & Pacific , Hotel , Gender not reported )Issues
Withholding Passports , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Right to Food , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian; The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: IHG's response to the Resource Centre can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 10 Oct 2023
Location: Oman
Companies
IHG Hotels & Resorts - SiteAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Asia & Pacific - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Restricted mobility , Withholding PassportsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian; the Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: IHG's response to the Resource Centre can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 10 Oct 2023
Location: Kuwait
Companies
IHG Hotels & Resorts - SiteAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Asia & Pacific , Hotel , Gender not reported )Issues
Withholding PassportsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian; the Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: IHG's response to the Resource Centre can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 10 Oct 2023
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Riyadh International Catering Corp. (RICC) - Employer , McDonald's - ClientOther
Not Reported ( Recruitment agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Nepal , Restaurants & bars , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Philippines , Restaurants & bars , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Harassment (other than sexual) , Freedom of Movement , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian; Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Responses from RICC and McDonald's to the Resource Centre can be read in full.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 23 Oct 2023
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Chuck E Cheese (part of CEC Entertainment) - SiteAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Philippines , Restaurants & bars , Gender not reported )Issues
Intimidation , Withholding Passports , Restricted mobility , Right to Food , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian; the Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: CEC did not respond to the Resource Centre's request for comment. Some comments are published in the Guardian coverage.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 10 Oct 2023
Location: United Arab Emirates
Companies
Chuck E Cheese (part of CEC Entertainment) - SiteAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Asia & Pacific , Restaurants & bars , Gender not reported )Issues
Withholding Passports , Intimidation , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian; the Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: CEC did not respond to the Resource Centre's request for comment. Some comments are published in the Guardian coverage.
Source type: News outlet
...
[McDonald's workers] Lee and Sunar are among nearly 100 migrant laborers from Asia who say they’ve been subjected to repressive labor practices while working at the Persian Gulf locations of four well-known American and British brands: McDonald’s, Amazon, Chuck E Cheese and the InterContinental Hotels Group.
The current and former workers say independent employment agents in their home countries coerced them into paying exorbitant recruiting fees, while labor contractors and workplace supervisors in Saudi Arabia and other destination countries subjected them to abuses that included confiscating their passports and limiting their freedom to leave their jobs...
The workers who provided information for this investigation were employed through various arrangements. Workers for McDonald’s, Chuck E Cheese and the UK-headquartered InterContinental Hotels Group in the region are mostly direct employees of franchise holders or other local partners. Workers who say they came to Saudi Arabia from Nepal to work directly for Amazon instead discovered they were employed by Saudi labor supply firms that placed them in contract positions at the online retail giant...
In a statement, a representative from McDonald’s Corporation headquarters in Chicago called the abuses detailed in the workers’ accounts “extremely troubling”. The statement said the global corporation updated its “ethical recruitment” standards last year to provide “a consistent approach” to protecting workers. These standards require that “no migrant worker pays for recruitment fees and related costs to secure their employment”, the statement said...
RICC, the major McDonald’s franchisee in Saudi Arabia, did not answer questions for this story, but said in a statement that it was in the process of updating its employment standards to align with McDonald’s enhanced recruitment standards. “Nothing is more important than ensuring the safety and respect of the employees who keep our restaurants running every day,” RICC said.
Amazon said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” some of its contract workers were not treated with “the dignity and respect they deserve”. The InterContinental Hotels Group and the Chuck E Cheese brand’s parent, CEC Entertainment, said they took fair treatment of workers very seriously...
Many of the 97 current and former workers interviewed for this story agreed to be identified by name. Others spoke on the condition that their identities not be revealed because of concerns about retaliation. To support their accounts, workers provided photos, videos and copies of hundreds of documents, including paystubs, work certificates, passports, employment contracts and plane tickets...