16 Mar 2025
Saudi Arabia: East African & Saudi Arabian govt. officials allegedly profit from "deadly trade" in domestic workers through recruitment cos. investment
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Mar 2025
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: 2
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Kenya , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Right to Food , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to Justice & Legal Protection , Retention of identity documentsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: The reporting says: "nearly every staffing agency refused to answer questions or ignored repeated requests for comment. That includes Mr. Muli."
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Mar 2025
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Macro Manpower - Employer , Al Mawarid Manpower - ClientAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Work & ConditionsResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: The company did not respond to the journalists.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Mar 2025
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - Labour SupplierAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Uganda , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobility , Wage Theft , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Right to Food , Heat exposure , Injuries , Access to Justice & Legal ProtectionResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Mar 2025
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Sakan Company - Other Value Chain EntityOther
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - Labour SupplierAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Kenya , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Deaths , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Access to Justice & Legal Protection , Access to Information , Dismissal , Restricted mobility , Right to FoodResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: Sakan’s chairman declined to comment to the journalists.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Mar 2025
Location: Saudi Arabia
Companies
Saudi Manpower Supply Company (SMASCO) - Other Value Chain EntityAffected
Total individuals affected: 3
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Kenya , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
Action taken: The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 16 Mar 2025
Location: Saudi Arabia
Other
Not Reported ( Domestic worker agencies ) - Labour SupplierAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Kenya , Cleaning & maintenance , Women , Unknown migration status )Issues
Deaths , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Sexual harassment , Rape & sexual abuse , Access to InformationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Her employer, Abdullah Omar Abdul al-Rahman Hailan, said that her account was “misleading and incorrect” and called a Times reporter “a clown.”
Source type: News outlet
“Why Maids Keep Dying in Saudi Arabia”
At least 274 Kenyan workers, mostly women, have died in Saudi Arabia in the past five years…
But Mr. Muli…owns a staffing company that sends women to Saudi Arabia…
…Members of the Saudi royal family are major investors in agencies that place domestic workers…
…The company that sent her abroad is owned by …an official with Uganda’s governing party…
Nearly every staffing agency refused to answer questions or ignored repeated requests for comment…
Ms. Nassanga said a friend introduced her in 2019 to an agent from Marphie International Recruitment Agency…
The African countries provide a “new and lower-cost services market,” …Maharah Human Resources Company, wrote in 2019…
Some of King Faisal’s descendants, through a holding company, have been important shareholders in both Maharah … and… Saudi Manpower Solutions Company, or Smasco…
Al Mawarid, yet another big staffing company, also has deep government ties…
… Al Mawarid has paid about $4 million to acquire workers from Macro Manpower…
Al Mawarid’s chief executive…declined to answer questions…
…To help address that, the Saudi government paid a company, Sakan, to provide housing and legal assistance to foreign workers in trouble. …
…Sakan’s chairman declined to comment…
…. [Smasco] did not respond to requests for comment…