Story
UAE: Workers at Dubai Expo suppliers report poverty wages, illegal deductions, employer surveillance & poor food provision; cos. did not respond
Shutterstock (purchased)
A report from the AP reveals that workers at suppliers contracted to provide services at the Dubai Expo are paying exorbitant and illegal recruitment fees, experiencing passport confiscation, crowded and unsanitary living conditions, and working up to 70 hour weeks without being paid properly.
We invited Arkan (Ejadah), Emrill Services & First Security Group to respond to allegations of poverty wages, illegal deductions, employer surveillance & poor food provision; none of the companies responded.
The Expo was approached by AP for comment; they referred to a statement they had previously made to NGO Equidem, in response to findings that workers at the Expo had experienced abuse earlier this year.
You can have the best standards in the world, but if you have this inherent power imbalance, workers are in a situation where they’re at risk of exploitation all the time.Mustafa Qadri, executive director of Equidem