MEED’s construction industry survey polled opinion on labour welfare legislation, especially for migrant workers, and found that the majority of respondents were of the view that the law could go further.

Expo officials revealed in October 2018 that nearly 40,000 workers—both manual and non-manual—are expected on the expo site...The scale of Expo 2020 requires that best possible practices are followed in all areas, including worker welfare. A survey respondent says: “The UAE should work towards mandating the Expo 2020’s worker welfare requirements. This may add costs in the short term, but will contribute to raising the UAE’s human rights profile, which may contribute to the further attraction [of investment].”