As Saudi Arabia’s renewables sector stands on the cusp of significant expansion, migrant workers powering the country’s green energy boom are suffering a double indignity: severe abuse, followed by an alarming failure by major multinational companies to provide remedy.

According to research published by the Business and Human Rights Centre, major multinational companies and banks have failed to ensure timely remedy – despite being aware for several months of the human rights harms workers faced last year.

Following abuses unearthed in 2025, workers re-interviewed in 2026 said they have received no remedy for the abuses and conditions on the projects have remained the same. Some even reported new harms. The workers’ calls for remedy were clear: immediate corrective measures, longer-term reparations, and preventative actions to address the structural drivers of abuse and prevent recurrence of harm – but many admitted they had lost faith in their employer amid a pervasive culture of corporate impunity.

Almost half of the workers were directly employed by Larsen & Toubro, India’s largest construction company. Other multinationals connected to the abuse include major global energy firms such as ACWA Power, Air Products and Saudi Aramco and financiers of the renewable projects such as JPMorgan, HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Key findings from worker interviews

• No workers were offered or received any form of remedy; none knew of any colleagues who were offered remedy.
• Fourteen of the seventeen workers still employed by the same companies said working conditions remained the same.
• None of the workers were asked about their working conditions by their employer or any other entity.
• Ten workers reported increased precarity, accumulating debts and deteriorated working conditions since 2025, including new violations and heightening risks due to the US/Israel-Iran war, including acute risks from missile attacks.
• When asked what remediation they would like, workers called for immediate corrective measures, improved working conditions, and preventive actions to stop the recurrence of harm.

Catriona Fraser, Migrant Workers Researcher, Business and Human Rights Centre, said: “Almost a year after we exposed egregious violations, including ILO indicators of forced labour, no worker we interviewed this year has received any form of remedy and most report that conditions on the projects remain the same. This is deeply concerning, not least because these companies cannot credibly claim they were unaware of these allegations.

“When asked, workers told us exactly what remedy they want: the immediate repayment of recruitment fees and stolen wages, protection from the extreme heat, and salaries that can relieve their families from cycles of poverty and debt. What they have received instead is silence. Companies and financiers connected to the abuse are major multinationals with the power and leverage to ensure workers receive remedy. They must seize this narrow window of opportunity to act – or face significant operational risks, with consequential legal, financial and reputational damage. Ensuring justice for affected workers is not an optional extra; it is essential to delivering an energy transition that is not only fast, but fair.”

Insufficient grievance mechanisms and lack of oversight

The report also found that the companies in question do not have sufficient oversight over workers on the ground.

An assessment of the grievance mechanisms of the two EPC contractors (L&T and POWERCHINA) and five project developers (ACWA Power, Air Products, NEOM, the PIF and Saudi Aramco) found none of them meet minimum international standards for effectiveness, raising serious questions about whether migrant workers have access to mechanisms they can practically use and trust without fear of retaliation.

• Only four had a publicly available grievance mechanisms for supply chain workers. L&T, PIF and POWERCHINA did not disclose a publicly available grievance mechanism.
• None outlined how the mechanism is communicated effectively to supply chain workers.
• None disclosed efforts to engage with rightsholders to ensure workers trust the mechanism.

Fraser said: “It is deeply concerning that none of the developers and contractors linked to this abuse have a grievance mechanism that meets basic international standards. In severely repressive contexts like Saudi Arabia, these mechanisms are often the most accessible and, in practice, sometimes the only realistic channel for workers to access justice and seek accountability. Without them, workers are subjected to abuse with near impunity.

“We cannot have an energy transition that is built on exploitation. Every company named in this report has a shared responsibility to act now. Multinationals and global banks powering these projects must open their eyes to the very real human cost of Saudi Arabia’s green energy boom, or face building significant legal, financial and reputational risk into the foundation of the projects they touch.”

// ENDS

• Business and Human Rights Centre (BHRC) is a global organisation working at the intersection of business and human rights. With partners and allies worldwide, we seek to put human rights at the heart of business to deliver a just economy, climate justice, and end abuse. Find out more about our approach here.
• About this research: This is a follow-up to our 2025 report. Between March and July 2026, 26 workers (24 Nepali and two Bangladeshi) were re-interviewed. These workers were employed across nine projects (five of which are named in this report), mostly in construction. Workers were asked whether anything has changed on the projects, whether any forms of remedy have been promised or provided, and what remediation or improvements they would like to see. Alongside this, BHRC conducted an analysis of grievance mechanisms of the seven companies linked to the abuse through their supply chains. Full methodology is available in the report.