Saudi Arabia: 600 migrant construction workers allegedly protest eight months wage theft at PIF-funded USD26bn Mecca-based development project
“Saudi Arabia: Migrant Workers in Mecca Arrested for Demanding Unpaid Wages”
…At least 600 migrant workers employed by Saudi Arabian Baytur Construction Company have not received their salaries for at least eight months, Human Rights Watch said today. The actual figure of unpaid workers could be significantly higher. The workers at the US$26 billion Mecca-based Masar redevelopment project, funded by the nearly trillion-dollar Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), resorted to work stoppages…
Human Rights Watch wrote to Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources and Social Development Ministry, Saudi Arabian Baytur, Umm Al Qura Development & Construction, and the PIF asking for more details and clarifications regarding the case. Only Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources Ministry responded…
The Masar redevelopment project in Mecca is one of several high-profile wage theft cases in Saudi Arabia documented by Human Rights Watch. This includes wage theft cases at state-owned oil company Aramco’s project sites… [At the time, Aramco did not respond to Human Rights Watch's request for comment - see more here]
In addition to group cases, Human Rights Watch has documented numerous individual cases of alleged wage abuses and contract violations, including in a 2024 report which documented violations linked to PIF-backed companies and projects, including NEOM and the Saudi Manpower Services Company (SMASCO). Saudi authorities, the PIF, NEOM, SMASCO, and others in the report did not respond to Human Rights Watch’s queries…