Dubai’s Expo 2020 hit by allegations of migrant worker exploitation

Migrant workers in the UAE say they had to pay illegal recruitment fees and had their passports confiscated

Cleaners work at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 3 October, 2021. (AP)

Migrant workers at Dubai’s multibillion-dollar Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face widespread labour exploitation and racial discrimination, according to a new report by a human rights group.

Workers at the event - including security guards, bar staff and cleaners - say they were made to pay illegal recruitment fees, had their passports confiscated and wages withheld, found the report by the London-based consultancy Equidem.

The international fair - which started last October and runs until March - hopes to welcome 25 million visitors and has attracted sponsorship from major brands as well as stars including Cristiano Ronaldo. It has been hailed as the ‘world’s greatest show’ and presents the latest trends in sustainability and technology.

But while the event has offered the UAE an opportunity to burnish its credentials as a globalised place attractive to tourists and investors, it has also drawn scrutiny over the treatment of migrant workers.

Interviews with about 70 workers at the event found that conditions breached the UAE’s labour laws, with illegal practices including the retention of staff passports and the non-payment of wages, according to Equidem.

In total, 83 per cent of the interviewees said they had to pay illegal recruitment fees and/or were not paid in full, while 37 per cent reported three or more indicators of forced labour.

An unnamed Indian national told the rights group he had not received full payment for his work, despite receiving assurances from his bosses to the contrary.

“The way they treat the staff is like slaves, I mean modern day slavery,” he told Equidem.

Another worker, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there was also a lot of racial discrimination at Expo 2020 Dubai.

“Some of the workers were given redundancy but especially among the Africans, they were given redundancy without pay,” she said.

Foreigners outnumber locals nearly nine to one in the UAE. Undergirding the machinery of daily life is the country’s labor sponsorship system, which employs millions of low-paid workers from Africa the Middle East and Southeast Asia and has long drawn accusations of mistreatment for failing to ensure fair wages, hours and living conditions.

Citing its findings, Equidem called on the Emirati authorities to protect workers by enforcing its labour laws and by ending a ban on trade unionism.

Mustafa Qadri, the organisation’s chief executive, said there was a “significant disconnect” between the UAE’s ambition of being a modern, cosmopolitan state and its forced labour practices.

“If women and men are being subjected to these exploitative practices at Expo 2020 Dubai, where the resources available for monitoring labour compliance and the standards applied are higher than the national labour regime, questions must be raised about the risks of forced labour and other forms of exploitation in the UAE more broadly,” he added.

The UAE did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.

Before the Expo opened in September, the European parliament called on member states to boycott the event over the UAE’s “inhumane practices” against migrant workers which it said were exacerbated in the pandemic

The UAE rejected the resolution at the time as “factually incorrect” and said its laws enshrine fair treatment for all.