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The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
It is time the left made a case for immigration – and how to control it
Public concern about migration is not an issue the Left can afford to ignore. On the doorstep and at the ballot box, people are making clear their dissatisfaction with the current immigration system. This is not a reason to change our values, but to speak clearly, credibly and honestly. The British public hasn't turned its back on friends, co-workers, and neighbours from overseas or on our proud tradition of offering sanctuary to people fleeing war and persecution. What they're rejecting is a system that often feels chaotic and unfair. Those seeking asylum can wait years in limbo while hotel costs spiral. Rogue employers can exploit migrant workers with impunity. And local services – schools, hospitals, housing – have been so underinvested in that communities can feel abandoned. The populist right has wasted no time in exploiting this frustration by spreading baseless myths that blame migrant workers and asylum seekers for everything from cuts to the winter fuel allowance and disability support to the cost of living crisis. These claims are dangerous and false. And if the left doesn't offer serious, workable solutions those lies will continue to fill the vacuum. That starts with honesty about trade-offs. We can't fix labour shortages unless employers invest in better training and create decent opportunities for Britain's existing workforce – alongside targeted overseas recruitment where needed. We won't stop dangerous small boat crossings without providing safe, legal alternatives for those seeking asylum and we won't win back public trust until we can show that the system is fair – for workers, communities, and migrants alike. To get there, we need a three-pronged approach. First, we need serious investment in UK skills and jobs. That means the government's forthcoming industrial strategy must set out a clear plan to train British workers and deliver high-quality work. It means delivering a Fair Pay Agreement in social care – quickly and in full – to raise pay and improve conditions in one of the most undervalued sectors of our economy. Tens of thousands of workers from overseas play an absolutely crucial role in delivering social care and will continue to do so into the future. But we cannot simply rely on migration to paper over the cracks in jobs that remain chronically underpaid and understaffed. Every care worker, whether from overseas or born and bred in the UK, deserves pay and conditions that reflect the essential, skilled work they do. Second, when people come to work in the UK we need to make sure they aren't exploited by rogue employers. That's why I welcome the government's intention to reform visas so migrant workers aren't vulnerable to pressure from their employers and unions look forward to working with the government to get these changes right. Ministers must also properly fund and empower the new Fair Work Agency. This body must have the teeth to hold exploitative employers to account – particularly those who undercut wages and erode national labour standards by mistreating migrant workers. The Employment Rights Bill represents an important step forward, offering vital new protections for all workers. The introduction of a right for unions to access workplaces, and a requirement for employers to inform staff of their right to join a union, will be crucial in tackling the exploitation migrant workers too often face. Unions will continue campaigning to ensure these provisions are meaningful and accessible to every worker. If we are to build public trust in our immigration system, we must demonstrate a clear commitment to protecting workers' rights and ensuring fair pay and conditions for all. Third, we need a functioning and humane asylum system. That means clearing the backlog, speeding up decisions, and allowing asylum seekers to work while they wait. Keeping people trapped in poverty helps no one. Letting people work would allow them to contribute, pay taxes, and start to rebuild their lives. It would reduce pressure on public services and allow us too to benefit from the skills that those fleeing persecution can bring. A fair system doesn't mean gimmicks or cruel policies like the failed Rwanda plan but serious solutions like trialling humanitarian visas which would allow people to apply for asylum legally from abroad. This would help stop dangerous Channel crossings, break the business model of the people smugglers, and bring some much-needed order and safety to the system. It also means increasing cooperation and bilateral deals with countries like France. That also involves making difficult decisions, like ensuring those whose asylum applications fail, return home with a humane approach and in line with our values and international obligations. Crucially, we must back local councils with the resources they need to support integration and community cohesion – not leave them to fend for themselves. As I said at the outset, the vast majority of the public is not anti-migrant. They are anti-chaos. People want to see competence, not culture wars. Fairness, not scapegoating. Solutions, not slogans. The left must reclaim this debate. Not by echoing the right, but by proving we can do things better. A credible and fair migration plan, and approach to asylum, means investing in UK skills, enforcing fair rules, and building a country where workers – wherever they're from – are treated with dignity. That's not a compromise of our values. That's what putting them into practice looks like.
Japan Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Human Rights Watch warns of migrant worker deaths in Saudi Arabia
Human Rights Watch on Wednesday said grave abuses were being committed on giant construction sites in Saudi Arabia and warned the risks to migrant workers could increase as the building of stadiums for the 2034 World Cup gathers pace. HRW said "scores of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia die in gruesome yet avoidable workplace-related accidents, including falling from buildings, electrocution, and even decapitation." The NGO, which has studied nearly 50 cases of deaths in Saudi Arabia, said Saudi authorities had "failed to adequately protect workers from preventable deaths, investigate workplace safety incidents, and ensure timely and adequate compensation for families" including through life insurance policies and benefits to survivors. "The risks of occupational deaths and injuries are further increasing as the Saudi government ramps up construction work for the 2034 World Cup as well as other 'giga-projects,'" HRW added. The Gulf kingdom was handed the right to host the 2034 World Cup at a FIFA Congress last December despite concerns about its human rights record, the risks to migrant laborers and criminalization of same-sex relationships. It was the only candidate. The NGO called on FIFA to ensure all work-related deaths in Saudi Arabia are properly investigated and that bereaved families receive compensation. FIFA has committed to establishing a workers' welfare system, which it says includes "dedicated mandatory standards and enforcement mechanisms applicable to all companies and workers involved in ... World Cup-related construction and service delivery" in Saudi Arabia. But HRW said football's world governing body did not provide "details on concrete measures to prevent, investigate, and compensate migrant worker deaths such as risk-based heat protection measures or life insurance." The NGO claimed "FIFA is knowingly risking yet another tournament that will unnecessarily come at a grave human cost," referencing the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Similar concerns over workers' welfare dogged Qatar ahead of its hosting of international football's showpiece tournament. Amnesty International and other rights groups claimed thousands of migrant workers died in the lead-up to the 2022 tournament, though Doha has said only 37 workers on World Cup projects perished — and only three in work-related accidents. HRW stated in its report that the majority of migrant worker deaths in Saudi Arabia are attributed to "natural causes" and are therefore neither investigated nor compensated. According to figures provided by the NGO, for example, 74% of 1,420 Indian migrant worker deaths recorded at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh in 2023 were attributed to natural causes. HRW added "even work-related death cases categorised as such in a migrant worker's death certificate are sometimes not compensated as they should be according to Saudi law and international labour standards." "In migrant death cases that are compensated, the process is long and burdensome," the report said, providing an example of one such compensation process that took a decade to be completed. "My sons are 11 and 13 years old. When my husband died, they were 11 months and two years old. If we had received compensation right after his death, it would have provided so much relief," the wife of a deceased worker, who was not named, told HRW. In response to the report, FIFA shared a letter it sent last month to HRW from its secretary general Mattias Grafstrom. The letter says Saudi Arabia has "in the past years been investing heavily in the development of its society and economy," using international companies. Grafstrom notes that Saudi Arabia "has taken significant steps to reform its labour laws since 2018," including the abolition of parts of the kafala system which ties workers to their employers, and introducing standardized contracts for workers. The Saudi government, he says, has also committed to working with the United Nations' International Labour Organization "on the further expansion and effective implementation of these reforms." "In line with its human rights commitments, FIFA seeks to play its part in ensuring strong protections for workers employed by third parties in the construction of FIFA World Cup sites," Grafstrom adds.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Empty promises
CBC Investigates Dozens of Filipino migrant workers are caught in an alleged pyramid scheme by a B.C.-based company while the owners flaunt a life of luxury Numerous former clients of The Promise Land Consultancy, now known as PLC Global Referral Solutions, say they have been denied or delayed refunds for the thousands of dollars each paid for promises of a new life in Canada — all while the directors of the company acquired luxury vehicles and designer H. Sepe, Aloysius Wong, Dillon Hodgin/CBC By Aloysius Wong With files from Lyndsay Duncombe May 14, 2025 Read this story in Tagalog. / Basahin ang artikulo na ito sa Tagalog. Rozana Solita was only a week into her new job at a B.C. immigrant recruitment company when she started seeing red flags. Solita was hired by The Promise Land Consultancy (PLC) in March 2024 as an in-house regulated Canadian immigration consultant, responsible for assisting newcomers in preparing and submitting their immigration paperwork. But she quickly learned the agency was charging illegal fees and fraudulently using her name and signature. Not only that, she says half the people there were tourists. Seventeen migrant workers on visitor visas had paid The Promise Land thousands of dollars to secure a job in Canada, but were instead working for PLC to recruit other foreign workers. In nearly all circumstances, employing people on visitor visas is illegal in Canada. 'The moment I realized that they were all workers, I told them, 'You shouldn't be here … you shouldn't be working,'' Solita said. Meanwhile, she witnessed the company's owners flaunting designer goods, acquiring luxury vehicles and jetsetting around the world. She now calls the whole situation a 'pyramid scheme' and says her hire was little more than a 'front to make themselves look legitimate.' A month later, she'd had enough. While the company's directors were travelling and living large in the Philippines, Solita quit — but not before downloading a trove of internal documents that demonstrate the scale of the company's activities. A CBC News analysis of hundreds of these documents and other client agreements reveals that over a period of nine months — between August 2023 and May 2024 — PLC charged over $2 million in fees to more than 150 people, and collected at least $500,000. Some included payments for services outlining an immigration pathway all the way to permanent residence. Many of these contracts also explicitly promise to connect PLC clients with jobs — but charging foreign workers any recruitment fees is illegal across Canada. People who contravene B.C.'s Temporary Foreign Worker Protection Act can face up to a year of imprisonment and fines up to $50,000, and up to $100,000 for corporations. Neither PLC CEO Jose Mari Miranda nor his company have responded to multiple CBC requests for an interview. 'I trusted my friend' Michael, who asked not to be identified by his real name out of fear of possible repercussions, was one of the clients-turned-recruiters who found himself caught in the scheme. Michael said that Miranda personally reassured him it was all legal. 'He provided their certificates that they have in a way that they sound so legit,' said Michael. Michael paid PLC $6,500 for its services, about half of the $15,000 the company charged him. Upon arriving in Vancouver in November 2023, he says he was assured he had 'implied status' while his work permit was being processed, and that working for PLC would be above board. At the time, visitors to Canada were allowed to transition to temporary foreign workers provided they found a job with an employer with the relevant documentation. Immigration Canada reversed this temporary policy in August 2024. Implied work status for visitors, however, did not exist at any point. For several weeks, Michael worked as a 'client relations officer' at PLC and was 'required to close five clients per month,' per his employment agreement, which states his salary as $1,600 bi-weekly. 'Basically, our job is also to look for other candidates who might be interested to come here,' he said. But many of those candidates now see little hope of seeing their money returned, as the company ignores their messages or blocks them on social media. Filipinos are already poor enough and so desperate. These people are capitalizing on the ignorance of fellow Filipinos. Rozana Solita, immigration consultant Christian Rey Sualog, an accountant from Quezon province, Philippines, says he was convinced to become a client of PLC after being contacted by a friend in the same situation as Michael. 'I didn't trust them; I trusted my friend,' Sualog said, referring to the former PLC employee, an ex-colleague he'd known for years. Records show that friend had paid PLC $22,000 for his own application. So Sualog signed on with the company, which promised to get him a job in Newfoundland and said it would earn him and his family permanent residence through the Atlantic Immigration Program. 'I have a good profession. I'm an accountant,' Sualog said, explaining that he aspired to come to Canada to build a better future for his wife and three children. 'I'm willing to wash dishes just to move to a better country with better health care, better education system, better environment.' 'Filipinos are already poor enough and so desperate,' said Solita, who is Filipina herself. 'These people are capitalizing on the ignorance of fellow Filipinos.' Sualog was charged $25,000 for the package and paid the first two of four installments for a total of $12,750 — putting his family's only car up for collateral and borrowing money from friends and family to make the payments. 'That's a good-sized house in the Philippines,' he said. WATCH | 'We are just dreamers for our family': But after months of waiting, the promised job didn't materialize. He requested a refund from PLC as stipulated in the contract, effectively 'kneeling in front of them, begging them to give my money back.' It was to no avail. 'It's heart-shattering and I barely slept since [the] middle of last year,' said Sualog. Plus, in the coming weeks, Sualog will lose his car — an integral part of the family's restaurant business, as well as their main form of transportation. The ordeal has made him question whether he 'failed as a father and a husband' by trusting PLC. 'I despise them — and that still would be an understatement.' 'Indentured slavery': lawyer Michael told CBC News some of the PLC workers were paid under the table, in cash, at wages as low as $8 an hour — below the provincial minimum wage and the rates stipulated in their contracts. Others had their remaining client payments deducted from their salaries. The situation amounts to 'indentured slavery,' says Toronto-based immigration lawyer Lou Janssen Dangzalan, who has worked on similar cases. 'This is how a lot of modern-day slavery works,' he said. 'They're usually out of status and they are coerced to do work that they would otherwise not do.' In a joint complaint to B.C.'s Employment Standards Branch (ESB) filed in August, Michael and six other workers allege they were 'lied to and told that [they] could work for the company legally,' then 'coerced into recruiting other people' and 'threatened with deportation' before leaving when they 'discovered it was a scam.' On Feb. 19, 2025, PLC 'was provided with a Notice of Intent to suspend its certificate of registration to hire temporary foreign workers in British Columbia,' according to a notice of investigation sent by the ESB to the company and obtained by CBC News. The B.C. Ministry of Labour told CBC News that ESB is 'currently investigating 15 complaints' filed against PLC, but would not share further details. ESB has already penalized PLC $500 in January for operating without a foreign worker recruiter licence. Read more stories about immigration through the eyes of the people who have experienced it in CBC's Welcome to Canada series PLC also faces 11 lawsuits in B.C. for a total of more than $285,000, many of which were filed in small claims court. 'My printer almost gave up printing all the documents for the small claims and serving [them],' said Solita, who says she spent at least two months after quitting PLC helping people file cases before looking for her next job. Michael says in his time at the company, they were able to bring some clients to Canada as students or tourists — but none with the actual work permits that were promised to him and others. He says he and other former employees have been 'harassed' by past clients they recruited after the alleged scheme was first exposed on OMNI Filipino, a broadcast network that reports on the Filipino diaspora in Canada. 'We never received a single penny from them, from these clients,' said Michael. WATCH | PLC clients recruit more clients: Solita has also reported the company to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and Canada Border Services Agency. In a document filed with her complaints, Solita writes 'there was nothing for me to do as an immigration consultant, as they have no legitimate employers. I was just there as a poster child to make them look legit on social media and to gain people's trust.' CBSA wouldn't confirm that an investigation is underway, but wrote in an email to CBC that the agency is 'aware of the complaints against this company.' 'We are committed to investigating immigration fraud offences to deter non-compliance with the legislation, in order to uphold the integrity of Canada's immigration programs and maintain public confidence in Canada's immigration system,' said the agency, which encouraged the public to report alleged fraud to its Border Watch Line. Related Links 'I did not expect to be a slave': Amnesty International report exposes abuse of migrant workers Federal government to remove incentive for foreign workers to reduce fraud in immigration system 'Rising problem' of ghost consultancies hits man who lost $12K trying to get Canadian visa for wife Cars, handbags, international flights Meanwhile, PLC president and CEO Jose Mari Miranda has posted on social media showing off his lavish lifestyle with the company's other directors. Last April, he hosted his 35th birthday party on a yacht in the Philippines, taking a dozen people on a business-class flight to Manila. In a post on the now-deleted Facebook account, Miranda poses with an SUV while holding a $4,300 Christian Dior tote bag. In another, Miranda stands among five other cars he refers to as his 'babies,' including a Tesla. Dangzalan says he would be 'very upset' if he were one of Miranda's clients. 'I would probably break down in tears, quite frankly, if I've invested my family's life savings into a dream and I'm seeing that the person who's not responding to my emails or my calls is on a yacht,' he said. Another superior court case involves two local investors who put $100,000 into the company who now say that Miranda 'made various fraudulent misrepresentations' regarding his business. PLC has denied their allegations. He was really down-to-earth. He's very kind. You cannot tell that he's lying. Lilian Tanoja, former Promise Land client Solita says that her repeated warnings to Miranda about the company's operations were ignored. 'It's not that he's ignorant,' she said, 'because I tried to convince him to return the money of everyone, and he kept saying, 'Oh, yes, yes, yes — I'm working on it. I'm going to refund everybody and we'll be starting from scratch.' But that never happened.' 'Completely illegal': whistleblower Numerous other elements of PLC's activities are 'completely illegal,' according to Solita. Misrepresentations and fraud were common in the contracts, the immigration consultant alleges. In one instance, while the PLC directors were in the Philippines, she discovered that the company had used her signature in agreements with new clients whom she had never met to assess whether there was a reasonable immigration pathway they could support. 'I immediately told them … 'Hey, you are using my digital signature without my authorization,'' said Solita. 'I'm not signing an immigration services document when I haven't even met these people.' CBC News found 17 retainer agreements that name Solita as the immigration consultant, which she says were all made fraudulently. One contract is dated the day Solita applied for the position — three days before her first day of work — while another is dated four days after she tendered her resignation. 'Overall, these documents are bogus. It doesn't mean anything,' she said. In an email dated April 22, 2024, Solita wrote to three of PLC's directors to 'nullify all recent retainers sent out to clients, where my digital signature was applied' and suggested all existing clients be given the opportunity to pull out of existing agreements. WATCH | PLC contracts 'bogus': The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), which regulates immigration consultants, wrote in a statement to CBC that The Promise Land is not a licensee, and that unauthorized practitioners (UAPs) should be reported to the college. 'Fraudulent use of licensee information is illegal, and unacceptable. UAPs pose a serious threat to the public by providing unethical, incompetent and illegal immigration 'services' to prospective newcomers to Canada who may be vulnerable to exploitation,' said CICC president and CEO John Murray. The CICC would neither confirm nor deny whether it is investigating the company, but several sources have told CBC they have been contacted by the regulator. Some contracts refer to an immigration consultant but don't name one. The majority are only signed by Miranda, who is neither a lawyer nor a licensed immigration consultant. Numerous contracts also refer to clients as 'LMIA Applicants,' alluding to Labour Market Impact Assessments, which are documents issued by the federal government to employers to allow them to hire foreign workers. These include a payment schedule, one of which tends to read, 'after LMIA submission.' But numerous legal experts have stressed to CBC News that all costs associated with LMIAs can only be charged to the employer, not the worker. Dangzalan says PLC could face 'triple jeopardy.' 'They're in contravention of not just one or two government levels. They're also in violation of laws in the Philippines,' said Dangzalan after reviewing one of these retainer agreements, stating that it 'takes a lot of courage' to put this in writing. WATCH | PLC could face 'triple jeopardy': In another instance, two weeks after she began working for the company, Solita flagged concerns that clients were being matched with job offers despite having 'ZERO real experience for the job.' 'I can assure you that TPLC has now refrained from doing this,' wrote Dominic "Daniel" Cuevas, PLC's director of employment relations, in an email response to Solita on April 8, 2024. 'Unfortunately as a young company we were easily persuaded and had been taken advantage of by our other partners in Newfoundland in thinking that this is an acceptable and ethical way of processing work permit applications in Canada.' Related Links This recruiter has allegedly scammed 'hundreds' of Filipino migrant workers. Some are now homeless Newcomers face double the unemployment as Canadians, CBC survey finds This foreign worker says he paid his own wages for a cook position that didn't exist 'You cannot tell that he's lying' PLC signed agreements with foreign workers or their family members, predominantly Filipino nationals, living in Canada, the Philippines and 18 other countries. The contracts go as high as $40,000 each — charged systematically based on the kind of job or immigration pathway promised, according to an internal 'pricing template' obtained by CBC News. The document also lists the price for a 'BC Office Job' at $25,000 to $30,000 — rates that raise 'alarm bells' for Dangzalan. Lilian Tanoja, a personal support worker in Vancouver who has been in Canada for 30 years, paid PLC $10,000 in July 2023 after Miranda promised to secure a student visa for her niece. 'He was really down-to-earth. He's very kind,' she said. 'You cannot tell that he's lying.' Tanoja started planning a life for her niece, and had already arranged for part-time employment for her alongside her studies. 'I was really excited that this is it — I can get my niece to come here,' she said. But after a year, there was still no progress with her niece's application and no refund in sight. So last July, Tanoja filed a lawsuit in small claims court to recoup her payment. Miranda agreed in a court filing to pay Tanoja back in five installments of $2,000 between September and January, but only paid the first one. 'I just want these people to pay. I just want them to go to jail or to be deported,' said Tanoja, who had to get the B.C. Sheriff Service to track down Miranda to serve him court documents. WATCH | 'They need to pay': On March 13, Miranda wrote a letter to the judge requesting an extension to repay his 'outstanding debt' to Tanoja. 'At present, my business is experiencing a significant slowdown, making it extremely difficult to meet all of my obligations at once,' wrote Miranda, who said he is facing 'extraordinary personal and financial burdens' as the 'sole provider' for his elderly parents and two siblings, as well as his husband, Dayrit, a recent permanent resident and co-director of PLC. 'I humbly ask this Court for its understanding and compassion in granting me a grace period until June so I can stabilize my finances and begin making consistent payments without jeopardizing the well-being of my family.' A tax return from the CRA for 2023 included in his court filings shows that Miranda reported no income that year. On March 24, Miranda, accompanied in court by PLC co-owners Cuevas and Christopher Wahl, agreed to a new plan to repay Tanoja in full by July 1. Tanoja has since received two more installments reimbursing her for a total of $6,000, but is still waiting for the remaining $4,000. Miranda did not respond to questions from CBC News on his way out of the courthouse. Worldwide operations, complaints Solita went further and called the company a Ponzi scheme, as The Promise Land, now rebranded PLC Global Referral Solutions, has also scaled to create more offices abroad in what appears to be an effort to generate enough cashflow to pay back some disgruntled clients. Last April, PLC announced the opening of a branch in Rizal, Philippines, northeast of Manila. It also posted that new offices were 'coming soon' to Bangkok and Dubai, and suggested it was seeking partner agencies in the Middle East. A Sept. 13 group email sent from the 'PLC Finance Team' to clients seeking refunds, including Sualog, the Filipino accountant, stated that the company was facing 'financial constraints' that 'have made it difficult to balance the refund process while maintaining business operations.' In mid-January, it incorporated an LLC in Sacramento, Calif. By late February, it had also changed its Facebook address to a virtual office space based in Los Angeles. The company has removed its Canadian advertisements and business licences from its website, and now claims to provide job referral services in 15 European countries. In June last year, it also advertised visas to the U.S., U.K. and Australia. In a statement against the 'fraudulent recruitment scheme' at PLC, Filipino migrant worker advocacy group Migrante B.C. calls on the Canadian and Philippine governments to implement measures to 'prevent such egregious violations of human rights and to provide support and assistance to those affected.' 'We know this injustice is not isolated,' said Jaela Villegas, a Migrante BC officer. 'It reflects the broader realities of labour trafficking around the world, perpetuated by profit-driven systems that prey on the desperation of migrants seeking better futures.' Last March, the Philippine government's Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) released a public warning against PLC. It has since watchlisted the company, preventing it from participating in its overseas employment program, after PLC did not appear at a DMW hearing to respond to complaints that it was illegally recruiting. 'It's so sad that this is still happening despite the many complaints,' said Oliva Macawili, assistant labor attaché for DMW, who told CBC News that PLC was the subject of the most complaints in her time as officer-in-charge of the Migrant Workers Office in Vancouver. 'I hope the Government of Canada will take into consideration what … PLC did with the Filipino workers. I hope they will [deal] with them and … ask them to return back the money that was collected.' While it would not comment on the specific case, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that it is 'dedicated to protecting prospective newcomers from those who try to take advantage of them,' citing the department's recent $49.5-million investment in its Migrant Worker Support Program. Life savings 'wasted' Michael says he now feels guilty for the other victims he helped recruit. 'These people are suffering right now because they couldn't get the refund,' he said. 'That money that we paid to this company is like our life savings and we feel like it's just been wasted.' The workers' families now have to send them money to survive in Canada, Michael says — a reversal of fortunes from their dreams of coming here to provide for their loved ones back in the Philippines. But Michael doesn't want to give up until they achieve restitution. 'We're not trying to do any illegal stuff. We're just trying … to get justice for what happened to us and to other people who got victimized as well.' For her part, Solita still supports a group of former clients of PLC — some of whom have sold properties or fallen ill while waiting for refunds. But she stresses that, ultimately, people need to file cases themselves if they want to see change. 'You have to help yourself, too. Because I can do millions of reports, but I won't be heard. I'm not the victim.' Writing: Aloysius Wong | Editing: Andre Mayer | Reporting: Aloysius Wong, Lyndsay Duncombe | Produced by: Georgie Smyth, Rachel Houlihan, Ana Komnenic, Kimberly Ivany | Additional research: Kate Zieman, Diana Redegeld and Patrick Mooney, CBC Reference Library | Videography and Photography: Nicholas Allan, Gian Paolo Mendoza, Craig Chivers, Dillon Hodgin, Basilio H. Sepe | Filipino Translation: Catherine Dona, Radio-Canada International Tagalog About the Author Related Stories Footer Links My Account Profile CBC Gem Newsletters Connect with CBC Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Mobile RSS Podcasts Contact CBC Submit Feedback Help Centre Audience Relations, CBC P.O. 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Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Associated Press
Rights groups say migrant workers are dying on Saudi job sites as kingdom prepares for World Cup
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Scores of laborers from countries including India, Bangladesh and Nepal have faced preventable deaths from electrocution, road accidents, falling from heights, and more while working in Saudi Arabia, according to a report Wednesday by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch and another rights group, FairSquare, released separate investigations Wednesday detailing preventable deaths of migrant workers from job-site accidents and work-related illnesses. The reports accuse Saudi authorities of often misreporting such deaths and failing to investigate, preventing families from receiving compensation from the kingdom that they are entitled to and knowing how their loved ones died. As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and development initiatives — including the 2034 men's soccer World Cup and the futuristic city Neom — rights groups warn of thousands more avoidable deaths in the coming years. In one case, Human Rights Watch said a Bangladeshi worker was electrocuted on the job. But his employer allegedly withheld the body, telling the family they would be compensated only if they agreed to a local burial. Another family reported waiting nearly 15 years before they were compensated by the Saudi government. 'It's very urgent that the Saudi authorities and FIFA put in place basic labor rights protections,' Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch's director of global initiatives, told The Associated Press, referring to soccer's world governing body. Authorities in Saudi Arabia did not respond to a request for comment. FairSquare, which looked into the deaths of 17 Nepali contractors in Saudi Arabia over the last 18 months, warned in its report that without accountability, 'thousands of unexplained deaths' of low-paid foreign workers are likely to follow. 'In some cases, you have families being pursued by money lenders for the loans that their (dead) husband or father took out in order to migrate to the Gulf,' said James Lynch, who co-directs FairSquare. Saudi Arabia has long faced allegations of labor abuses and wage theft tied to its Vision 2030 project, a big-money effort to diversify its economy beyond dependence on oil. FIFA shared with the AP a letter it sent Human Rights Watch last month defending the selection of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup. The letter cited the Saudis' commitments to establishing 'a workers' welfare system' and enhancing 'country-wide labor protections including through a strengthened collaboration' with the United Nations' International Labor Organization. The kingdom is not the only Gulf Arab state to be accused of abusing migrant laborers in the run-up to a World Cup. Rights groups also criticized Qatar, which hosted the competition in 2022, saying they tallied thousands of unexplained worker deaths. But this time has the potential to be even worse for foreign workers, Worden said, noting that the 2034 World Cup has plans to require more stadiums and infrastructure with more teams competing. Qatar established an oversight board called the Supreme Committee, which monitored FIFA construction sites and took reports of unsafe work conditions. 'There's no such committee like that in Saudi Arabia,' Worden said, adding, 'In the end, Qatar did have concrete policies like life insurance and heat protection. Those aren't in place now' in Saudi Arabia. The details of the investigations from Human Rights Watch and FairSquare come a day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined U.S. President Donald Trump on his official visit to Saudi Arabia, where Trump met with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
2034 World Cup: FIFA accused of ‘utter negligence' towards migrant workers in Saudi Arabia
Two leading human rights groups have accused FIFA of being 'utterly negligent' in its responsibility to the millions of migrant workers who will build the stadiums and infrastructure Saudi Arabia needs for the 2034 World Cup. The scathing criticism of world football's governing body is detailed in two new reports on migrant-worker deaths in the Gulf state published on Tuesday by FairSquare and Human Rights Watch (HRW). And they come a day after FIFA boss Gianni Infantino accompanied U.S. President Donald Trump on visit to Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, where they met the Gulf state's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Advertisement The research, which is based on investigations into the recent deaths of 48 migrant workers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, paints a picture of a host nation that still pays lip service to safety on building sites, has no interest in properly investigating accidents and is painfully slow to compensate bereaved families. But the two studies also criticise FIFA for failing to learn the lessons from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where government officials eventually admitted that hundreds of migrant workers had died while working on projects linked to the tournament. 'The gruesome workplace accidents killing migrant workers in Saudi Arabia should be a huge red flag for businesses, football fans and sports associations seeking to partner with FIFA on the 2034 Men's World Cup and other Saudi 'giga-projects',' said HRW's deputy Middle East director Michael Page. The HRW study includes accounts of workers dying in awful accidents but also dropping dead due to heat exhaustion. The families of these men are usually left with no information about what really happened and often face long delays in repatriating the bodies of their loved ones or in receiving any financial compensation. In March of this year, British newspaper The Guardian reported that Pakistani migrant worker Muhammad Arshad had become the first known death at a stadium construction site when he fell from the upper level of the Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar. FairSquare's report focuses on the lack of data collected by the Saudi authorities on their migrant worker population, the failure to certify deaths properly and the absence of any attempt to learn from accidents when they happen or to hold anyone to account. 'Millions of workers are going to be pitched into this system,' said FairSquare's founding co-director Nick McGeehan. Advertisement 'There was a 40 per cent increase in the migrant-worker population in the five years leading up to Saudi Arabia being awarded the World Cup in 2024 — it's up to 13.2million. It's a system where the people in charge have very little regard for their welfare or the welfare of their families. 'The inevitable result is there will be a surge in deaths in construction and most of those of deaths will be unexplained. It will be hard to determine how many will die but it's indubitably the case that many thousands will, and that's utterly unacceptable. 'It's particularly galling when you consider that many of the deaths will be a direct result of the FIFA 2034 World Cup. FIFA's response to the risks was amateurish, and that's being kind. It was utterly negligent. They gave Saudi Arabia's bid the highest score of any they had received with scant regard to any of the very obvious risks. 'We published a report last year that found that FIFA was entirely unfit to govern something as important as world football. At the time that felt like quite a bold claim but it now it just feels like a statement of the obvious.' As part of its bid for the world's biggest sports event, Saudi Arabia has committed to building 11 new stadiums, eight of which it is yet to start, 134 training facilities, 185,000 new hotel rooms, fan zones, conference centres and a railway between Riyadh and Jeddah. And that is before you factor in the completion of the world's biggest construction site at Neom, the futuristic city in the desert that is the centrepiece of Mohammed Bin Salman's strategic plan for the country. Saudi Arabia's bid team did not respond to a request for comment from The Athletic but FIFA shared with us the letter it sent to HRW from its general secretary Mattias Grafstrom. The letter, which was sent last month, lists the steps FIFA has taken in recent years to integrate human-rights commitment into its statutes and points out that Saudi Arabia has 'been investing heavily in the development of its society and economy', efforts that have been helped and encouraged by western companies and governments. Advertisement Grafstrom, who is preparing for FIFA's 2025 Congress in Paraguay this week, continues by noting the various steps the Saudi government has taken to reform its labour laws since 2018, such as abolishing parts of the kafala system which ties workers to their employers, and introducing standardised workers' contracts. The Saudi government, he notes, has also committed to working with the United Nations' International Labour Organization (ILO) 'on the further expansion and effective implementation of these reforms'. 'It is against this background that the FIFA Congress composed of all its 211 member associations has awarded the FIFA World Cup 2034 to Saudi Arabia,' he wrote. 'In that respect, and in line with its human rights commitments, FIFA seeks to play its part in ensuring strong protections for workers employed by third parties in the construction of FIFA World Cup sites.' FairSquare and HRW, however, are far from convinced and have called on FIFA to demand that the Saudis make four seemingly straightforward commitments: In a briefing with journalists to explain their reports, FairSquare and HRW were joined by Ambet Yuson, general secretary of Builders' and Wood Workers International (BWI), a global federation of construction workers' trade unions from 111 countries. Earlier this year, the BWI filed a forced labour complaint against Saudi Arabia at the ILO on behalf of 21,000 migrant workers who are still owed unpaid wages by two bankrupt Saudi construction firms. Yuson hopes to get a response to that complaint before the end of this year but said the Saudi authorities are not letting him or the BWI into the kingdom to conduct any inspection visits, despite requests to do so from overseas contractors. Qatar, on the other hand, did allow him and his colleagues to make visits. (GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)
