Overview
- A new Amnesty International report released on November 18 documents systematic labor abuses affecting migrant workers who built the Riyadh Metro between 2014 and 2025.
- Investigators interviewed 38 men from Bangladesh, India and Nepal who described paying recruitment fees ranging from roughly USD 700 to USD 3,500 despite Saudi prohibitions.
- Workers reported earning less than USD 2 per hour and routinely working more than 60 hours per week, with many saying low base pay left them little choice but to accept overtime.
- Testimonies describe dangerous heat exposure with summer temperatures often at or above 40°C, and a midday outdoor work ban that proved insufficient to protect workers.
- Amnesty urges Saudi authorities to dismantle kafala-style controls and enforce labor protections, calls on companies to conduct robust human-rights due diligence, and presses origin-country governments to regulate and sanction abusive recruiters.