A scandal with disastrous consequences for migrant workers. Amnesty International denounced on Tuesday the “abominable” treatment of migrant workers in the warehouses of Amazon, the American online distribution giant, in Saudi Arabia. “Contract workers” manipulated by recruitment agents were “deprived of their income, housed in appalling conditions and prevented from finding other employment or leaving the country,” the human rights organization said in a statement. a report.
They “thought they were seizing a golden opportunity with Amazon, but they ended up suffering abuse that traumatized many of them,” said Amnesty official Steve Cockburn, saying some cases could “amount to of human trafficking. The report is based on testimonies of 22 Nepalis who worked in Amazon warehouses in the Gulf kingdom, between 2021 and 2023.
Homes infested with bedbugs
Amnesty suspects that “hundreds more have endured equally appalling treatment”. According to the organization, the workers thought they would be hired directly by the American company and took out large loans to pay recruitment costs. When they arrived in Saudi Arabia, they found accommodation “dirty and overcrowded, sometimes infested with bedbugs”, as well as “exhausting” working conditions with constant supervision and insufficient rest time, sometimes leading to injuries, according to Amnesty.
The “kafala” system imposed on foreign workers in the kingdom prevents them from changing jobs without their employer’s consent, and limits their ability to freely leave the country, Amnesty said. Amazon’s senior vice president of global operations, John Felton, said he was “deeply concerned” that some contract workers in Saudi Arabia have “not been treated to the standards we have set, and the dignity and respect they deserve. Amnesty also called on Saudi authorities to investigate abuses and improve conditions for foreign workers.