PARIS (Reuters) -French supermarket retailer Carrefour said on Monday it is reviewing how staff are treated at Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), its Saudi Arabia franchise partner, after Amnesty International raised concerns over employees’ working conditions.
A report by Amnesty International, published on Monday, said some staff working at the Carrefour/Majid Al Futtaim stores in Saudi Arabia were underpaid and overworked, and were especially vulnerable due to their migrant status.
Amnesty said its findings were based on interviews and information provided by 17 men from Nepal, India and Pakistan.
They worked in Carrefour sites in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah between 2021 and 2024, and nearly all are or were employed by labour supply companies and contracted out to Majid Al Futtaim.
“Following Amnesty’s alert, we immediately asked our partner MAF to conduct internal investigations among its employees and subcontractors in Saudi Arabia,” Carrefour said in a statement.
“In order to prevent potential human rights non-compliance situations within our franchise partner’s direct and indirect operations, we decided to extend our investigations to a wider scope of activities, covering all human rights requirements. To this end, an independent expert has been appointed,” it added.
Don't miss out on any breaking news or insightful opinions!
Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay updated on the go!
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Global Banking & Finance Review. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email.
Workers told Amnesty International that they were forced to work 60-hour weeks and were at times unpaid for overtime and forced to go without rest days, in violation of Saudi labour law which limits maximum working hours to 48 per week.
“Any form of labour abuse or exploitation is unacceptable, and allegations of this nature are comprehensively investigated by the relevant authorities,” a spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said in a statement.
Reuters has previously reported on migrant workers at other companies in Saudi Arabia going for months with unpaid wages while living in unsanitary conditions in desert camps.
Hundreds of Indian workers sued a Saudi construction firm in 2020 over unpaid earnings after they were laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Susan Fenton)
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.