Category Archives: Employment

Saudi Arabia World Cup bid report accused of ‘whitewashing’ rights abuses

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Law firm AS&H Clifford Chance failed to include alleged abuse of migrant workers in assessment for Fifa 2034 bid, say rights groups

A report by the Saudi arm of a global law firm on Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup bid has “whitewashed” the Gulf kingdom’s record of exploiting and suppressing the rights of migrant workers, rights groups have claimed.

AS&H Clifford Chance was commissioned to independently assess the human rights implications of the bid, but the report “contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia”, according to a statement released by 11 organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

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Half of UK workforce lack access to workplace health support, report finds

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Study by Royal Society for Public Health shows current system could further exacerbate health inequalities

Almost half of the UK workforce lack access to workplace health support including winter flu vaccinations and checks for cardiovascular diseases, a report has found.

The analysis, by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), looked at data from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) and found that more than 10 million UK workers lack access to services including basic health checks, vaccinations, and smoking or weight loss support, provided by their employer.

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Green economy could generate 3.3m jobs across Africa by 2030 – report

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Policymakers and funders are being urged to invest in training a workforce to serve the industries of the future

A greener economy could bring millions of jobs to some of the largest countries in Africa, according to a new report.

Research by the development agency FSD Africa and the impact advisory firm Shortlist predicts that 3.3 million jobs could be generated across the continent by 2030.

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Greece introduces ‘growth-oriented’ six-day working week

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Pro-business government says measure is needed due to shrinking population and shortage of skilled workers

Companies in countries worldwide may be toying with the idea of implementing shorter working weeks, but in Greece employees have been told that, henceforth, they can put in a sixth day of labour in an unorthodox step aimed at turbocharging productivity.

After outpacing other Europeans in terms of economic growth, the nation once at the heart of the continent’s worst financial crisis has bucked the trend again, introducing a 48-hour working week. The measure, decried as “barbaric” by unions, takes effect from Monday.

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Having the right glasses could boost earning power by a third, Bangladesh study shows

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Researchers find that in low and middle-income countries owning spectacles can help people over 35 increase their income

Owning a pair of reading glasses might help people increase their earnings by a third, according to new research.

The study, conducted in Bangladesh, is the first to examine the impact of having a decent pair of spectacles, and researchers found monthly median earnings among one group of people increased from $35.30 to $47.10 within eight months, a rise of 33.4%.

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EU to crack down on unpaid internships ‘exploiting despair of young people’

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Proposal seeks to retain talent in Europe and end labour shortage – but criticised for not going far enough

The EU is planning to clamp down on unpaid internships and “bogus” traineeships offered by unscrupulous employers with a new directive.

The move, which was criticised by some groups for not going far enough, is to be tabled on Thursday and is likely to be the last major legislative proposal before the mandate of the European parliament ends with the June elections.

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Another World Cup will be tainted by worker deaths if Fifa fails to act, say rights groups

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Saudi Arabia is likely to host the 2034 tournament, but a Guardian investigation has revealed there are already a high number of ‘unexplained’ migrant worker deaths in the Gulf kingdom

Human rights organisations are warning that another World Cup will be tainted by the deaths and suffering of low-paid workers if Fifa does not take urgent steps to ensure that Saudi Arabia deals with the widespread abuse of its migrant workforce.

As the sole bidder, Saudi Arabia is almost certain to be anointed by Fifa this year as host of the World Cup in 2034, but rights groups said “workers cannot afford a repeat of Qatar 2022”.

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Bangladesh garment workers fighting for pay face brutal violence and threats

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Workers describe hands and arms being targeted in ‘merciless’ beatings as protests over low wages turn increasingly violent in Dhaka

When Masuma Akhtar arrived at the garment factory where she works on the outskirts of Dhaka on 31 October, she was expecting a normal shift. Instead, she was met with brute violence. “The moment I walked through the factory gates, a group of armed men began beating me with wooden sticks,” says Akhtar. “I fell down on to the ground. Even then they wouldn’t stop beating me.”

Akhtar, 22, is a seamstress at Dekko Knitwears in Mirpur, where she spends long days churning out clothes for western fashion brands, including Marks & Spencer, C&A and PVH Corp, which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.

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South Africa to introduce shared parental leave after landmark judgment

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Country will be first in Africa to introduce measure after its high court ruled that both parents must have right to time off

South Africa is set to become the first country in Africa to introduce shared parental leave after a high court ruled that both parents must have the right to time off after the birth of a baby or adopting a child.

The landmark judgment allows parents to choose how to divide four months parental leave between them.

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Africa’s ‘optimist-in-chief’ on the continent’s renaissance: ‘Don’t just believe me, believe the data’

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In an exclusive interview, Akinwumi Adesina, head of the African Development Bank, says the outlook is good for a continent with the workers of the future and the best investment opportunities

Africa holds the future workforce for the ageing economies of the west, according to one of the continent’s leading financial figures, who also said it was time to ditch the myths around corruption and risk.

In an exclusive interview before this weekend’s World Bank meetings in Morocco, Akinwumi Adesina said there was a resurgence of belief in Africa’s economic prospects and attacked negative stereotyping, adding that there was “every reason to be optimistic”.

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Urgent action needed to protect ‘dying’ Kenyan domestic workers in Gulf, say rights groups

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Deaths and alleged abuse of Kenyan women in Saudi Arabia fuels demands for Nairobi to act on human rights

Rights groups have expressed concern that not enough has been done to address the alleged mistreatment of domestic workers in Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia, after the Kenyan government moved to secure work opportunities abroad for its citizens.

“This is a matter of grave public interest,” said John Mwariri, a lawyer at Kituo cha Sheria, a legal aid organisation. “Many of our Kenyan citizens have been abused and are dying there. There is an urgent need for protections.”

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Philippine job agencies cheating women with illegal fees and crippling loans

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Migrants NGO finds recruiters making applicants pay for medical fees and training by taking out credit at exorbitant rates of interest

Employment agencies and money-lending companies in the Philippines are cheating women applying for jobs abroad out of thousands of pounds by charging illegal fees paid with high-interest loans, interviews and documents show.

Interviews with hundreds of women and thousands of pages of complaints compiled by a migrant rights organisation showed job agencies charged applicants training and medical fees that are above the legally allowed limit.

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Massive strike pits African fishers against ‘superprofitable’ EU firms

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About 2,000 crew members withdrew labour over pay and conditions, as well as citing serious breaches of overfishing rules by Spanish and French companies

The waters of west Africa and the Indian Ocean boast some of the world’s largest, healthiest populations of tropical tuna, and that makes them havens for industrial tuna fishing fleets, owned by countries vastly richer than the nations whose borders form these coastlines.

In order to protect the fish populations of poorer African nations from rapacious overfishing by richer countries, EU tuna vessels are bound by agreements centred on the sustainability and “social empowerment” of third countries.

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World Cup security guards still jailed in Qatar after dispute over unpaid wages

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Workers at World Cup 2022 venues fired as tournament ended and allegedly jailed or deported after trying to claim unpaid wages

Three World Cup security guards who were detained while trying to resolve a dispute over unpaid wages are still being held in Qatar four months after their arrest.

Shakir Ullah and Zafar Iqbal from Pakistan, and an Indian national, have allegedly been sentenced to six months in prison and fined 10,000 riyals (£2,220) each.

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‘We give our blood so they live comfortably’: Sri Lanka’s tea pickers say they go hungry and live in squalor

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Top tea firms investigate as plantation workers say they have to pick 18kg a day but still skip meals and make their children work

Some of the world’s leading tea manufacturers, including Tetley and Lipton, are examining working conditions on the plantations of its Sri Lankan suppliers, following a Guardian investigation.

Two global trade-certification schemes, Fairtrade and the Rainforest Alliance, are also conducting inquiries after it was revealed that some workers on 10 certified estates could not afford to eat and were living in squalid conditions.

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Brazil may sue VW amid claims firm used ‘slave labour’ under military rule

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Prosecutors seek compensation for workers kept on cattle ranch owned by German carmaker during dictatorship from 1973 to 1987

Brazil is threatening to take the German carmaker Volkswagen to court over allegations that it used slave labour on a vast ranch in the Amazon, after talks on compensating workers ended without agreement.

Public prosecutors in Brazil are seeking compensation for men who they say were forced to work in “humiliating and degrading” conditions, with no clean water or sanitation, on the Fazenda Vale do Rio Cristalino cattle ranch, which was owned by the company in the northern Pará state, between 1973 and 1987.

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Thai police raid former Tesco clothing supplier at centre of sweatshop claims

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VK Garment factory in Mae Sot is subject of a UK lawsuit against the supermarket from 130 ex-workers

Thai police have raided a clothing factory previously used by Tesco that is the subject of a UK lawsuit over alleged sweatshop conditions.

The Guardian revealed earlier this week that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being trapped in, in effect, forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions.

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Workers in Thailand who made F&F jeans for Tesco ‘trapped in effective forced labour’

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Exclusive: Supermarket faces landmark lawsuit in the UK from 130 former workers alleging negligence

Burmese workers that produced F+F jeans for Tesco in Thailand report being trapped in effective forced labour, working 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in appalling conditions, a Guardian investigation has found.

Tesco faces a landmark lawsuit in the UK from 130 former workers at VK Garment Factory (VKG), who are suing them for alleged negligence and unjust enrichment. The workers made jeans, denim jackets and other F&F clothes for adults and children for the Thai branch of Tesco’s business between 2017 and 2020.

Being paid as little as £3 a day to work from 8am to 11pm with just one day off a month.

Detailed records kept by supervisors seen by the Guardian show the majority of workers on their lines were paid less than £4 a day and only according to how much they could make. The Thai minimum wage then was £7 for an 8-hour day.

Having to work through the night for 24 hours at least once a month to fulfil large F&F orders, and becoming so exhausted they fell asleep at their sewing tables.

Some reported serious injuries; one man described slicing open his arm carrying a dangerously heavy interlocker machine, requiring 13 stitches. Another said he lost the tip of his index finger after slicing it in a button machine while making F&F denim jackets.

Many said they were shouted at and threatened by managers within the factory if they did not keep working overtime and meet targets.

More than a dozen of the workers interviewed said the factory opened bank accounts for them and then confiscated the cards and passwords so they could make it appear they were paid minimum wage while paying much less in cash.

Most workers relied on VKG for their immigration status and some said their immigration documents were held by the factory, leaving them in debt bondage.

Factory accommodation within the compound consisted of overcrowded rooms with concrete floors to sleep on and dirty pond water in a bucket to wash. Workers say most rooms had no door, just a curtain.

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Neglect Africa now and we will face labour shortages globally, IMF warns

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West’s response to effects of Covid and Ukraine war condemned as shortsighted ‘collective failure’ to invest in future human capital

The international community would be “playing with fire” if it failed to help Africa recover from Covid and the impact of the Ukraine war, the International Monetary Fund’s director for the continent has said.

Failure to invest and support the continent was shortsighted and detrimental to the global economy, as half of the new entrants into the global workforce over the next decade would come from sub-Saharan Africa, Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of the IMF’s Africa department, told the Guardian.

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Revealed: migrant workers in Qatar forced to pay billions in recruitment fees

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Guardian investigation finds labourers – including those on World Cup-related projects – were left with huge debts

Low-wage migrant workers have been forced to pay billions of dollars in recruitment fees to secure their jobs in World Cup host nation Qatar over the past decade, a Guardian investigation has found.

Bangladeshi men migrating to Qatar are likely to have paid about $1.5bn (£1.14bn) in fees, and possibly as high as $2bn, between 2011 and 2020. Nepali men are estimated to have paid around $320m, and possibly more than $400m, in the four years between mid-2015 to mid-2019.

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