A sleek symbol of Saudi Arabia’s modern ambitions, the newly opened Riyadh Metro is now under fire following a damning Amnesty International investigation that reveals a decade of exploitation of the migrant workers who helped build the project.
In its new report, “Nobody wants to work in these situations”: A decade of exploitation on the Riyadh Metro project, Amnesty details how migrant labourers from Bangladesh, India and Nepal were subjected to illegal recruitment fees, punishing heat, poverty wages and a catalogue of degrading conditions between 2014 and 2025.
Despite Saudi Arabia’s public celebration of the Metro as the “backbone” of Riyadh’s transport transformation, the report paints a starkly different picture of life for the men who laid its foundations. Many paid between USD 700 and USD 3,500 simply to secure their jobs—fees prohibited by Saudi law—leaving them in crippling debt before they even boarded a flight. One Nepali worker said he was forced to sell his wife’s family gold to cover the cost.
Once in Saudi Arabia, workers earned as little as USD 2 per hour, with some receiving half that. Virtually all endured 60-hour work weeks, driven not by force but by salaries so low they had no option but to work excessive overtime. With no national living wage and most low-paid jobs filled by racialised migrants, many described being unable to meet even basic household expenses at home.
The suffering was intensified by Saudi Arabia’s extreme heat, which has worsened as temperatures rise due to human-induced climate change. Workers recounted labouring outdoors in 40°C heat for hours on end, despite the government’s midday work ban—protections Amnesty says were insufficient and poorly enforced. “When I work in the extreme heat, I feel like I’m in hell,” said one Nepali worker, adding that nobody chose these conditions except out of desperation to support their families.
Others described being pressured to continue working through the dangerous heat by supervisors who dismissed their concerns. Many also reported passport confiscation, overcrowded housing, poor-quality food and discriminatory treatment.
The report highlights that such abuses are rooted in a structural environment where the remnants of the kafala sponsorship system still enable employers to control workers’ lives. Weak labour inspections, reduced penalties for abusive practices and a sprawling subcontracting network create fertile ground for exploitation—conditions Amnesty says multinational companies knowingly operate within.
With Saudi Arabia racing ahead on mega-projects and preparing to host the 2034 World Cup, Amnesty is calling on authorities to dismantle the kafala system entirely, enforce labour protections and ensure accountability across the recruitment chain. Companies, it warns, must conduct rigorous human rights due diligence or refrain from operating in high-risk sectors that entrench abuse.
Amnesty International also urges origin countries—Bangladesh, India and Nepal—to crack down on illegal recruitment practices, stressing that without coordinated accountability, the cycle of exploitation will continue.
