In a study released by rights organisation Amnesty International, the French retail chain Carrefour’s Saudi Arabian franchise was charged with abusing migrant labour.
Carrefour told AFP that while an internal investigation had not verified the majority of the claims, an external examination was in the works.
According to Amnesty International, migrant workers for Carrefour’s Saudi franchisee were tricked by recruiters, pressured to work long hours, denied vacation days, had their wages stolen, and were forced to live in filthy conditions.
Interviews with 17 individuals hired from India, Nepal, and Pakistan to work in Carrefour stores in Saudi Arabia run by Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the French retailer’s Middle East franchisee, served as the basis for Amnesty’s findings.
Carrefour has a duty to prevent labour violations in all areas of its business, including franchises, according to Amnesty International. The organisation urged Carrefour and MAF to address the issue and “ensure that workers in their operations are never harmed again.”
Carrefour stated that it had asked MAF to look into the working situation in Saudi Arabia during talks with Amnesty earlier this year.
It further stated that the assessment technique was being decided and that it has hired an outside expert to examine the human rights situation. The Human Resources Ministry of Saudi Arabia declared that employee maltreatment was not tolerated by the government.
The Ministry added that in order to stop abusive recruitment tactics, it collaborates closely with the governments of the migrant workers’ home nations. Amnesty’s accusations against Carrefour were not particularly addressed in the statement.
With Saudi Arabia as its second-largest market after the United Arab Emirates, Dubai-based MAF oversees about 500 Carrefour locations in 30 Middle Eastern, Asian, and African nations where it sells apparel along with an assortment of items. With US $ 9.4 billion in sales last year, the corporation made a net profit of about US $ 735 million.