More than 60 hours of work per week “a violation” Saudi laws, unpaid overtime, suspicions of “forced labor” during a day off… Amnesty International, which denounced the working conditions in the Saudi warehouses of the American giant Amazon at the end of 2023, this time investigated the stores and warehouses under the Carrefour brand in the kingdom.
In its report published Monday, the NGO cites in particular a former employee in a warehouse, named Anand, who assures that “in Carrefour stores, workers are not treated like human beings”. The leaders “All the time they say Come on, come on. They grab our T-shirts to make us work quickly”he testifies.
Amnesty International interviewed a total of 17 workers from Nepal, India and Pakistan, employed by subcontractors including Al-Mutairi and Basmah, to work at sites in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. The management of these sites is ensured by the historic franchisee (since 1995) of Carrefour in the Middle East, Majid Al Futtaim (MAF).
“Corrective Actions”
The NGO concludes that this franchisee and Carrefour “contributed to and benefited from human rights abuses by resorting to outsourcing migrant labor without having adequate due diligence in place” and without having ensured that their subcontractors “respect human rights”.
Carrefour told AFP on Friday that it had “asked (its) partner MAF to conduct internal surveys among its employees and subcontractors in Saudi Arabia” following an exchange with Amnesty in mid-2024.
“These initial investigations did not confirm the elements designated by Amnesty’s alert but revealed other problems: housing, training or monitoring of working hours for which corrective actions were carried out”assured the distributor.
He also indicated that an independent expert was “missioned” to investigate “all the requirements relating to human rights”. “We are currently establishing the terms of his audit with him”specified Carrefour.
The NGO notes that the two companies have already made commitments in this area. In its financial documentation, Carrefour says it aims “to respect human rights, throughout its value chain”breaches that may “strongly impact the group’s reputation”.
For its part, MAF underlines, in its latest CSR report, its “commitment to respecting the highest standards of human rights and working conditions”.
“Serious failings”
The Dubai-based company manages nearly 500 Carrefour-branded stores in 30 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In 2023, it achieved 34.5 billion dirhams (AED) in turnover (8.6 billion euros) and 2.7 billion AED in net profit (674 million euros), according to its financial documentation. Saudi Arabia is, in terms of turnover, its largest market outside the United Arab Emirates where the group originates.
Amnesty urges MAF and Carrefour to review their internal procedures regarding migrant workers to help them “efficiently and quickly” in case of abuse.
On Monday, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources said that “Any form of abuse or exploitation in the workplace is unacceptable, and allegations of this nature are thoroughly investigated by the relevant authorities”according to a written reaction sent to AFP.
The ministry indicated “Also work closely with the governments of migrant workers’ countries of origin to combat abusive recruitment practices at an international level.”
The NGO denounced in October 2023 the treatment “abominable” of migrant workers in Amazon warehouses in Saudi Arabia. Last February, the company announced that it had refunded $1.9 million to more than 700 contract workers in Saudi Arabia who were subject to illegal recruitment fees and other abuses.
“The scale and severity of violations committed in Carrefour’s franchise operations in Saudi Arabia are deeply worrying”reacted to AFP Mathias Bolton, head of the trade section of the international union federation UNI Global Union.
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