{"id":57621,"date":"2025-06-05T21:13:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T21:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse"},"modified":"2025-06-05T21:39:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T21:39:06","slug":"african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse","title":{"rendered":"African Trade Unions Demand Probe Into Saudi Worker Abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>A group of African-led trade unions urged the U.N.-backed International Labor Organization on Wednesday to create its highest-level inquiry into Saudi Arabia, citing abuses of migrant workers in the 2034 World Cup host nation.<\/p>\n<p>On the same day in Geneva, the ILO signed a renewed working agreement with the kingdom\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt reflects a shared commitment to advancing labor policies that are aligned with international standards and national priorities,\u201d said ILO director general Gilbert Houngbo, the former prime minister of Togo.<\/p>\n<p>A different view was suggested by trade unions in 36 countries \u2014 including Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal \u2014 who filed a formal complaint with the ILO asking for a \u201cCommission of Inquiry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It alleged evidence of forced labor, wage theft, physical and sexual abuse and systemic racism targeting African workers, and continued Saudi use of the kafala system tying them to employers especially in construction and domestic work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorkers are being treated as disposable in Saudi Arabia. They leave alive and return in coffins,\u201d said Joel Odigie, general secretary of the Africa chapter of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). \u201cThe ILO must act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A previous complaint filed by the Building and Wood Workers\u2019 International union one year ago is being investigated by the ILO, which unites governments, workers and employers to set labor standards and promote decent work.<\/p>\n<p><b>Union frustration<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Saudi Arabia \u201chas shown no real intention to address the situation,\u201d the ITUC said Wednesday, despite its top official engaging with the kingdom\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis (kafala) system strips workers of their freedom and dignity, silences complaints and grants employers near-total control over their lives,\u201d the ITUC added.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the ILO\u2019s Houngbo said the updated Saudi working accord would \u201cexpand protections for vulnerable workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur renewed partnership with the ILO underscores Saudi Arabia\u2019s commitment to a fair, inclusive and future-ready labor market,\u201d government minister Ahmed Al Rajhi said after signing the deal in Geneva.<\/p>\n<p>It also includes sending young Saudi professionals on international development work through the ILO and posting three government officials to the labor body\u2019s headquarters in the Swiss city.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with reporters last week, Houngbo said the ILO also is working to create an occupational health and safety center in the Saudi capital Riyadh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not too much worried on (Saudi issues) in 2025,\u201d the ILO leader said in Geneva last week, noting 2030 was the deadline for much of what the kingdom wants to achieve.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Lesotho<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. A group of African-led trade unions urged the U.N.-backed International Labor Organization on Wednesday to create its highest-level inquiry into Saudi Arabia, citing abuses of migrant workers in the 2034 World Cup host nation. On the same day in Geneva, the ILO signed a renewed working agreement with the kingdom\u2019s government. \u201cIt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":57620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[4191,90,2642,245,2046],"class_list":["post-57621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-discrimination","tag-fifa","tag-international-labour-organization","tag-lesotho","tag-saudi-arabia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>African Trade Unions Demand Probe Into Saudi Worker Abuse - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A group of African-led trade unions urged the U.N.-backed International Labor Organization on Wednesday to create its hi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"African Trade Unions Demand Probe Into Saudi Worker Abuse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A group of African-led trade unions urged the U.N.-backed International Labor Organization on Wednesday to create its hi ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-05T21:13:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-05T21:39:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/06\/sm_1749143168.197352.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"African Trade Unions Demand Probe Into Saudi Worker Abuse\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-05T21:13:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-05T21:39:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse\"},\"wordCount\":423,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2025\/06\/sm_1749143168.197352.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Discrimination\",\"FIFA\",\"International Labour Organization\",\"Lesotho\",\"Saudi Arabia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/african-trade-unions-demand-probe-into-saudi-worker-abuse\",\"name\":\"African Trade Unions Demand Probe Into Saudi Worker Abuse - 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