“Saudi’s Neom project: What do its exploitative work conditions say about India’s migrant worker scenario?” | NLS Faculty Member Dr. Saurabh Bhattacharjee on The Hindu’s In Focus Podcast

NLS faculty and Academic Dean Dr. Saurabh Bhattacharjee features on a recent episode of The Hindu’s In Focus podcast on the topic: “Saudi’s Neom project: What do its exploitative work conditions say about India’s migrant worker scenario?”

He explains how and why migration from India to the Gulf countries continues, the continuing system of exploitation, why India has failed to enact strong legislation to protect migrant workers and the need to overhaul the Indian Emigration Act.

Abstract (Source: The Hindu) 

Exploitative work conditions faced by Indians in the Middle East is not new, but the recent reports emerging from Saudi Arabia’s ambitious $500 billion Neom project are shocking: a recent documentary alleges that 21,000 foreign workers have died and 1,00,000 have gone missing since 2017, while working on projects that are part of the country’s Vision 2030 initiative.

Earlier this week Nadhmi al-Nasr, the long-time chief executive of the Neom project departed, and while there was no reason stated, reports indicate Mr. al-Nasr had earned a chilling reputation managing workers of the project.

Listen to the podcast here.

Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinion/stand of the University.