At least 600 migrant workers, including an unknown number of Bangladeshis, have gone unpaid for eight months while working on a vast development scheme in Mecca.
According to a Human Rights Watch report published on Thursday, the workers, employed by Saudi Arabian Baytur Construction Company on the $26 billion Masar project, staged work abstentions and strikes after months of broken promises and financial hardship.
The Masar project, funded by Saudi Arabia’s trillion-dollar Public Investment Fund (PIF), forms part of the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 development plan.
Yet behind the glossy projections are thousands of migrant workers – many from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Egypt and Türkiye – left struggling to pay debts, feed their families or return home.
The report notes that for Bangladeshi workers, many of whom borrow heavily to migrate, the prospect of returning home empty-handed is devastating.
Labour rights groups in Dhaka have urged the government to intervene through diplomatic channels, observing that wage-related disputes in Saudi Arabia – Bangladesh’s largest overseas labour market – are reaching unprecedented levels.
“Migrant workers endure extreme conditions in the hope of building better futures for their families,” said Human Rights Watch deputy Middle East director Michael Page. “There is no excuse to deny them their legally earned wages.”
Saudi authorities arrested 11 workers during recent protests, later releasing them without charge. One worker told Human Rights Watch, “We were kept waiting with excuses like ‘the money is coming’ or ‘a signature is missing’. The last two years have drained the life out of me.”
Workers said they had been paid irregularly for at least two years, with wages completely halted in recent months. Some were employed under so-called Azad or free visas, meaning they were not directly sponsored by Saudi Baytur – a common but often unlawful practice that leaves workers with little legal protection.
The company reportedly knew of these arrangements, which further complicates workers’ ability to file formal complaints. Human Rights Watch interviewed several workers and Turkish trade union representatives, though many labourers refused to speak for fear of retaliation. One worker returned home still owed 150,000 Saudi riyals (£31,850) in unpaid wages and benefits.
Baytur has not responded to the allegations, but Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development acknowledged the company’s “non-compliance due to financial difficulties” following an internal inspection.
The ministry said “corrective action was taken” and highlighted wage-monitoring systems designed to prevent such abuses. However, it offered no detail on how many workers were affected or how many had received overdue payments.
In September 2025, videos circulated online showing dozens of workers at Baytur’s Mecca labour camp holding placards reading “Umm Al Qura, pay our money” and “SOS.”
Umm Al Qura Development & Construction, which oversees the Masar project and is partly owned by the PIF, has also failed to respond publicly.
Human Rights Watch confirmed that 11 workers were detained for up to several days. “They accused us of shouting slogans against the Kingdom,” said one of the men.
The case comes amid growing global attention on Saudi Arabia’s treatment of migrant workers as the kingdom prepares to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup and expands ultramodern construction projects, including the futuristic NEOM megacity and 11 new football stadiums.
Despite wage-monitoring systems and wage-insurance schemes promoted by Saudi officials, rights groups maintain that systemic failures persist.
A seven-month repayment plan was reportedly submitted by Baytur to Saudi authorities, but workers and union representatives expressed deep doubt. “A similar plan was made in 2023 and never followed through,” said one worker.
