NYU pioneers construction workers' rights

Human rights watch director for the Middle East Sarah Leah Whitson.
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Last week, New York University (NYU) revealed it will demand that all companies involved in the construction of its Middle East campus in Abu Dhabi follow strict guidelines dictating the fair and proper treatment of all labourers who work on the project.

These guidelines dictate how many hours per week labourers can work, how often they are paid, that overtime is paid and voluntary and that workers are entitled to paid holidays.

They also stipulate that employers cover or reimburse any costs accrued by employees in the recruitment process and that companies are prohibited from withholding personal documents, such as passports, from labourers.

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As GCC countries, the UAE in particular, enjoyed a massive construction boom, many human rights groups highlighted the unethical treatment of site workers, hailing predominantly from South Asia. While authorities have made great strides to improve the conditions and contracts that hold these labourers, for many, these improvements still do not go far enough and, they argue, companies still hold far too much power over employees.

“Since we and our Abu Dhabi partners announced the creation of NYU Abu Dhabi in the autumn of 2007, we have made clear our shared commitment to protecting the rights of the men and women who will build and operate our campus,” said NYU spokesman Josh Taylor.

The degree-granting, liberal arts university campus has been designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects; work is set to begin at its Saadiyat Island site later this year, with a 2014 date penciled in for the university’s official opening.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) described NYU Abu Dhabi’s clampdown on contractors as “a significant step toward protecting migrant workers there” and called for neighbouring projects on Saadiyat Island, such as Middle Eastern branches of the world-famous Louvre and Guggenheim museums, to follow suit.

“NYU Abu Dhabi’s commitments should go a long way toward fixing the major sources of labor abuse,” said HRW Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson.

“These provisions set a new minimum standard so that companies will no longer be able to treat worker abuse as a necessary part of doing business in the UAE.”

The move by HRW is significant not only because it marks the first time that an institution of such a size and importance has imposed regulations regarding the treatment of labourers constructing its facilities, but also due to it coming on the back of a damning HRW report last year and subsequent pressure from student groups, faculty, and alumni to obtain contractual guarantees from contractors.

In May last year, HRW released an 80-page report entitled ‘The Island of Happiness’: Exploitation of Migrant Workers on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, which claimed that thousands of South Asian migrant workers building the US $27 billion island development were on the receiving end of severe exploitation and abuse bordering on forced labour.