Uae Site Workers Are Slaves, Says Lobby Group

摘要

A pressure group has set out to prove that the conditions of building site workers in the UAE meet the legal definition of slavery, as the row over workers' treatment in the region intensifies.rnNicholas McGeehan (pictured), the British founder of web-based lobby organisation Mafiwatsa, has begun a PhD that aims to prove that in legal terms migrant workers in the country's construction and oil industries are enslaved. He has funding from the European University Institute in Italy.rnThe news follows similar allegations in the BBC's Panorama programme last week and comes amid growing pressure on UK firms working in the region to improve the lot of workers.rnMcGeehan said: "When they arrive their passports are confiscated. This was made illegal in 2002, but it is still the norm. They are not allowed to strike or form trade unions and they often don't have sanitary accommodation. We also know of many instances where workers are sleeping 20 to a room."