A new Amnesty International report says migrant workers on the Riyadh Metro project faced more than ten years of exploitation. The workers came mainly from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal and paid heavy recruitment fees before even leaving home, even though Saudi law forbids such charges. Once in Riyadh, many earned less than two dollars an hour, worked more than sixty hours a week, and labored in extreme heat that often exceeded forty degrees despite rules against outdoor work at midday.

Amnesty also documented withheld passports, cramped and dirty housing, poor food, and discriminatory treatment. The group says these abuses were made possible by structural gaps in Saudi Arabia’s labor system, especially the sponsorship model that leaves workers vulnerable and limits their ability to challenge employers.

The report urges the Saudi government and the international companies involved to strengthen labor oversight and ensure real human rights due diligence. It also calls on Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to regulate recruitment agents more tightly to stop workers from falling into debt before they even board a plane.