Gulf construction laborers face whipping, mass suicides, and unchecked workplace deaths

Evidence

Not only are wages kept from workers and breached contracts made to seem normal, but the laborers reported a sobering list of corporal punishments that they experienced, including whipping and baton lashing. Suicide rates among workers are di≈cult to track, but it has been estimated that in 2004 about 100 laborers had killed themselves. Work-related deaths numbered well above 800. Those who survive the grueling work conditions must deal with the soaring temperatures and humidity that put them at great risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke. When workers are injured, the burden often resides with them to seek care. Compliance with workplace health and safety regulations among employers is rare; enforcement of regulations requiring employers to report health claims is nonexistent. — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 639