Report of the Independent Investigator Into Allegations of Labor And
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Report of the Independent Investigator into Allegations of Labor and Compliance Issues During the Construction of the NYU Abu Dhabi Campus on Saadiyat Island, United Arab Emirates April 16, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 5 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................... 9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 12 Allegation: Mott MacDonald Was Ineffective .................................................................... 15 Allegation: Mistreatment of Striking Workers ................................................................... 16 Allegation: Ineffective Reimbursement Policies for Recruitment Fees Paid by Migrant Workers ................................................................................................................. 18 Allegation: Lack of Adherence to Passport Retention Policies .......................................... 19 Allegation: Pay-Related Issues, Including Late Payments and Non-Payment of Back Pay ............................................................................................................................. 20 Allegation: Involuntary Overtime ....................................................................................... 21 Allegation: Sub-Standard Housing ..................................................................................... 21 KEY FINDINGS – BACKGROUND ............................................................................................... 23 The Development of the de facto Exemption Policy .......................................................... 23 Lack of Clarity .................................................................................................................... 24 The Number of Exempt Workers ........................................................................................ 25 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 25 KEY FINDINGS RELATING TO MEDIA AND NGO ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MAIN CAMPUS PROJECT .................................................................. 26 Specific Allegations ............................................................................................................ 27 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 27 5.2.1 The BK Gulf Strike ............................................................................................................. 32 The Al Reyami Strike ......................................................................................................... 37 2 Specific Allegations ............................................................................................................ 39 Relevant Labor Guidelines .................................................................................................. 39 Monitors’ Findings .............................................................................................................. 40 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 40 Specific Allegations ............................................................................................................ 42 Relevant Labor Guidelines .................................................................................................. 42 Monitors’ Findings .............................................................................................................. 42 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 43 Specific Allegations ............................................................................................................ 45 Relevant Labor Guidelines .................................................................................................. 46 Monitors’ Findings .............................................................................................................. 46 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 48 Specific Allegations ............................................................................................................ 50 Relevant Labor Guidelines .................................................................................................. 51 Monitors’ Findings .............................................................................................................. 51 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 52 Specific Allegations ............................................................................................................ 52 Relevant Labor Guidelines .................................................................................................. 53 Monitors’ Findings .............................................................................................................. 54 Nardello & Co.’s Findings .................................................................................................. 56 6. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................. 58 6.1.1 Abolish Exemptions and Cover All Workers ...................................................................... 58 6.1.2 Establish an Escrow Account under the Control of the Compliance Monitor .................... 59 6.1.3 Simplify the Compliance Monitoring Regime .................................................................... 59 6.1.4 Establish and Enforce Strict Penalties for Compliance Violations and Make the Penalties Public ................................................................................................................... 60 6.1.5 Hire an Independent Compliance Monitor .......................................................................... 61 3 6.2.1 Mistreatment of Striking Workers ...................................................................................... 61 6.2.2 Ineffective Reimbursement Policies for Recruitment Fees Paid by Construction Workers ............................................................................................................................... 62 6.2.3 Lack of Adherence to Passport Retention Policies ............................................................. 62 6.2.4 Pay-Related Issues, Including Late Payments and Non-Payment of Back Pay .................. 63 6.2.5 Involuntary Overtime .......................................................................................................... 63 6.2.6 Sub-Standard Housing ........................................................................................................ 64 Appendix..............................................................................................................................................65 Exhibit 1: Statement of Labor Values and 14 Points..........................................................66 Exhibit 2: Key Parties and Terminology.............................................................................70 Exhibit 3: Press Release Announcing Independent Investigation.......................................72 4 INTRODUCTION This investigation arises from New York University’s (“NYU”) decision to open an NYU campus in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”). Construction projects in the UAE and the wider Gulf region rely on the use of migrant laborers, many of whom come from the Asian subcontinent. These workers often encounter difficult working conditions and abusive labor practices. Accordingly, NYU and its government partners sought to take responsibility to protect workers by adopting principles to ensure fair working conditions for those involved in the construction and operation of the NYU campus and by implementing a compliance monitoring regime. Their actions were largely unprecedented, and resulted in bettering the lot of many of those workers who were ultimately covered by the enhanced standards they adopted. Those standards – and to some extent the controversy surrounding how effectively they were implemented – spotlighted labor conditions in the UAE and wider region and have fueled a debate on how to improve them. Reports by several newspapers and Non-Governmental Organizations (“NGO”) have alleged that workers on the campus construction project were not treated in accordance with the guidelines and implied that NYU and its government partners merely paid lip service to their commitment. The objective of this investigation was to determine the veracity of those allegations. As set forth below, our investigation found that the commitment was real, implemented in good faith and, to a large measure, effective. Yet our investigation also corroborated many of the allegations leveled by the media and NGOs and found that the implementation of the standards was flawed. Indeed, our investigation established that approximately one third of the workforce was exempted from coverage by the enhanced standards