“We Power the UAE’s Green Future, But We’re Trapped”: Migrant Workers Speak Out

With its expansive solar farms and wind projects drawing billions of dollars in investment, the UAE has been in the news for its efforts to become a global leader in renewable energy. However, for the migrant laborers who enable this green revolution, the reality behind its glittering exterior is unsettling.

These workers, mostly from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, are raising their voices about what they say are exploitative conditions, some of which they describe as modern-day forced labor. A recent investigation by the human rights group Equidem has revealed their struggles, and it paints a grim picture of life behind the scenes in the UAE’s renewable energy sector.

“We Work So Hard, But We’re Treated Like We Don’t Matter” Equidem spoke with 34 migrant workers employed by 14 local subcontractors working for 10 major renewable energy companies, many of which are based in Europe and the Gulf. These workers are the ones installing solar panels, maintaining wind turbines, driving trucks, providing security, and keeping the sites clean.

For most of them, the promises made when they were hired turned out to be empty. Around two-thirds reported wage theft—either they weren’t paid on time, received less than they were owed, or didn’t get paid at all for some periods. One worker said he couldn’t even afford to send money back to his family because of the constant delays in his salary.

“I came here to support my family, to give them a better life,” he said. “But now I feel like I’ve failed them because I can’t even send anything home.”

Long Hours, Big Debts, No Escape

Half of the workers said they were being forced to work extremely long hours, sometimes up to 16 hours a day, often without proper breaks or overtime pay. Most of them had also been charged high recruitment fees—an offence in the UAE—to get their initial employment. Such fees would bury them in debts and they would not be able to pay their way out of it.

This paper résumé One worker describe the pressure of having a lot of debts as pressure as “a chain around my neck.” He narrated to me how he had had to borrow just to pay the recruiter then end up in a job that only afforded him barely anything to feed or repay the loan.

Passports Held Hostage
Worrying still, some of the workers stated that their employers had stolen their passports, legally prohibited by the countries of employment. This left them feeling trapped having no freedom to leave their jobs even in the unlikely case that they wanted to come home back.

“That is why when they snatch your passport from you, you feel like your freedom has been taken away from you,” said one worker. “You’re stuck. You can’t do anything without it.”

These stories reflect violations not just of UAE labor laws but also international standards. Mustafa Qadri, the CEO of Equidem, called the findings “shocking” and pointed out the irony of such abuse happening in a high-tech industry that’s supposed to represent a brighter future.

“Renewable energy is about building a better, sustainable world,” Qadri said. “But how can we talk about a better world when the workers making it happen are being treated so badly?”

Forced Labor in the Green Energy Sector
Equidem’s report concluded that the conditions faced by many of these workers meet 10 out of the 11 criteria for forced labor as defined by the International Labour Organization. Such practices as engaging workers under foul preconditions, failing to pay workers their wages, and denying them their right to mobility.

“These are not effects of some minor problem,” Qadri pointed out. “They are setting up situations akin to slavery for the very people who are fueling the spectacular growth of the renewable energy sector.”

High-Tech’s high price: what price the European dream?
The UAE has been one of the fastest-growing countries over the past decade, and it is a world leader in renewable energy; however, such development reaches a point where the social costs cannot be overlooked. Those people who are physically constructing the future are demanding justice, recognition, and, at least, manners.

One worker summed it up simply: We are here in order to work, to help ourselves and others to improve our lives. But we deserve a better life too.” For now, their stories tell us that the future of sustainable energy isn’t clean without being ethical as well. Here is hoping they are all listening.