A concerning investigation has emerged from The Athletic on Newcastle United’s sleeve sponsor, Noon; a Saudi company who are also a “regional partner” of Man City’s.
A ‘special report’ by Jacob Whitehead reveals some shocking allegations of worker mistreatment emerging from the Saudi Arabian company; who have been our sleeve sponsor over the past two years after a £7.5m-per-year deal was struck in 2022.
Noon, described as the ‘Amazon of the Middle East’ are the Gulf’s largest online retailer, but they have come in for serious criticism following some disturbing findings from The Athletic, who shared these comments from Irfan; a ‘terrified’ warehouse worker in Noon’s Riyadh warehouse:
“We got to the accommodation, and the logistics were not good, the facilities were not good, and the food was not good,” he says. “We were not provided with the salary we were promised.
“We brought these things up with the supply company. The agency manager put some of us in the storehouse without food and physically abused us, beat us. Then they locked the doors.
“It’s regular. When I arrived it was Ramadan, I was fasting, I had no money, and I had my family to support. Without me, they will not have food. My salary did not come for the first three months. When I went again to ask for it, I was physically pushed out of the office. I went back to my bunk and cried.”
“If anyone knows I am passing information on about the company, I will be in big, big trouble. They will fine me 20,000 (Saudi) riyals, these people would make me stay in Saudi forever.”
A snipper from The Athletic’s piece also shares more examples: ‘Sara, a driver, speaks of being “treated like machines or horses, not human beings”. Rohit, a warehouse worker, says he suffered “mental violence” over meeting targets. “It was suicide working there,” says Nancy.’
Noon ‘strongly denies’ all allegations, but it’s a concern given their connection to the…
Source link : https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2024/06/12/saudi-sponsor-investigated-shocking-claims-emerge-in-special-report-from-the-athletic/
Author : Olly Hawkins
Publish date : 2024-06-12 13:55:54
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.