The review, published on 16 April, corroborates several allegations made in the media and by non-governmental organisations about the treatment of workers on the Saadiyat Island site.

All workers on the project should have been guaranteed living and working conditions that went beyond the United Arab Emirates’ labour laws under guidelines issued by NYU and its government partners.

But the report, commissioned by NYU and Tamkeen, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Affairs Authority, finds that between 30 and 35 per cent of the approximately 30,000 workers employed on the campus project were excluded from these protections.

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