DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On Saturday, Dubai’s Expo 2020 gave contradictory statistics for the number of employees murdered on-site during the huge world’s fair’s construction, first stating five and then saying three.
The contradictory remarks occurred as the event and the UAE as a whole have long been chastised by human rights campaigners for their treatment of low-wage migrant workers from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who keep the country’s economy humming.
At a news conference on Saturday morning, Expo spokeswoman Sconaid McGeachin remarked flatly, “We’ve had five fatalities already,” adding, “You know, that’s clearly a tragedy that anyone would die.”
Expo claimed that its 200,000 workers put in over 240 million hours to construct the massive fairgrounds from the ground up. Despite repeated requests from the Associated Press and other media over the last year, officials have not provided any general figures on worker fatalities, injuries, or coronavirus infections.
Authorities were also aware of incidents involving contractors “withholding passports,” participating in questionable “recruitment tactics,” and breaching workplace safety rules, according to McGeachin.
“We took efforts to ensure things were handled and very much interfered in situations on that,” she added, without going into detail.
Even those visiting the site on its first day, Friday, were exposed to the scorching early fall heat, with some tourists passing out in the stifling heat of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
When asked about worries about labor violations on the job, Le Drian replied, “Our relationship with the United Arab Emirates is a vital one, it’s extremely close.” “If we need to communicate with the government of the United Arab Emirates, we do it behind closed doors.”
At the press briefing, no Emirati official was present.