On September 15, 2025, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, as well as the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, formally lifted a three-month prohibition on working outdoors during the hottest part of the day, from noon to 3 p.m. The prohibition, from June 15 to September 15, was supposedly aimed at safeguarding workers from the peak heat, enforcing safety measures, and supporting Saudi Vision 2030 objectives for better occupational health. More than 29,000 inspections were conducted, showing a 94% rate of compliance, 2,414 violations, and 325 public reports.
On its face, this could be considered an advance. But if we look at the larger picture, particularly with the 2034 FIFA World Cup drawing near. These steps are superficial, reactive, and completely insufficient. They cannot conceal the structural abusive mechanisms and the huge human price being paid by the migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. The following is an analysis of why this small solar-ban, and its conclusion, not only do nothing to address the actual issues but highlight why so many people globally are demanding that Saudi 2034 be boycotted.
Short-Term Rules Don’t Mean Real Safety
The prohibition against working in scorching sunlight during specific hours was short term and partial. It applied for three months only during peak heat times, from noon to 3 p.m. That’s a very tight window. Saudi summers tend to produce temperatures well over 45°C (113°F), and heat risks are not exclusive to those three hours. Workers have complained of 10+ hour days, even more, and without proper rest, water, shade, or medical care.
Lifting the ban does not equate to temperature decline or conditions becoming better. It merely eliminates a weak protection. With increased World Cup preparations—new and renovated stadiums, tens of thousands of hotel rooms, massive infrastructure developments such as NEOM, airports, roads, and rails—laborers will be subjected to perpetual extreme heat, lengthy working hours, and hazardous working conditions.
Systematic and Pervasive Exploitation of Migrant Workers
In addition to daylight exposure to the sun, the Saudi system extends to more brutal types of exploitation. Wages in most reported cases are withheld for months. “Wage theft” is not isolated, but routine. The kafala system, which binds a worker’s visa and legal status to an employer, allows for extreme abuses: passport confiscation, limitations on mobility or job change, and threat of retaliation.
Dangerous working conditions, deadly accidents, and occupational illness are common. A string of deaths through electrocution, falls, heatstroke, with underreporting or misleading data. Families hardly get fair compensation or notice.
Reforms Are Weak, Enforcement Is Poor
Saudi Arabia has undertaken some reforms—legislation has been enacted, awareness campaigns undertaken, inspections carried out. But each step has been negated by weak enforcement, loopholes, and patchy coverage.
The midday sun regulation was applied for only half the year, with violations already documented despite the monitoring. A lot of safeguards that crop up in bid documents—such as protection against heat, welfare systems, and life insurance—are either not yet implemented or non-binding. Home-based workers, some of the most exposed, are mostly outside the scope of effective Labour protections.
High Cost—Lives, Dignity, Justice
The figures are astonishing—and heartbreaking. More than 13 million migrant laborers reside in Saudi Arabia, comprising over 40% of the population. The estimate of 21,000 worker fatalities since 2017 while working on NEOM and related developments illustrates the human cost, with still more unrecorded or labeled as “natural causes.”
The first fatality directly related to a 2034 stadium development has already happened: Muhammad Arshad, a migrant worker from Pakistan, plummeted from one of the higher levels when laboring on the Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar. His death highlights both dangerous working conditions and a cover-up, with staff urged to erase footage and keep quiet.
These are not numbers only; they are human lives lost due to negligence, poor regulation, and a system prioritizing profits and prestige over human dignity.
Why the End of the Midday Ban Matters to the Case of the Boycott?
The end of the midday working ban is a microcosm of the bigger issue. It indicates that safeguards are provisional, restricted, and politically expedient—deployed when there is pressure, repealed when the spotlight reduces.
It shows that compliance is incomplete and enforcement is generally weak, with widespread contraventions continuing even in the ban. It illustrates that the government’s rhetoric of reform is all about image rather than sustained, fundamental change.
If a three-hour summer ban—a peak time for international attention—is not possible to enforce or keep even partially, what prospect is there for year-round protection for the thousands of workers on 2034 projects?
Migrant Labour Carries the Hidden Price of Saudi Aspirations
Under three glittering Saudi stadiums and mega-projects, there is a darker reality: migrant workers are being exploited to make the aspirations of Saudi Arabia possible. As Saudi rulers invest billions to make an impressive package for FIFA and the world, the workers who construct the infrastructures themselves are left exposed, voiceless, and unarmed.
Excessive Heat and Hazardous Conditions
Thousands of workers are compelled to work in blistering desert heat, which in many instances reaches above 45°C. The abolition of the midday work prohibition has only aggravated the hazards of heatstroke, dehydration, and instant death on construction sites.
Wage Theft and Exploitation
Thousands of migrant workers experience late or non-payment of wages, with some waiting months only to be denied salaries. The sponsorship (Kafala) system continues to bind them to their employers, with it being almost impossible to report exploitation without facing deportation.
Lack of Legal Protection
Despite cosmetic reforms, workers remain without real rights to unionize, report abuse safely, or access independent justice. Oversight is minimal, and exploitation continues unchecked in the shadows of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious projects.
Stand with Workers: Boycott Saudi 2034
Saudi Arabia’s recent relaxation of its ban on the midday sun is indicative of the fact that, far from the hype, the reforms are cosmetic. The workplace exploitation, fatalities, forced labor risk, wage theft, unsafe environment, and absence of substantive protections are not being assuaged or averted successfully. With the 2034 World Cup, the scope of construction, infrastructure, and labor needs will balloon, creating the potential for even more damage unless radical change occurs.
Boycotting Saudi 2034 is more than a football issue. It is about not normalizing or rewarding a labor exploitation system. It is about forcing FIFA, governments, corporations, and fans to demand that dignity, safety, and human life are more important than mega stadiums and international status.