Talabat—Equidem investigation found Talabat-linked migrant delivery riders in Saudi Arabia and UAE faced kafala-based debt bondage, wage theft and forced-labor indicators

An April 2026 report by labor rights group Equidem ('Free to Be Exploited'), based on 108 interviews with migrant food-delivery riders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE (from Bangladesh, Cameroon, India, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan), found indicators of forced labor in 42% of cases across platforms including Talabat, Careem (Uber) and HungerStation (Delivery Hero). Riders working under the Talabat brand reported passport confiscation (45% of interviewees), recruitment-fee charging despite laws prohibiting it (70%), unfair contracting (25%), wage deductions for missed performance targets of 400-450 deliveries/month, no guaranteed salaries or overtime pay, and debt taken on to cover visa/ticket/license costs (51%). Nearly all riders were hired through third-party logistics firms (3PLs) rather than directly by Talabat, and were bound to those firms under the kafala sponsorship system, unable to change employer without consent and fearing retaliation, detention or deportation if they organized or complained. Talabat said it does not directly control rider payroll and pointed to a 'Salary Ombudsman Initiative' relying on rider self-reporting and escalation to 3PL partners; Equidem assessed this as insufficient to address systemic issues.