Free to be Exploited presents the findings of a three-year investigation into the labour conditions facing migrant delivery riders across the Gulf — workers who power platforms like Deliveroo, Talabat, HungerStation, and Careem, yet remain largely invisible.

Based on 108 in-depth interviews with riders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the report examines one of the region’s fastest-growing sectors, revealing how the convenience of platform-based delivery is built on the labour of migrant workers who often take on significant debt to secure these jobs and face severe constraints once they arrive.

The report documents how this system operates through third-party logistics firms (3PLs), allowing platform companies to control work while distancing themselves from responsibility for labour conditions. Workers described wage theft, punishing delivery targets, and threats of deportation when they attempted to complain or organise, with many experiencing conditions consistent with indicators of forced labour.

As platform-based work expands globally, the findings highlight the urgent need for stronger accountability and protections, particularly as international negotiations seek to define the future of work in the platform economy.