Over 130 artists have voiced their intention to boycott the international museums currently under construction on Saadiyat Island in the United Arab Emirates. The group Gulflabor, which includes the artists Doug Ashford, Tania Brugera, Sam Durant, Mariam Ghani, Hans Haacke, Walid Raad and Michael Rakowitz, are concerned about the welfare of emigrant workers as construction begins on the new branch of the Louvre.
In 2009 Human Rights Watch released an 80-page report that slammed the living conditions, working conditions and pay conditions of the South Asian workers, however also saying that the UAE government has moved to raise the level of their living conditions. The suggestion was also made to the international companies building new centres that they ensure that the workers welfare is written into the project contracts with the UAE.
