NYUs Abu Dhabi government partners have retained the firm Nardello & Co. to conduct an independent review of allegations of labor violations during the construction of the Saadiyat campus, with a focus on those recently reported in the media. One must visit the website of NYU Abu Dhabi to find the statement, where one can read about this issue next to a blurb on A Varied Landscape of Humanities Research at NYU Abu Dhabi. Although the statement assures us that Nardello & Co. will act independently in the conduct of its review it is not clear what this could mean since by all appearances the firm is retained by NYU Abu Dhabi and/or its government partners (lest we be fooled by the use of the less suggestive verb appoint.) The Our Firm section of Nardello & Co.s website states the following: Led by former federal prosecutors, Nardello & Co.’s experienced team provides timely, well-researched, ethically obtained information that decision-makers rely upon to maximize opportunities, secure competitive advantages, resolve problems or, to avoid potentially reputation-damaging associations. (sic) The firm Nardello & Co. offers many services including Reputational Due Diligence, the heading under which this investigation seems most likely to fall. On the website Nardello offers the following blurb regarding a past similar case under the heading Allegations of Problematic Labor Practices in the Gulf: Nardello & Co. was engaged by a US private equity firm to conduct due diligence on a conglomerate operating across the Middle East. Our investigation identified allegations in the media regarding the treatment of laborers from South Asia employed at two locations in a particular Gulf state. Further research in Arabic and English language sources, and inquiries with sources in the relevant country and internationally, revealed that representatives from international labor groups had visited the locations of interest. We determined that the inspections by these labor groups had identified no obvious concerns regarding the treatment of foreign laborers and that the allegations were unfounded. Apparently the standard of evidence in these investigations is such that an absence of obvious concerns after a visit from international labor groups is enough to demonstrate that allegations reported in the media are unfounded. That must make this firm particularly attractive for NYUs present purposes. It seems obvious that the purpose of this investigation will be to exonerate NYU or minimize its wrongdoing rather than to address the past and current injustices that its employees and those of its contractors have faced. But as usual they do such a shitty job of even pretending.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 04:38:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015