Saudi Arabia's embassy in Maputo has denied forcing staff to work every weekend without overtime pay and discriminating against Mozambican staff.

"Everything mentioned in the paper is not true and consists of unfounded allegations," it said, referring to anonymous workers' claims published in the Carta de Mocambique newspaper.

Working hours at the embassy are from 09:00 to 15:00, the embassy added, "and nobody is obliged to do extra tasks".

On the issue of pay, the anonymous sources also said workers at the Saudi embassy had not received a pay rise since 2018. In response, the embassy has publicly stated details about salaries and contracts.

Monthly wages vary from $646 (£513) for a gardener to $1,460 for a translator, it said. All local staff have work contracts including an overtime allowance, a transport allowance, and provision for 30 days paid holiday a year.

The embassy however admitted it did ban workers’ relatives from bringing them food unless it was tinned, but called it a coronavirus precaution. The embassy has denied doing less to protect Mozambican staff from the virus, stating "it is obvious that the virus does not discriminate between one functionary and another".

Instances of forced labour in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are well documented. But the Saudi embassy in Mozambique has rejected the use of the term by anonymous workers describing their conditions.

Slavery "contradicts the principles of Islam and the social values of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", it said.

There has not been any comment from Mozambique's Foreign Ministry or Labour Ministry on the workers' accusations.