Wage theft seems to be a trivialized concept, most popularly known as unpaid or underpaid wages. However, COVID-19 pandemic has transpired that wage theft exists and has so far impacted millions of migrant workers in destination countries. The intensity has severely increased amid pandemic as most of the migrant workers have experienced job loss or non-payment of wages. They were either paid poorly or were given unpaid leaves. Therefore, to address the issue of wage theft, Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Lawyers beyond Borders (LBB) Network, Cross Regional Centre for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), South Asia Trade Union Council (SARTUC), and Solidarity Center (SC) launched ‘Justice for Wage Theft Campaign’ in June 2020.
A session was held on ‘Justice for Wage Theft’, on the eve of International Migrants Day and the two-year anniversary of the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) on December 18, 2020. “International Migrants Day: Global Celebration of Our Rights and Our Struggle for Justice” was organized by Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM),Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT), and the Civil Society Action Committee (AC). The session brought up the testimonies made by the victims in an effort to address their concerns.
Unjust detention violating human rights
Mr. Badshah, a migrant worker from Bangladesh was sacked by a company in Maldives where he was supposed to work for two years but could complete 8 months only due to pandemic. He went to Maldives after paying 300,000 Taka. According to him, he was sent to Male amid lockdown where he stayed for 3 months. He took up another job where he worked relentlessly for 10 to 12 days without any leave and was paid the salary of only one day. Surviving on such low salary became impossible for Badshah, so he was sent back to the original place of work again where he stayed for three months but remained unemployed.
Mr Badshah said, “I had no money and could not contact my home in Bangladesh. I decided to work again but this time the police arrested me and was detained to jail for 10 days. I was not provided proper food or allowed to take a shower or contact my family. Being only an earning member, it was hard to ask for financial help. I was mentally broke, spent every day in agony”. Currently, Badshah is working as a rental rickshaw puller at his hometown at Tangayal in Bangladesh.
Currently, there are millions of migrant workers who are repatriated without settling their dues and left unemployed in their own home country. Such workers have contacted various migration organizations to exercise their rights of labour and to receive justice.
Hasty Repatriation Without Proper Payment of Dues
Dasarathi Barik from Odisha, India, worked in Saudi Arabia’s Nasser S. Al Hajri as civil labour for 10 years. He said, “I was terminated following coronavirus induced lockdown. I was not paid a salary for 3 months and the additional benefits for entire years of my employment with the company. I paid 50000 Rs for this job to the Mumbai based recruitment agency”.
Likewise, another 600 complaints were made against the same company. Everyone has been denied their benefits and remained unemployed for 3 months. According to Dasarathi and his colleagues, after being sacked they were asked to sign on blank paper, few of them who refused were forced to sign. They were not allowed to take photos of paper they signed. They were asked for account details and were sent home after they were assured of their due payments within 2 months. However, it’s been 4 months, they are waiting for their dues and benefits. The company has refused to renew their Visa.
Non-Cooperative Authorities and Ministry
Nothing could be more devastating for a women migrant worker than being unpaid and losing a job, especially when a single mother is supporting her 5 children, parents and siblings. Lorena Perez, Filipino migrant worker worked for 2 years in Doha, Qatar. The working conditions were never in her favour but they became worse when pandemic hit them. Lorena was hired as an on call cleaner by a company on the contract of 2 years from November 2018 to November 2020. As per the contract she was supposed to receive 1100 riyals but was underpaid. Similar was the case of other 33 workers hired with her, few of them did not receive medical insurance as promised at the time of contract. Lorena along with her colleagues filed an unsuccessful complaint in the ministry of labour and social affair? last August.
Recalling an incident Lorena said, “Once I withdrew 500 riyals from an ATM, the employer demanded to give back 300 riyals. I was even slapped for asking for a day off. The employer would often get aggressive as I asked other co-workers to fight for their rights. I thought I was hired to work as an on call cleaner but most of the time we did domestic work. We also tolerated harsh behavior of employers which turned even worst during lockdown. We overworked and were in constant fear to be infected with COVID-19. They confiscated our passport which is against the law”
Poor Working Conditions and Long Hours
Lissette Marquez Pacheo, a Mexican migrant worker, worked in California as a crew member in a tourist cruise line on a temporary visa; C-1/ D- visa. According to her, the clauses of contracts were not fulfilled. Primarily, she was underpaid and earned around only 3 to 4 dollars an hour.
Lissette said, “I wanted to travel while working, so I took up this job. However, this turned frustrating as I could not focus on the learning part. The long working hours and mistreatment made me quit. I had to work for 11 to 13 hours each day with two breaks, 30 minutes each for breakfast and lunch. It was not a job, it was labour trafficking and torture which affected physical as well as mental health”.
Ellene Sana, executive director for Center for Migrant Advocacy in Philippines, the moderator of the session concluded by pointing out how COVID-19 has magnified the issue of wage theft. The migrant labors pay exorbitant fees to middle men and recruitment agencies. They fill in vacancies where wages are already low. They are also secluded from additional social benefits for accommodation, social life, and restricted mobility, be it in Gulf States or vacation Islands like Maldives.
Local workers can go home at the end of the work but the case is different for overseas workers especially during pandemic. Although the local workers suffer from non-payment of wages, the situation is worse for migrant workers because of border divide. In precarious working conditions, the migrant workers can be threatened on the pretext of termination or pre- termination of contracts and also detentions in the foreign countries. This spells a lot of difference in terms of migrant workers’ access to justice and support networks.
The repatriation procedures have been undertaken hastily by countries of both origin and destination, without any proper redress mechanisms. Millions will be repatriated in situations of debt bondage as they are forced to pay off recruitment fees and costs, despite returning empty handed.
Snehal Mutha is a Pune based journalist doing her little and loves to read books, finds her peace in food. Her areas of interest are gender studies, international migration and social issues. She wants to be a pantomath who loves to explore and travel the world. She loves to express herself in the form of creative writing and digital art. Twitter: https://twitter.com/SnehalMutha?s=08