22 Criminalization of filing complaints Upon learning that the migrant worker filed a wage theft complaint against them (employer), employer reports the worker to the authorities as a “runaway”. Not reporting to work without prior permission of the employer is a criminal offence in some of the countries of destination. 23 24 Getting blacklisted by recruitment agencies Migrant workers are blacklisted by recruiters when they hear that the worker filed a complaint against the employer. Some companies and employers conduct business through illegal means. This forces the migrant worker to remain silent and not file for wage theft complaints due to the fear of getting incarcerated and deported. 25 Migrant workers are forced to shoulder the translation cost of documents required when filing complaints in courts. 27 26 Migrant workers have also experienced wage disparity in the destination countries due to their gender. 28 The skills training fees are deducted from the workers’ wages despite the training being required by the employer/industry. Taking loans in the origin country The worker is deceived by the recruitment agency to take out a loan before leaving to pay for the recruitment fees. Due to falsified documents provided by the agency, the worker is unaware of the total cost of his/her loan.