WAGE THEFT
refers to the unlawful intentional under- or non-payment of an employee’s
wages or entitlements by their employer or recruitment agency. It spans
from unauthorized deductions from employees’ wages to the
underpayment or delayed payment of wages, overtime, termination pay
and entitlements such as sick leave and annual leave – or no payment at all.
[1]
as of December 2021
2,604
Of these,
there are
cases of wage
theft across Asia
50
recorded through the JFWT-Uwazi platform [2]
group cases
amounting to
1,219
as of June 2022
$19,519,840
workers in total,
with an average of
24-25
total amount of wages lost
victims per
group case
JFWT documenters recorded the number of
group cases below of workers coming from the
following countries:
NEPAL
INDONESIA
26
7
INDIA
PHILIPPINES
11
6
35
total wage-theft related
complaints filed by MFA
3
national
jurisdictions
1
state
jurisdiction
MFA filed wage theft-related labour complaints in three (3) national jurisdictions and one (1) state
jurisdiction. There were a total of thirty-five (35) cases filed in various jurisdictions. Most of the
cases have reached a partial resolution. However, the process have been arduous and proved to
be a hurdle for migrant workers who cannot spare much time and resources on such processes
because they need to send money back to their families.
justiceforwagetheft.org
facebook.com/justiceforwagetheft
[1] Patriarca , C. (n.d.). Policy Brief No. 1 Justice for Migrant Workers: Creating an Effective Solution to Address Wage Theft. Justice for Wage
Theft. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://justiceforwagetheft.org/en/entity/vsc8tu6yylh?file=16035216857050htlpdva62v.pdf&page=1
Migrant Forum in Asia, through its global campaign, the Justice for Wage Theft
(JFWT), and with the help of its partners, has been systematically documenting
cases of wage theft since its launch in 2020 and has published three (3) volumes
of the issue demonstrating its impact on the lives of migrants. The reports, entitled
“Crying Out for Justice: Wage Theft Against Migrant Workers During COVID-19”,
denotes a huge number of wage theft victims during the pandemic as well as the
estimated cost of unpaid wages and benefits. These reports only present a small
proportion of migrant workers who have experienced wage theft due to a lack of
political commitment to data gathering.
[2] From Justice for Wage Theft Volume 3, Crying Out for Justice
THE JUSTICE FOR
WAGE THEFT CAMPAIGN