25 JUSTICE REFORM During the pandemic, MFA partners in Indonesia reported struggling to support migrant workers in filing complaints, for example, as authorities blamed circumstances for their inability to provide proper assistance; they also reported migrant workers facing more challenges accessing assistance in destination countries. MFA partners in Oman reported there was no operative dispute settlement system and thus no effective means to access justice for migrant workers. (Migrant Forum in Asia, 2021) Such issues have existed and have been highlighted before the pandemic as well by civil society and migrant communities in countries of origin and destination. Hence, a major focus of the Wage Theft campaign is to ensure reform of existing justice mechanisms and the flawed foundations of its creation, to accurately address wage theft and the conditions that perpetuate it.  Ad-hoc transnational justice mechanisms should be created, particularly to address grievances of returned migrant workers who did not have the opportunity to submit their claims before leaving the country of destination. o o o o o  Undertaking government-initiated investigations and prosecution of wage theft must be considered as part of strategic enforcement (Migrant Justice Institute, 2021). Another way is to have online labour courts to be extended to function transnationally for workers with legal claims of wage theft. A specific timeframe within which relevant actors must process grievances should be defined and a dedicated, fast-track and easily accessible justice mechanism for migrant workers should be created in both sending and receiving countries. In addition, a universal migrant rights violation documentation system needs to be developed that explicitly addresses wage theft and conditions that perpetuate it. Under bilateral and multilateral frameworks, governmental authorities should commit to processing migrant workers grievances effectively and expedite resolution processes. These resolutions should be approached considering the best interest of the migrant workers and challenge the power imbalances between employers and employees. When appropriate, national human rights institutions should be consulted before reaching a decision. (Migrant Forum in Asia, 2021) A comprehensive coordination committee at the national and local levels should be created, with the aim to reform existing laws and policies and implement a migrantfriendly justice system. This committee should include members from nongovernmental migrant organisations, to be involved at each stage of the process. (Migrant Forum in Asia, 2021) Reform targets must be set at each of the three stages of the wage recovery process: lodging a wage claim or complaint; obtaining a determination against an employer for wages owed; and enforcing judgments and ensuring workers can collect payment. (Migrant Justice Institute, 2021) Access to transnational justice is thus also a priority and migrant workers, for example, should be able to give evidence from their home country. Establishing a fund at the missions or at the ministerial level to provide legal aid, as well as setting up a panel of lawyers to ensure free/affordable legal services for workers are helpful in this regard (CS & Rajan, 2021) o Anti-retaliation laws must be considered where employers are prohibited from firing, suspending or threatening workers of retaliatory action after the worker has filed a complaint at any grievance mechanism. Trade unions, migrant community associations may also be considered to represent or file complaints on behalf of workers in Disclaimer: The figures, statistics within the report are based upon the limited documentation of cases submitted to the JFWT platform or separately to MFA. It does not intend to implicate any country, government, industry, employer, etc.