28 WORKER PROTECTION Provision of Social Protection In 2019, the ILO’s 100th year, the ILC adopted the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, which recognizes the continued relevance and centrality of decent work for all in shaping ‘a fair, inclusive and secure future of work’. (Cholewinski R. , 2020) Social protection, being among the foundational pillars of decent work, was recognised as essential for medium to long term sustainable protection of migrant workers. However, social protection is barely provided in many destinations, with the responsibility of providing health insurance (the minimum level of protection accorded to migrant workers) placed upon the employer The challenges of the pandemic showed that social protection, the most basic manner of protection provision, is one of the foremost services required during a crisis. Most migrant workers have temporary, contractual jobs which are already vulnerable and further compounded by other vulnerabilities such as status of documentation, conditions that perpetuate wage theft, restrictive labour rights, etc. As we continue to witness during the pandemic, immediate effects of wage cuts, job losses and deprivation of services are felt deeply and instantly upon migrant labour. Migrant workers who had spent a majority of their productive years in countries of destination were also found to return during period of crises empty handed without their end of service benefits, gratuity, compensation for arbitrary lay-offs, compounded earnings/savings, etc. These systemic issues prevalent among all sections of migrant workers require sustainable solutions.    Contributory or opt-out schemes (instead of opt-in) need to be considered for all migrant workers, in alignment with international conventions. For low-wage and informal migrants, the prospect of protection funds must be considered by destination countries. In addition, short-term (such as occupational injury, maternity and sickness) benefits may be easier to access for migrant workers than long-term (such as oldage pension) benefits as they depend on the current contributory capacity of the member. 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.