14 FROM MFA PARTNERS (JUNE-DEC 2021) The below wage theft cases in the GCC and ASEAN region were collected by MFA members and partners in separate submissions. These figures included to the number of cases on the JFWT platform add up to 1,267 cases. 1. With the assistance of MFA partners, The High Commission of Bangladesh in Brunei Darussalam issued a letter in June 2021 to relevant ministries in Brunei regarding 49 cases of wage theft. 49 Bangladeshi workers from 4 different companies reported wage theft of a total amount of roughly $237,220. Wage theft offenses included wage cuts, Sultan tax deduction from workers’ salary, forged medical tests, no contract provided, confiscation of documents and reduced overtime pay, among others. 2. MFA partners in Kuwait engaged with the Indian Embassy to report a group case of 120 workers of one engineering and contracting company that experienced wage theft. Some workers had been working in the company for more than 25 years. Offences against the employees included a. Fabrication of false absconding cases to deport employees without payment of dues b. Non-renewal of visa c. Pending monthly and leave salaries, end of service benefits, notice pay, air ticket costs, reimbursement of visa non-renewal fines d. Fear and threat of retaliation in case of legal action by victims (only 16 employees filed cases in Kuwait) 3. With the assistance of MFA partners in Bahrain, 19 employees of a construction company signed a letter to the company president regarding non-payment of salaries and other benefits for a period of 4 months. The employees continued to stay at the camp but were not allowed to join work for more than a month. This was compounded by electricity and water cuts to the camp. 4. RMMRU reported 100 cases of wage theft from Bangladesh. Workers were from a variety of occupations such as hospitality, semi-skilled occupations, domestic work, and construction. 44 cases were from KSA, 19 from Kuwait, 14 from UAE and others from Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. 27 percent of cases were female returnees. Almost all workers that returned due to the pandemic have not received their end of service entitlements before leaving the destination country. Most workers were laid off by their employers without paying dues, while several others experienced undocumented status as well as sickness. 5. NNSM released a situational analysis of wage theft of Nepali migrant workers in June 2021. The study comprised 241 returnee migrants in which majority were male (69%) and larger segment of returnees were from the age group of 25-29 years (26%). Significant proportion of returnees were from Janajati (38%), married (78%) and with low educational status. a. The highest proportions of returnees were from UAE (36.27%) followed by Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Kuwait and Qatar. b. About 78 per cent of the total returnee migrants were documented in which more females were undocumented than their male counterparts. c. Nearly 63 per cent respondents had received payment as agreed, whereas 33 per cent returned empty-handed. The proportion of returnees who did not receive the agreed 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.