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While most cases registered were male workers, Nepali cases have a high ratio of female
workers.
The most common occupation among female migrant workers that faced wage theft include
domestic workers (25) followed by employees of sanitation/cleaning services (20) and ‘other’
categories including beauty workers at salons and spas (12).
A majority of cases, 316 of them (45% of the total cases), were from the construction industry. It
was followed by hospitality/F&B (108), manufacturing (67), transportation (52), domestic workers
(31), sanitation (29), fishing (20), retail (8), office workers (7) and tradespersons (6).
Exploitation means
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Confiscating the ATM card for ‘safekeeping’ (particularly for domestic workers).
Using the worker’s card and paying wages in cash after making illegal wage cuts.
Forcing workers to sign an agreement stating that they have received all dues and claims, or
withdrawal of claim to pending wages.
Threatening retaliatory action in case worker requests or questions their right to wages.
Forcing workers to withdraw from the designated bank account and pay back recruitment fees
before their repatriation.
Declare them absconding, rendering them undocumented or cancelling the visa without the
worker serving a notice period.
Recommendations for states
● Acknowledge and observe the lacunae in policy that feeds into the precarity of status of the
migrant and the power imbalance between employer and migrant worker.
● Establish and improve accountability mechanisms upon employers through common platforms or
communication pathways.
● Improve monitoring within recruitment systems.
● Ensure that data collection and case documentation are taken seriously to enable evidence-based
policymaking.
● Establish and expand current systems of social protection for migrant workers regardless of their
documentation status and sector of work.