2- The Compensation Fund:
A Compensation Fund set up at the global and national level should accompany the work of the Claims
Commission and act as its executive branch, dispensing appropriate compensation in cases determined as
wage theft.
Funds must be set up at the national level, and contributions to them could be ensured by the government,
private contributions, business, and philanthropic foundations.
Funds advanced by the government could be later recouped from employers and businesses who were
involved in wage-theft. This approach would ensure that migrant workers are paid their dues without delay,
and that their cases are resolved swiftly. It will also ensure that employers and business that have not
respected their contractual obligations face accountability for their actions.
A global solidarity fund also needs to be established for those workers whose cases have been determined
as a genuine wage theft but are unable to access compensation from national funds.
3- Reforming National Justice Systems:
National and global claims commissions and compensation funds are no substitutes to fair and functioning
justice systems at the national level. Availment of remedies under the transitional justice mechanism is not
exclusive, and without prejudice to the availment of more favourable legal remedies available under the
existing national justice systems.
So far, national justice systems have largely failed migrant workers; this failure should no longer be accepted
or normalized. Even in the best of times, migrant workers suffer unsurmountable obstacles accessing
justice and seeking legal redress.
Challenges in accessing justice for wage theft at the national level cuts across various areas. Access to
courts and police stations, documentation and proof of violations, cost and duration of litigation, language
barriers, status dependency on employers, requirements for in person testimony are among the chief
challenges to justice in the context of migration. Domestic workers are frequent victims of wages theft and
face additional barriers to access to justice, which are not limited to restrictions on freedom of mobility
alone. Lack of political will and weak enforcement mechanims are also obstacles to justice for migrant
workers.