WAGE THEFT Standing Up for Migrant Workers in the COVID Crisis Prior to COVID-19, migrant workers were already amongst the most vulnerable in the world to various forms of exploitation. One of the most common forms of exploitation is witholding or theft of wages. Wage abuse can include illegally low rates of pay, different pay for different workers doing the same job, failure to pay overtime, false accounting, and unwarranted deductions amongst others. These practices have become deeply embedded in how some global supply chains operate, a normal part of doing business, resulting in false price points for goods and services dependent on degrees of exploitation. The pandemic severely escalated this situation. While some brands and retailers committed to pay in full for completed orders or those already in production, others responded to the crisis by cancelling orders or paying suppliers substantially reduced prices. This had an adverse financial impact on suppliers, and in turn their workers. Urgent reports arose throughout 2020 of workers far from home losing jobs, being forced by employers to take unpaid leave or reduced wages, confined in poor living conditions, and given little choice in whether and when to repatriate. As the impacts of COVID-19 became apparent, many companies seemed to consider it acceptable – and that the consequences were negligible – if they simply did not pay due wages or adhere to employment contracts, instead laying off or standing down workers. Thousands of migrant workers faced the dilemma of giving up wages owed to them to return home, or to stay abroad with no work and no money - often in countries that do not have or offer access to social safety nets. & Human Rights 2021 Business Top 10 Issues Many migrant workers are still struggling – months on – with the dilemma of exercising their right to return, while others remain stranded in cities or border areas without access to services or support, living in precarious conditions posing as quarantine facilities. In the year ahead, the response to COVID-19 and promises to build back better must include greater access to justice for migrant workers caught in the continuum of abuse that makes up modern forms of slavery, in particular financial redress for lost wages. The Justice Mechanism proposed by leading migrant rights organisations in response to COVID-driven events is an important indication of what workers around the world are demanding. And in so doing, the iniquitous system that allows workers to be treated with such disregard may finally be irrevocably broken. Wage theft is part of the process of modern slavery. It is time it came to an end. “ The Justice Mechanism proposed by leading migrant rights organisations in response to COVID-driven events is an important indication of what workers around the world are demanding. And in so doing, the iniquitous system that allows workers to be treated with such disregard may finally be irrevocably broken. ” Institute for Human Rights and Business 11