The survey was conducted among 3,345 migrant workers who either returned home or are
stranded abroad after being abandoned by their employers. A total of 397 workers out of them,
making up more than 11% of the surveyed, were found to be victims of ‘wage theft,’ signifying
termination without notice and withholding or deduction of wages and other benefits. Out of
them, 90% belong to the construction sector, 2% manufacturing, 2% transportation and 2.5%
comprising other sectors such as domestic work, retail, and medical.
According to figures maintained by NoRKA Roots, the field agency of Department of NonResident Keralites, a total of 15.36 lakh migrant workers returned until July 15 this year since
the outbreak of the pandemic, out of whom 10.98 lakh indicated job loss as reason for return.
1.3 lakh victims?
Extrapolating the survey findings to these numbers, the CIMS estimates that around 1.3 lakh
of those who returned due to job loss are likely to be victims of wage theft, which could lead to
huge remittance losses to Kerala.
Ping Lacson: Heneral ng
Bayan
Ping Lacson UnityMovement
Si Ping Lacson bilang lider ng Kapulisan ang
nagsugpo sa mga malalaking sindikato sa
bansa
BUKSAN
“Immediate attention should be paid to timely access of justice mechanisms as certain GCC
countries allow labour complaints only for a period of one year,” says Parvathy Devi K.,
migrant rights activist at CIMS and a research scholar at Mahatma Gandhi University, who
authored the report.
Highest at ₹19.26 lakh
As per the analysis of data collected from the victims, a total of ₹62.58 crore has been denied to
the 397 returnees who reported wage theft. The highest amount of wage theft reported by a
returnee is ₹19.26 lakh, as severance pay and other benefits for several years of service
rendered.