mothers tend to spend for human capital, “fathers seemly prefer to invest in physical assets and the expansion of family farming and business activities.”34 Consequently, remittances contribute to a general increase in the welfare at the community level, as money is invested in new businesses as well as new technologies. In enabling households to rely on a stable income, remittances may even result in greater access to loans. 35 Importantly, research conducted by Ratha shows that a “10 percent increase in per capita official remittances may lead to a 3.5 percent decline in the share of poor people.”36 Inevitably, however, the extent to which remittances contribute to a general improvement in individuals’ conditions is dependent on the context in which people live as well, as the effects of remittances are still subject to the constraints (e.g. red tape, lack of needed public policies, lack of market reforms) of the home country, which affect how the money is managed.37 Overall, remittances can represent a reliable source of income, which goes directly into the pockets of families, empowering individuals through greater spending capacity and the ability to decide autonomously how to allocate resources in the best interests of the household. Remittances are also a flexible resource, whose amounts can vary based on the needs of recipients: for instance, more remittances tend to be sent when a crisis (e.g. environmental, economic, political) affects the home country. Despite not being a substitute for other development mechanisms, remittances thus act as a powerful tool to support receiving households in times of hardship and to escape poverty. Nonetheless, remittances are dependent on migration opportunities and subject to the effects of shocks in destination countries. This means that if there is no possibility for a person to migrate elsewhere to gain employment and, in turn, earn enough resources to send back home; or if the destination country experiences an economic downturn that negatively affects the employment conditions of a migrant worker, their ability to send remittances back home will be reduced as well. Consequently, living conditions of remittance-receiving households will be impacted, in a downturn spiral. The COVID-19 pandemic shows this pattern clearly: as migrants’ destination countries experience negative economic effects, migrant workers are dismissed and, in many cases, forced back home. This leaves them with no resources to support their families, which translates to a significant reduction of remittance flows, with projected negative outcomes for the well-being of millions. A worsening of already precarious household living standards is, in fact, what the projected sharp decline in remittances is likely to translate to. Wage theft and the burnt borne by migrant workers The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 38 recognises the ability to work as a fundamental right. Such entitlement must be exercised under just and favourable conditions, including fair remuneration. The 1949 ILO Wage Protection Convention39 also affirms that wages should be paid in full and regularly. Partial payments in the form of allowances in kind or deductions are possible only in specific circumstances, in line with legislative provisions and the convention itself. More specifically, article 12 affirms that the payment of wages should take place at regular intervals and all wages should be settled upon termination of the employment contract. Nonetheless, this is not upheld everywhere yet and little is of avail to migrant workers when they experience employment abuses. Because of the countless lay-offs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many 34 Rossi A., The Impact of Migration on Children Left Behind in Developing Countries: Outcomes Analysis and Data Requirements, (2009) SSRN Electronic Journal, DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2490380 35 Ghosh, B., Migrants’ Remittances and Development. Myths, Rhetoric and Realities (International Organization for Migration, and The Hague Process on Refugees and Migration 2006) https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/migrants_remittances.pdf 36 Ratha, D., Leveraging Remittances for Development, (Migration Policy Institute 2007) https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/leveraging-remittances-development 37 Rannveig Mendoza, D., Remittances and Development: Trends, Impacts, and Policy Options, A Review of the Literature (Migration Policy Institute 2006) https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/remittances-and-development-trends-impacts-and-policyoptions-review-literature 38 United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx 39 International Labour Organisation, Protection of Wages Convention (1949) No. 95 https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C095; the Convention has been ratified by 98 states only. 5