migrant workers are returning home empty-handed, with unpaid dues and unable to address the unbalanced power their employers hold. Even though total numbers are not available yet,40 the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a great increase in cases of wage theft, amplifying a problem so widespread that had become normalised. Wage theft is an intentional subtraction by the employer of resources that legitimately belong to migrant workers. Whatever the reason for this subtraction, in times of crisis such as the current ones, perpetuating the practice of wage theft, or even enabling it through inaction, means actively contributing to the undoing of the relative improvement of living standards that have been achieved so far, for so many. It means being compliant with the return of humanitarian crises (e.g. higher rates of food insecurity)41 that we thought were being increasingly solved, also thanks to the positive effects of remittances. Wage theft and the inability to support their families as hoped puts an incredible strain on the mental well-being of migrant workers, a pressure that in some cases leads to the decision to take one’s own life. 42 In times of extreme stress, as that triggered by the current pandemic, migrant workers are more likely to suffer from trauma. Among the many reasons are the concern of being infected or of infecting others, the inability to meet their basic needs, their loss of income as well as worries about the well-being of their families at home. A recent study conducted by Kumar et al., assesses the psychological impact of COVID-19 on 98 migrant workers in North India. The study finds that around “half (51%) of participants screened positive for both anxiety and depression. Overall, about three-fourth (73.5%) screened positive for at least one psychiatric morbidity.” 43 Among the feelings that emerged from a questionnaire submitted to research participants, more than half of migrant workers in the study group were experiencing loneliness, an increase in tension, frustration, low mood, irritability and fear of death. The study suggests that these feelings may be resulting from financial insecurity, stress about the future and worry about their health and that of those back at home, together with the awareness that “they are alone and possibly will not be able to support their family soon.”44 Concluding remarks As set forth in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 45 everyone has a right to work, under just and favourable conditions, and a right to protection against unemployment. Individuals also have an inherent, implicit right to justice and a right to an effective remedy. Not just that, the UDHR recognises working peoples’ right to just and favourable remuneration, which enables a dignified life for themselves and their families. This means being able to rely on social protection measures, if necessary. More broadly, people have a right to a standard of living that ensures health and well-being for themselves and their families, including the right to security in case of unemployment. Nonetheless, migrant workers have been prevented from enjoying these fundamental rights for a long time. Despite the existence of overarching international conventions and guiding principles, in fact, they have been continuously experiencing violence, abuses and been deprived of their own legitimate possessions (e.g. documents but also 40 As part of the new appeal for the creation of a transnational justice mechanism a coalition of Civil Society Organisations are collecting data on wage theft experienced by repatriated migrant workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 41 Anthem, P., Risk of hunger pandemic as coronavirus set to almost double acute hunger by end of 2020 (World Food Programme Insight 16 April 2020) https://insight.wfp.org/covid-19-will-almost-double-people-in-acute-hunger-by-end-of-2020-59df0c4a8072 42 Battacharya, DP., Covid-19 lockdown: Migrant worker in Gujarat commits suicide (Economic Times May 2020) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/covid-19-lockdown-migrant-worker-in-gujarat-commitssuicide/articleshow/75610073.cms; Pal, S.,Unable to return home, migrant worker from Bengal allegedly commits suicide in Kerala (Hindustan Time May 2020) https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/unable-to-return-home-migrant-worker-from-bengalends-life-in-kerala/story-u9HY5rNtYtlEpexnzkr18L.html 43 Kumar, K., et al., The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on the migrant workers: A cross-sectional survey (National Centre for Biotechnology Information 20 June 2020) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7305726/ 44 Ibid. 45 United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) UN G.A. Res. 217A https://www.un.org/en/universal-declarationhuman-rights/index.html 6