Q: Which type of migrant workers are affected the most?
Many migrant workers moved to work overseas in the hopes of supporting their families and education
for their children. Once they experienced wage theft, they were unable to do so and their families were
deprived of living support. While wage theft is a grave issue that occurs across almost all sectors and
groups of migrant workers, it is very rampant among vulnerable groups such as undocumented workers
and women migrant workers particularly in the domestic work sector. It is also very pervasive in the
construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and fishing industry.
Q: What are the dire situations that they are facing right now?
Migrant workers and their families are struggling to survive on a daily basis without a stable source of
income while also experiencing issues such as repayment of debt incurred from recruitment fees and
other loans. Due to the lockdowns, repatriated workers are also unable to secure a new job in the country
of origin and destination, as deployment of workers are on hold and borders are closed off.
Q: Why don’t these migrant workers return home?
Although hundreds of thousands of migrant workers have already been repatriated, lockdowns and
restrictions remain in place; many migrant workers are forced to live without jobs, without their earned
wages, and remain stranded in countries of destination, waiting to be repatriated.
Q: Why is it such a great challenge to get migrant workers to report their employers or the dire situations
that they are facing?
Many migrant workers have reconciled to the situation of wage theft in the form of unfair or unpaid
wages for months and years even before the COVID-19 pandemic. They have accepted it and refrained
from complaining because they are afraid of losing their jobs under the threat of contract termination,
becoming undocumented at the countries of destination, and in fear of retaliation of their employers.
They also do not have the necessary support to file cases in court due to the lack of access to justice.