Wage Theft – Systemic or Incidental? Despite the complexity of migratory movements, we understand that the root causes of migration remain the same in different countries due to similar forms, levels and cross-cutting nature of inequalities. While migration can be understood as natural, the question is at what point it becomes perilous. Wage theft as it happens in its many forms is indicative of the many layers of inequalities that persist in a society. Structural and power inequalities that are reinforced, have become symptomatic of migration today. There is hence an inherent need to link migrant rights discourse to macro-economic drivers and open up the discussion on financial globalisation, commodities in financial markets and how it affects labour markets and the push for migration. When relating to a larger framework of macro-economic aspects of migration, Elver and Shapiro mention two important questions to determine whether lack of state accountability can be considered formalized as a state crime: “First, is the unmonitored pursuit by private actors to minimize the protection of these workers as a means to cut costs and ensure profitability; second, is the practice of states to embrace free market economy rules and global competition without adopting adequate safeguards for workers.” (Elver & Shapiro, 2021) . During the pandemic, a pertinent example that arose was those of food industry workers. From production to delivery, these workers, being absolutely essential for society, worked throughout to ensure production, supply and continued to cater to household demand. Food industry workers, particularly those involved in delivery, were exposed to the pandemic every day to earn a livelihood. In the name of the pandemic, the rights of food industry workers were disregarded and further showed that the weakening of rights for the pursuit of profit was ‘not only morally acceptable, but legally permissible.’ (Elver & Shapiro, 2021) Migrants, who form a large portion of workers in essential industries, are most often non-unionized, face informality of work, undocumented status, and lack of legal and social protections. In fact, informal and casual work arrangements (for example, part-time, short-term or temporary contracts, on-call schedules, multi-layered subcontracts, seasonal patterns of migration, etc.) have become commonplace in global supply chains, as the corporate food system regime prioritizes efficiency and cost-saving measures, often at the expense of workers. For instance, when the Kuwaiti government announced lockdown and closure of dining establishments (in February 2021), restaurants and cafes worked limited hours and that affected migrant workers the most – many of whom had already not been paid since the start of the pandemic. In 2021, many companies have issued a “No Work, No Pay” policy, stating they will only pay employees for hours worked — rather than their contracted monthly salary. A protracted complaints procedure has led to migrant workers preferring to register complaints in person at the Public Authority of Manpower instead of using the online complaints procedure. 5 As is seen within the data of this report, abusive employment practices are often carried out beyond the reach of authorities, such as in construction, manufacturing, domestic work, fisheries – sectors of work that have reported trafficking, forced labour and exploitative conditions as a systemic issue. Governments have also allowed businesses to continue such as allowing temporary cross-border migration for agriculture (as in the Mekong region). Despite the visibility their plight garnered by civil society and within public rhetoric, there has been no advancement is developing infrastructural support for migrant workers such as social protection, unfiltered access to justice and healthcare and freedom of association/setup of migrant worker 5 Job loss and wage theft: The grim reality of Kuwait’s F&B sector | Migrant-Rights.org. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.migrant-rights.org/2021/04/job-loss-and-wage-theft-the-grim-reality-of-kuwaits-fbsector/ 21