Migrant workers are routinely subjected to wage theft throughout the world. Most unpaid workers will never recover their wages because government and business systems fail them. The reasons for this are complex and poorly understood.
In partnership with Solidarity Center, The ILAW Network and MIDEQ, Migrant Justice Institute has produced a short Explainer for governments, business and advocates to support advocacy for reform. Based on extensive empirical research in different global regions, it provides accessible answers to key questions:
What is wage theft and what forms can it take?
Why do employers systemically underpay migrant workers?
How is wage theft related to forced labour and modern slavery?
Why don’t migrant workers report wage theft and bring claims against employers? What barriers are created by migration laws, and why don’t labour claim systems work for migrant workers?
How can governments and business reduce risks and make wage claims work?
We hope advocates will find the Explainer useful in global, national and local wage theft campaigns, alongside our recently-released short explainer video ‘'Why can't migrant workers recover the wages they are owed?'.