Submission: AHRC Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 [Provisions]

In our submission to the Senate Standing Committees On Legal And Constitutional Affairs’ inquiry into the Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 [Provisions], we welcome the introduction of an equal access costs model to federal anti-discrimination laws in Australia.

We strongly support the passage of the Australian Human Rights Commission (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 (Cth) (Costs Protection Bill) in its current form.

We are proud to be part of the Power to Prevent Coalition that has advocated for this reform and congratulate the Government on introducing the Bill.

In early 2024 we will release a new report on the small claims process, All Work No Pay, which will strongly encourage the Government to introduce similar amendments in relation to small claims brought under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Backpackers spared from migration overhaul

AFR | Michael Read

“Advocates for limiting the working holiday program to one year argue the requirement to work in the regions left workers open to exploitation. A survey by the Migrant Justice Institute found that almost half of all working holidaymakers reported being paid well below the minimum wage.”

MJI calls for increased funding for migrant workers' legal support

The Migrant Justice Institute has called on the Australian Government to provide multi-year funding for community legal services to provide dedicated support for migrant workers. 

These services would include general education about employment law and workers’ rights, as well as legal assistance where required.

In our submission to the Independent Review of the National Legal Assistance Partnership, we draw on data from our national surveys and forthcoming report on the small claims system to make evidence-based recommendations for reform.  We outline how our survey data shows that exploitation of migrant workers is widespread, and ongoing. 

Yet despite this, nine out of ten migrant workers suffer wage theft in silence and take no action to enforce their rights.  Our research shows that community legal centres, unions and migrant worker centres bring about the best outcomes for vulnerable workers seeking to enforce their rights.  However, CLCs and others cannot meet demand for services and it is extremely rare for migrants to go to court to enforce their rights.

OUR RECOMMENDATION

The Government should provide dedicated, multi-year, recurrent funding for Legal Aid Commissions and Community Legal Centres to provide employment law assistance to vulnerable workers. This would cover all aspects of employment and equality law, including:

wages and entitlements | dismissals | sexual harassment | bullying |
equality law (anti-discrimination and general protections) | victimisation

And would take the form of:

• Community legal education

• Legal advice and ongoing casework

• Program design, monitoring and evaluation

Labor could ignore calls for working holiday visa limits

Australian Financial Review | Michael Read and Tom McIlroy

“Advocates for limiting the working holiday program to one year argue the requirement to work in the regions left workers open to exploitation. A survey by the Migrant Justice Institute found that almost half of all working holidaymakers reported being paid well below the minimum wage.”

(Subscriber only article)

New Bill responds to our recommendations but does not go far enough

In July 2023 the Australian government introduced the Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Bill 2023 (Cth) responding to two of our key recommendations.

Working with Human Rights Law Centre and our other allies, Migrant Justice Institute has made submissions on the Bill, advocated for its amendment and will testify before the Senate committee inquiring into the Bill.

About the bill

The bill introduces a provision that importantly confirms that workplace protections apply to all workers regardless of any breach of the Migration Act 1958. The Bill also creates a new legislative vehicle intended to provide protection against visa cancellation for exploited workers. But we argue it does not go far enough.

(The Bill also introduces new offences for employers who coerce migrant workers with threats of immigration consequences, and increased enforcement tools for the Department of Home Affairs to police exploitation.)

Why we oppose the proposed vehicle for protection against visa cancellation

Late last year, our report Breaking the Silence set out a model for ‘whistle-blower’ protections for migrant workers. That report was endorsed by over 40 organisations – including trade unions, service providers, peak migration bodies, trade union, the NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner, churches and business leaders. We proposed an Exploited Worker Visa Guarantee: a guarantee against visa cancellation for breach of visa conditions, for temporary workers who take action against employers.

The Bill proposes to introduce a new sub-s 116(1A), that would allow the Minister the power to specify in Regulations certain information that Department of Home Affairs delegates ‘may,’ ‘must’ or ‘must not’ be considered when deciding whether a ground of cancelation arises before deciding whether to cancel a visa on discretionary grounds. It also allows the Minister to specify the weight to be given to that information.

This model still allows Department delegates complete discretion to cancel a visa. It does not provide an assurance against cancellation which is critical to ensure that international students and other temporary visa holders come forward against exploitation. It would, at best, introduce a regime under which the Minister (through his delegates) could give ‘significant weight’ to evidence of workplace exploitation, when deciding whether or not to cancel a visa.

Our recommendation: The amendments to s 116 of the Act should not be passed. Instead, the government should issue regulations under s 116(2), prescribing circumstances in which a visa must not be cancelled, where there is prescribed evidence of exploitation.

“Head in the sand”: Student work, rebate changes to inflame childcare shortages

Sydney Morning Herald | Angus Thompson

“University of Technology, Sydney, Associate Professor Laurie Berg, an expert in temporary labour migration, said that as of last month, there were 529,000 international students in the country. She said, according to a 2020 survey she conducted, 65 per cent of student visa holders held jobs.”

Albanese government to tackle exploitation

Canberra Times | Justine Landis-Hanley

“Associate Professor Laurie Berg, co-executive director of the Migrant Justice Institute, said the changes could be a ‘game-changer for stopping the exploitation of migrant workers in Australia’.

‘For the first time, migrant workers could safely address wage theft and walk away from employers who exploit them without risking their visa,’ she said.”

Webinar 22 June - Visas to empower migrant workers to address exploitation

Visas to Empower Migrant Workers to Address Exploitation

22 June 2023  

1:00-2:30pm GMT (9am New York; 4pm Doha; 8pm Bangkok)

A global discussion on innovations in migration policies that can enable migrant workers to remain in the country of employment and recover unpaid wages without risking their immigration status.

Labour exploitation cannot be stopped unless migrant workers can report abuses without fear of losing their visa or being deported. Governments can solve this problem by developing visas and other migration policy solutions that empower migrant workers to safely enforce their labour rights.

If you missed the excellent discussion you can now view the recording. It is also available with interpreting in العربية (Arabic), Español (Spanish), Français (French), and Pусский (Russian) on a computer desktop (passcode: 4ziM.#Ky, select globe icon).

Confirmed Speakers: 

• Shannon Lederer, AFL-CIO | Deferral of removal for undocumented workers in the U.S.

• Richard Prosser & Simon Barrett, New Zealand Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment | New Zealand Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa

• Lilana Keith, Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) | Finland Residence Permit Due to Exploitation

• Adrian Pereira, North South Initiative | Lessons from Special Pass in Malaysia

• Assoc. Prof. Laurie Berg, Migrant Justice Institute & Law Faculty, University of Technology Sydney | Proposed Workplace Justice Visa in Australia

• Moderator: Neha Misra, Solidarity Center

 
Introduction by Assoc. Prof. Bassina Farbenblum, Migrant Justice Institute & UNSW Law and closing remarks by Prof. Heaven Crawley, United Nations University Center for Policy Research & MIDEQ 

The webinar is hosted by Migrant Justice Institute, Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network, MIDEQ, United Nations University - Centre for Policy Research, UNSW and UTS. 

About the Project

Following our 2021 report on promising global initiatives to address wage theft, Migrant Justice Institute, in partnership with Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network and MIDEQ, is undertaking new research and advocacy around effective laws and systems aimed at wage recovery. Please see the project webpage for more information and to sign up for updates on webinars and new research.

New Brief: Migration settings that enable exploited migrant workers to leave abusive employers and stay to pursue labour remedies

RESEARCH AND POLICY BRIEF | Avenues for exploited migrant workers to remain in their country of employment to pursue labour remedies

Exploited migrant workers often don't raise complaints because they fear losing their visa or being deported. There is generally no opportunity for migrant workers to pursue wage claims at the end of their stay because they are required to immediately leave the country. As a result, abusive employers are never held to account, and the vast majority return home without the wages they are owed. Pursuing claims after they leave is extremely difficult.

Governments must change this situation by reforming migration laws and policies that prevent migrant workers from taking action.  Our new Research and Policy Brief considers migration frameworks that would enable migrant workers to safely speak up, leave abusive employers without losing their visa, or temporarily remain in their country of employment at the end of their stay in order to recover the wages they are owed and hold abusive employers to account.

The Brief includes current examples of

• visa portability for exploited migrant workers to bring claims and find a new sponsor,

• short term visas with work rights to pursue wage claims at the end of a migrant worker’s stay,

• deferral of removal (with work rights) for undocumented workers who pursue labour claims, and

• visas for victims of trafficking and criminal wage theft and exploitation to pursue civil labour claims.

These provide models – and cautionary lessons – on which governments and advocates can draw to design migration reforms that effectively provide exploited migrant workers with access to justice.

It is accompanied by a more detailed case study of recent advances in the United States. These include new policies enabling migrant workers, including undocumented workers, to remain in the country for up to two years with work rights in order to pursue unpaid wages and other labour claims - with certification from local, state and federal labour agencies and other enforcement bodies

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Australian government accepts our recommendation to confirm labour law protections for all migrant workers

We are excited to share that the Australian government has just introduced a Bill confirming that no migrant worker is excluded from labour protections on the basis of their immigration status in Australia.

We and our allies have campaigned for this change for a number of years because conflicting case law has left open the possibility that undocumented workers are not entitled to statutory labour protections (on the basis their employment contract is void for illegality because they breached the Migration Act). This uncertainty has allowed employers to evade responsibilities including minimum wage and workers compensation payments for undocumented migrants’ workplace injuries. 

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Protecting Worker Entitlements) Bill 2023 (Cth) sends an important signal on the equal application of Australian laws to all workers regardless of immigration status. It is also important that the Migration Act itself now be amended to clarify migrant workers are also all equally protected under other federal or state statutes such as workers’ compensation laws.

Organisations and unions across Australia call for whistleblower protections for migrant workers

A national coalition of over 40 legal service providers, unions, ethnic community peak bodies, churches, and national organisations is calling on Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil to urgently bring widespread migrant worker exploitation out of the shadows. 

Led by the Migrant Justice Institute and Human Rights Law Centre, the Breaking the Silence proposal urges the Federal government to establish whistleblower protections that would enable migrant workers to report exploitation without risking their visa.

The Migrant Justice Institute has surveyed over 15,000 migrant workers over the past 5 years. These studies consistently found that around three quarters of migrant workers earned below the casual minimum wage in Australia, and a quarter earned less than half that. Nine in 10 underpaid workers suffered in silence and took no action.

Migrant workers generally endure exploitation in silence for fear of jeopardising their visa or ability to stay in Australia. The proposed reforms in Breaking the Silence include:

• A protection against visa cancellation for exploited migrant workers who take action against their employer and have breached their work conditions;

• A short-term visa to allow exploited migrant workers to remain in Australia and pursue a claim against their employers, with visa security and the ability to work.

These reforms will begin to break the entrenched cycle of exploitation and expand government’s enforcement of labour law by:

• Changing employer behaviour by increasing the likelihood that exploitation will come to light and they will be held to account;

• Substantially expanding enforcement beyond the limited capacity of government agencies by enabling more employment lawyers and unions to pursue claims on behalf of migrant workers who would not otherwise come forward;

• Increasing detection of exploitation among federal and state government agencies byrequiring reporting of claims to those regulators;

• Increasing business’ ability to detect and address wage theft and modern slavery in supplychains by enabling migrant workers to more safely report it, while not creating any new redtape for businesses that do the right thing and comply with employment laws;

• Encouraging migrants to join unions and assisting unions to organise and represent migrantworkers; and

• Creating new incentives for migrant workers to report forms of exploitation not currentlycovered by the Assurance Protocol, including workplace health and safety, sexualharassment and discrimination.

New Explainer: Wage Theft and Migrant Workers - Why Government and Business Systems are Failing

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?'.

Webinar 23 Feb - Enforcing Migrant Workers’ Labour Rights: Lessons from Trade Unions

Enforcing Migrant Workers’ Labour Rights:
Lessons from Trade Unions

February 23, 2023
8:30 – 10.00am Brussels | 3:30-5.00pm Manila | 6:30-8.00pm Sydney

Please join the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Migrant Justice Institute, Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network and MIDEQ for a global discussion on the ways in which unions are successfully supporting migrant workers to achieve labour justice.  

Around the world, migrant workers are routinely subject to exploitation and forced labour, including wage theft. Unions can play a critical role in holding employers and supply chain businesses to account, and ensuring migrant workers can obtain redress. Hear from unions about their strategies and recent achievements in recovering unpaid wages of migrant workers in different regions of the world.

Confirmed speakers

• Philipp Schwertmann, Arbeit und Leben DGB/VHS (Germany)

• Kıvanç Eliaçık, DISK (Turkey)

• Edwin Atema, FNV (Netherlands)

• Vivienne Wiles, CFMMEU (Australia)

• Shiella Estrada | Pinay Careworkers Transnational (Hong Kong)

• Bassina Farbenblum, Migrant Justice Institute (Australia/global)

• Irem Arf, ITUC - Moderator

About the Project

Following our 2021 report on promising global initiatives to address wage theft, Migrant Justice Institute, in partnership with Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network and MIDEQ, is undertaking new research and advocacy around effective laws and systems aimed at wage recovery. With input and advice from advocates globally, we will continue to develop policy models and reform recommendations based on detailed empirical and legal research into best practices around the world. Future webinars will present these findings and introduce new and successful initiatives to recover workers’ wages. Please see the project webpage for more information and to sign up for updates on webinars and new research.

The endemic exploitation of migrant workers in Australia must stop

Canberra Times | Sanmati Verma, Bassina Farbenblum, Laurie Berg, Matt Kunkel

“Research conducted by the Migrant Justice Institute in 2018 found that of the 4332 migrant workers surveyed, around three-quarters were paid less than the casual minimum wage, and yet only 9 per cent of underpaid migrants had taken action to recover their wages.

These figures cannot be explained away by visa holders' lack of understanding or workplace literacy. Nor can they be chalked up to bad-apple employers or fraudsters preying on the unsuspecting.

Rather, they are a product of the insecurity and inequality that has been built into the migration regime over years.Advocates for limiting the working holiday program to one year argue the requirement to work in the regions left workers open to exploitation. A survey by the Migrant Justice Institute found that almost half of all working holidaymakers reported being paid well below the minimum wage.”

Webinar 14 Dec: Beyond Qatar: Global opportunities to address migrant workers’ access to justice for wage theft

Beyond Qatar: Global Opportunities to Address Migrant Workers’ Access to Justice for Wage Theft

December 14 2022, 18:00-19:30 GMT

Join us for a live global webinar on migrant workers, wage theft and access to justice. The event—Beyond Qatar: Global Opportunities to Address Migrant Workers’ Access to Justice for Wage Theft—will feature discussion of the ILO’s forthcoming Guidance Note on Wage Protection, and will bring together experts and advocates from around the world to discuss next steps to ensure that migrant workers can recover the wages they are owed.  Spanish interpretation will be provided.

About the Webinar

As the 2022 World Cup comes to a close, thousands of migrant workers whose labour made the games in Qatar possible have still not been paid the wages they are owed.  But what happened in Qatar is not the exception. Rather, in every country around the world, migrant workers routinely face wage theft because of their unique vulnerability as migrants. A migrant worker who comes forward risks not only job termination but removal from the country, and once gone, their ability to recover wages in the country of employment usually disappears as well. Many return home with a significant debt of unpaid wages that they will never recover. 

Migrant Justice Institute, Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network and MIDEQ invite you to a global conversation on next steps to ensure justice for migrant workers. The event will include a discussion with trade unions and civil society advocates in the Americas, MENA, Asia, and Australia on the challenges that migrant workers face in recovering the wages owed to them, and promising initiatives and strategies for systemic change. It will also include the presentation of a new ILO Guidance Note on Wage Protection, and next steps in the research that we will undertake in 2023 to support advocates (and governments) to drive this change.  

About the Project

Following our 2021 report on promising global initiatives to address wage theft, Migrant Justice Institute, in partnership with Solidarity Center, the ILAW Network and MIDEQ, is undertaking new research and advocacy around effective laws and systems aimed at wage recovery. With input and advice from advocates globally, we will continue to develop policy models and reform recommendations based on detailed empirical and legal research into best practices around the world. Future webinars will present these findings and introduce new and successful initiatives to recover workers’ wages. Please see the project webpage for more information and to sign up for updates on webinars and new research.

Senate Committee adopts MJI Recommendation on Undocumented Workers

Today, a federal Senate Committee adopted Migrant Justice Institute’s recommendation to amend Australian labour law to confirm that it applies regardless of immigration status.

This was one of only 8 recommendations made by the Senate Education and Employment Legislative Committee inquiring into the Australian Government’s Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 (Cth). 

Our written submission to the Committee and oral testimony had commended the Bill’s aims to boost bargaining and improve job security for workers. But we argued the Bill misses a key opportunity to tackle migrant worker exploitation, including by clarifying that undocumented workers are not excluded from protection of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

There is conflicting caselaw as to whether undocumented workers are entitled to those statutory labour protections, as well as protections in workers compensation legislation and anti-discrimination laws. This has created a loophole through which employers can freely exploit and underpay undocumented workers and evade paying compensation for their workplace injuries. We recommended amendment of the Fair Work Act to remove this gap in protection, as well as amendment to the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to ensure undocumented workers are not excluded from a range of other workplace protections.

We also recommended five further amendments to the Bill to strengthen protections for migrants and other vulnerable workers as part of this Bill:

• Objects of the Fair Work Act: the objects provisions must be broadened to not only promote job security and gender equity, but also to (1) promote decent work; (2) eliminate the exploitation of vulnerable workers; and (3) address the systemic drivers of exploitation.

• Small claims reform: In addition to enabling successful claimants to recover filing fees as costs, successful claimants should be able to recover their legal costs.

• Advertisements: To ensure that the proposed prohibition captures the ways that many employers ‘advertise’ jobs, a legislative note should confirm that prohibited advertising includes written communication by employers to potential employees via online apps and social media.

• Information and transparency: To ensure that workers are aware of their specific entitlements and able to identify their employing entity if they wish to bring a claim, the FW Act should be amended to require employers to provide each worker with a statement of specific working conditions (Award, wage rates, hours etc.) and employer contact details (including address for service) upon commencement, and to itemise deductions on payslips.

• Legal responsibilities for individuals & supply chains: The Migrant Worker Taskforce recommended that the government consider additional avenues to hold individuals and businesses to account for their involvement in breaches of workplace laws.  For this Bill, we recommend a strengthening of current accessorial liability provisions to stop rewarding businesses who turn a blind eye to exploitation and to remove the inconsistency with the responsible franchisor provisions.    

Beyond this Bill, we argued, the Government must introduce further reforms to the Fair Work Act and Migration Act to incentivise employer compliance and improve access to justice, and to give effect to the Migrant Worker Taskforce recommendations.  This includes whistleblower protections for workers who come forward with a complaint; a simpler, fairer and faster dispute resolution process for unpaid wages and entitlements; a more accessible and better resourced enforcement agency with a dedicated unit and wage calculation service for migrant workers; and a proper safety net (including extended access to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee) when businesses liquidate or disappear.   

We understand that further reforms are slated for 2023, and we look forward to working with the Government and other stakeholders to develop these reforms based on robust evidence of migrant workers’ experiences.

Webinar 22 June: Migrant workers' access to justice for wage theft in the Americas

IMPROVING MIGRANT WORKERS’ ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR WAGE THEFT: EFFECTIVE APPROACHES IN THE AMERICAS

June 22 2022

Last year, the Migrant Justice Institute collaborated with the ILAW Network and Solidarity Center on a study of promising initiatives that are strengthening wage claim processes around the world, and compelling businesses to comply with wage judgments. This included a number of innovative examples from the Americas.

This important discussion with the lawyers, advocates and organisers involved addresses innovative strategies they have used to drive effective reforms.

Speakers

• Neha Misra & Jeff Vogt, Solidarity Center | Moderators

• Associate Prof Bassina Farbenblum, Migrant Justice Institute | Key research findings on promising initiatives in the Americas and globally

• Ruth Silver-Taube, Santa Clara University School of Law | How a coalition achieved reforms to improve compliance with wage judgments in San José

• Angélica Palacios Martinez, Solidarity Center, Colombia | Organising rideshare workers in Colombia to compel government agency responses to migrant wage claims

• Rachel Micah-Jones, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM) | Seizing opportunities to strengthen transnational migrant worker wage claim processes during the pandemic

• Amanda Aziz, Migrant Workers Centre Canada | Canada’s new law providing visa portability for exploited migrant workers: Achievements and strategies for further reforms

• Associate Prof Laurie Berg, Migrant Justice Institute | Building a global community of practice to drive law and policy reforms to address wage theft

Australia is bringing migrant workers back – but exploitation is still rampant. Here are 3 changes needed now

The incoming Australian government elected on May 21 will inherit Australia’s dark legacy of entrenched wage theft among migrant workers. It must make a choice.

Its first option is to seize the moment while there are still relatively low numbers of migrant workers in Australia to fix the parts of the system that enable wage theft to flourish. The second option is to continue tinkering around the edges of the problem, and consciously bring hundreds of thousands of young migrants into exploitative underpaid jobs they will likely endure in silence.

It is time for an Australian government to set its sights higher and adopt an evidence-based and systemic approach to tackling migrant exploitation. If Australia is genuinely committed to ensuring labour compliance and curbing forced labour and modern slavery, it cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

Read more in The Conversation.

Photo by Andrew Valdivia on Unsplash

A missed opportunity - Migration Amendment Bill fails to protect migrant workers

In late 2021, the Commonwealth Government introduced the Migration Amendment (Protecting Migrant Workers) Bill.  We commend the government’s intention to strengthen protections for migrant workers from workplace exploitation in Australia. Unfortunately, this Bill is unlikely to meaningfully contribute to this goal and may in fact make some workers more vulnerable to abuse.

The Bill creates new offences for employers, labour hire intermediaries and others who coerce or exert undue pressure on migrant workers to breach their visa conditions or accept particular work arrangements. It creates a new category of ‘prohibited employers’, who have been found to have contravened various labour and immigration laws). It empowers the Department of Home Affairs to prevent these employers from engaging additional migrant workers and publicise these employers’ details on their website. The Bill also equips the Australian Border Force with additional regulatory powers.   

We are pleased that the Bill has been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee. As set out in our submission to that Senate Committee’s inquiry into the Bill, the Bill’s narrow focus on immigration enforcement misses an opportunity to make a systemic difference. These provisions penalise a very small subset of exploitative employer conduct and fail to address the principal drivers of exploitation. In the absence of any enhanced rights, protections or assistance to exploited migrant workers, these new employer sanctions may drive exploitative conduct further underground.

The Migrant Justice Institute’s submission makes 19 recommendations for substantive reforms of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) to address barriers to workers’ reporting exploitative conduct, including: 

• Removal of the condition on student visas which limits their right to work in Australia. This would allow international students to report exploitation without fear that their visa may be cancelled if they have worked in contravention of it. 

• The creation of a firewall between the Fair Work Ombudsman and Department of Home Affairs. 

• The introduction of bridging arrangements for temporary visa holders, and visa-overstayers, to pursue meritorious claims under workplace and occupational health and safety legislation if their visa would expire or be cancelled before their claim is resolved. 

We would welcome the opportunity to give evidence in support of our recommendations.  

Global Report on Migrant Workers' Access to Justice for Wage Theft

Wage theft is business as usual in many industries that are reliant on migrant workers. Employers know that most unpaid migrant workers will never recover their wages through government and court processes. With the pandemic leaving even more migrant workers unpaid, the need for effective justice mechanisms has never been more urgent.

Migrant Workers’ Access to Justice for Wage Theft, a new report from Migrant Justice Institute Co-Executive Directors Bassina Farbenblum and Laurie Berg, charts a path forward. Pointing to promising examples from around the world, the report illuminates how the barriers that impede migrant workers’ access to justice can be overcome. These innovations shift risks and burdens of wage recovery away from workers and onto government and business, and disrupt employer expectations of impunity.

The report draws on a year of global consultations and analysis across all regions, in partnership with The Solidarity Center and the ILAW Network. It proposes specific, practical reform targets that can underpin global, national and local wage theft campaigns, and support greater coordination among a community of practice working to achieve effective change.