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

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?