The coronavirus crisis has brought issues of inequality and injustice in society into the spotlight…

Among the hardest hit by the pandemic have been millions of migrant workers. 

Many have been confined to poor living conditions in cramped dormitories, experienced job loss or non-payment of wages, been forced by employers to take unpaid leave or reduced wages…

Travel Bans Trigger Border Crossings

When governments declared nationwide lockdowns and banned travel … many migrant workers in South and South East Asia could not return to their home countries or were left with no accommodation or wages. 

Last in Line Status of Migrant Workers

… [M]any migrant workers were either laid off or were furloughed with their wages unpaid. For example, the rate of infection among migrant workers shook the Gulf states – a situation escalated by poor worker accommodation…

… Many of [repatriated] workers … are now back in their home countries after being laid off, returned with the additional burden of unpaid recruitment fee debt. 

Many migrants have been caught in a similar dilemma between unemployment, starvation, or becoming undocumented, working in the informal economy with all the risks that entails. 

The Intersections of Vulnerability 

Migrant workers typically do not enjoy the same rights as citizens of the host country. This leaves them in precarious situations during a crisis such as this. 

In Malaysia, the Immigration and Labour Departments had their services limited to very minimal levels in the wake of the pandemic. This raised many challenges for migrant workers already stigmatised and subject to discrimination and xenophobia, especially on issues of health, security, labour, and housing…

Female migrant workers have been disproportionately severely hit by the crisis…

Resources to Respond 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN’s migration agency, has also been issuing guidance for employers and recruiters to uphold migrant worker protection during the health crisis. 

IHRB’s report, Respecting Human Rights in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic, outlines the importance of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, identifying where change is needed and where good practices are being implemented.