A report titled "Addressing Systemic Challenges of Wage Theft: Bangladeshi Covid-19 Returnees from the Gulf" reveals that many Bangladeshi migrant workers who returned from the Gulf during the pandemic have experienced wage theft. The survey which was carried out by the Bangladesh Civil Society for Migrants (BCSM) in 45 districts between 25 March and 6 May 2021, shows that at least 1,160 Bangladeshi workers who returned home from the six GCC countries after February 2020 have lost an average of USD 2,119 in wages and other entitlements during the pandemic.

According to the report, 67.7% of the returnees (14.7 percent of whom are female) said they did not receive due wages after February 2020, while the highest amount of loss reported by a returnee was USD 7,063 and the lowest was USD 35.

The report further says that 92% of the respondents indicated that they did not submit a complaint. This is mainly due to lack of information for workers about where to file the complaint, workers finding "no reason" to believe that recovery was possible, and workers fearing retaliation from employers.

The full policy brief can be read below. It contains a number of recommendations on contents of contracts, reform of kafala and labour protections in the GCC, and on the role of the Bangladesh missions in destination states.