Rights groups called upon the countries of origin and destination to urgently put in place a transitional justice mechanism to ensure protection of migrant workers.
This mechanism will address grievances, claims and labour disputes of repatriated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Lawyers Beyond Borders (LBB) Network, Cross Regional Centre for Migrants and Refugees (CCRM), South Asia Trade Union Council (SARTUC), and Solidarity Center (SC) made the call through a press release on Saturday.
The organisations also said that the mechanism needs to be expedited, accessible, affordable, and efficient.
The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted millions of migrant workers in destination countries, many have experienced job loss or non-payment of wages, have been forced by employers to take unpaid leave or reduced wages, have been confined in poor living conditions, and with little or no engagement in the work options before them, it said.
