Joint action to remedy debt bondage
When a migrant worker at Allied Precision Technologies in Melaka, Malaysia was abducted for speaking out about recruitment abuses, he turned to Electronics Watch monitoring partner Migration Dristi for help. Our latest Impact Story explores how pressure from affiliates, human rights activists and linked brands eventually led to remedy for affected workers.
Brokers collect cash fees
Nepalese migrant workers reported deception by recruiters about wages that led them to take jobs at Allied that they might otherwise not have accepted. Taking out loans to pay recruitment fees placed them in debt bondage. Once at Allied, low wages made it difficult for workers to repay their loans and, therefore, to leave. But despite threats and retaliation against the spokesperson, the workers stood up for their rights and supported each other.
After two years of pressure to provide remedy, Allied began cooperating in a corrective action process. Thanks to this pressure from affiliates, human rights activists and some of the linked brands, all the affected workers have now been fully reimbursed for the recruitment fees that they paid.
Read about what happened and some key takeaways in English or: | En español | En français | Auf Deutsch