For the estimated 170 million migrant workers in the world at any one time, borrowing money to pay recruitment costs to secure employment in a foreign job exposes them to risks of debt bondage and other exploitation.
Workers from India going to jobs in Gulf Cooperation Council and Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Israel are especially vulnerable to this type of exploitation. The state of Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of Indian migrant workers to foreign jobs.
This video documents the experiences of people involved in implementing a project called the Fostering Fee Accountability and Cost Tracing (FFACT) project, which aims to build evidence-driven, community-based responses to exploitation of migrant workers.
With more accurate information about recruitment-related costs and potential risks of wage deception or contract substitution, Indian migrant workers are making more informed labour migration decisions.
India, Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, Middle East
