I met a veteran caseworker from East Java at a recent workshop we held in Surabaya. Ten years ago, she had worked as a domestic worker in Hong Kong, and had returned determined to help others who had been victimized abroad. After years of helping returnees, our workshop was the first time she had had an opportunity to talk with a lawyer about workers' legal rights in a host country, in this case Singapore.

 

She and her colleagues shared case after case of migrant workers who had returned home without receiving any help. The cases included many of the abuses we hear about all too often. However, some of these cases occurred within the last two years, making their legal claims still viable in Singapore. All it would take is screening the cases to determine what evidence existed, and how strong the claims might be.

 

That experience in Indonesia underscored just how important transnational access to justice is for migrant workers. If our colleagues in Indonesia had the networks, knowledge and know-how needed to facilitate remote claims for their clients, then going home would no longer mean going without. And those who exploit workers could not get away so easily.

 

Our work through the second half of 2015 has been about developing the networks, knowledge and know-how needed to make just compensation a reality for all. Thanks to our partners in Singapore, we are actively supporting three pieces of litigation against abusive employers, and screening many more in the process. We built additional capacity in Singapore and Indonesia, conducting hands-on trainings for both lawyers and caseworkers on how to bring remote claims against bad employers in Singapore. Finally, we have just launched our Practitioner's Manual for Migrant Workers in Hong Kong, which gives advocates there and in clients' home countries the tools they need to prepare remote claims for migrant workers exploited in Hong Kong.

 

This has been an incredible second year for us, and yet there is far more work to be done. However, thanks to our partner law firms, frontline organizations, university law faculty, and many other partners, we are poised to put all of this work into action, and make access to just compensation a reality for every worker, wherever they happen to be.

 

Thank you for being with us this year, and I hope you will join us in the New Year, as a partner, investor or supporter of access to just compensation.

 

Warm wishes this holiday season,

Douglas MacLean