development, when it is fair, well-governed and allows migrant workers to access decent work. The world counts an estimated 164 million migrant workers, almost half of them women. They comprise 4.7 per cent of the global workforce and contribute enormously to societies’ growth and development. Yet, migrant workers are too often treated unfairly and unequally in the labour market.

While the actual impact of the multiple crises triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic is still unknown, anecdotal evidence suggests that migrant workers are some of the most affected. At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, millions of migrant workers were forced to return home after losing their jobs. This has had a serious impact on their income and wages, and on the support they can provide to their families.

The pandemic has exposed serious deficiencies in labour migration governance, much of which have been in place for years. In all countries, migrant workers are facing problems of discrimination and exclusion, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these deeply entrenched attitudes. This Report, by examining prevailing wage differences between migrant workers and nationals, shows that even prior to the pandemic wage inequalities were significant and even widening.