JWB 10 Year Milestones at a Glance
Founded in 2013, JWB has continuously made new strides in empowering migrant domestic workers in pursuit of justice even after they return home. Here is our 10-Year milestones at a glance.
2013
- Founded by our Executive Director, Douglas MacLean, after work at the UN showed access to compensation was a key need for vulnerable migrant workers in Southeast Asia.
2014
- Established first office in Singapore.
- Published ‘A Practitioner’s Manual for Migrant Workers: Pursuing Civil Claims in Singapore and Abroad’ in partnership with the National University of Singapore Law Faculty’s Pro Bono Group.
2015
- Established second office in Hong Kong with local charitable status.
- First cross-border cases in Singapore ended in settlements for two abused domestic workers returned to the Philippines.
2016
- Established Indonesia office near Jakarta.
- Cross-border casework expands for workers returning from Hong Kong and Singapore to Indonesia and the Philippines.
2017
- Launched training workshops for caseworkers and paralegals in Hong Kong and Indonesia. Trainings aimed to equip partners to handle cross-border cases.
- Signed agreement with the Indonesia Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support Indonesian domestic workers overseas and returned home.
2018
- Litigation milestone: Secured first video link trial at the Hong Kong Labour Tribunal. Workers now have a greater chance to return home without giving up their case.
- Held first cross-border litigation training in Manila, co-hosted by the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO)
2019
- First ‘reverse cross-border’ mass claim by 16 Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong against illegal recruitment fees charged by their agency back home in Jakarta.
- Network milestone: 50 frontline NGO and law firm partners to engage with JWB in programmatic work to date.
- Training milestone: 1,200 caseworkers and lawyers trained to date.
2020
- Litigation milestone: JWB’s first successful High Court appeal on behalf of a domestic worker in Hong Kong.
- Online training programmes launched for frontline workers in Indonesia and Singapore during the pandemic.
- First national public discussion with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NGO partners on women migrant workers’ rights in Indonesia.
2021
- Training milestone: Launched first ever year-long mentorship programmes for frontline caseworkers in Indonesia and union leaders in Hong Kong, in partnership with the ILO.
- Litigation milestone: First successful claim against a bankrupt employer in Singapore, recovering compensation for the worker.
- Litigation milestone: First successful video link trial in Singapore for a domestic worker.
2022
- Training milestone: Completed our first full-fledged mentorship programme for Indonesian caseworkers across the country.
- Litigation milestone: Orchestrated Hong Kong’s first overseas death inquest for a domestic worker. Brought closure to a grieving family and piloted best practices for future cases.