Take action to prevent slavery and violence agianst women - Write to Home Secretary - urge the Government not to remove protections from domestic workers
The government will announce its plans for the domestic worker visa shortly.  The changes currently proposed will remove employment rights from vulnerable, mostly female workers and increase abuse, exploitation and trafficking for domestic servitude. This is the last chance to influence it! Please write to Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities Theresa May as a matter of urgency.
 
For greater impact please write your own letter adapting the points below.  Otherwise please use this template.

Points to raise:

• The proposed changes to the visa will increase trafficking for domestic servitude
• Domestic workers will be forced to endure servitude or become 'illegal' if they flee 
• The proposed changes have little impact on net migration -  In 2009 migrant domestic workers accounted for only 0.5% of the total grants of settlement.
• The Government must:
  • Retain the Overseas Domestic Worker visa
  • Ensure that all overseas domestic workers have the right to change employer including those in diplomatic households
  • Ensure that Migrant domestic workers have legal recognition as workers, are able to apply to renew their visas and apply for settlement
    

Background

Migrant domestic workers work in private households. The isolated, dependant and unregulated nature of this work combined with gender-based and racial discrimination means that domestic workers are vulnerable to exploitation.
They can face physical, psychological and sexual abuse, discrimination, low pay and long hours. Employers often use passport retention as a means of control. Some are trafficked for domestic servitude.
The government proposals will remove fundamental safeguards designed to protect these vulnerable workers.  The proposed changes to the visa aim to reduce net migration to the UK by either removing the visa altogether or by restricting leave to 6 or 12 months with no option to change employer. If implemented this will leave hundreds of migrant domestic workers vulnerable to violence and forced labour with no escape route other than to become  ‘illegal’.

You can find Kalayaan's briefing paper on the proposals here.

You can also see the Goverment's consultation and Kalayaan's full response to the Consultation.

"That's not work, it's slavery"

Hundreds of migrant domestic workers gathered outside parliament on the 4th Sept to protest against the changes.

Watch Kalayaan's video on why the protections for migrant domestic workers are so important

Protect migrant domestic workers in the UK from Kalayaan on Vimeo.

With thanks to Hardcash productions

Photo Credit: Paddy Craig

Looking for household help
ethically?
Advertise your job for free.
CLICK HERE

Are you employing a migrant domestic worker? Would you like to respond to the Government?

If you are an employer and would like to let the Government know your views, Kalayaan would encourage you to do this. It is important that the Government hear concerns from people with different perspecitves on the issue. You will find notes on how you can help here. The best things you can do as an employer are to write to your MP (template letter here) or to fill out a consultation response (see above).

Alarming proposals could mean a return to slavery for migrant domestic workers in the UK

Click here to see Kalayaan's briefing on the consequences of the Government proposals for migrant domestic workers and the reasoning behind the proposals, which is found to be flawed.

On the 9th June 2011 the Government announced a Consultation on Employment Related Settlement, Tier 5 and Overseas Domestic Workers.
Kalayaan condemns these proposals which, if made law, could mean a return to slavery for migrant domestic workers in the UK.
They include options to either abolish the route for migrant domestic workers to enter the UK, leaving them open to being brought into the UK by employers through informal routes in breach of immigration controls, or to restrict them to a 6 or 12 month non renewable visa, and to remove the right to change employers even if severely abused.
Removing the right to change employer would mean a return to bonded labour.  The visa has been recognised as the main protection for this group of workers who are already especially vulnerable to severe exploitation including slavery and trafficking for domestic servitude. Removing the visa altogether would increase trafficking via illegal routes and unlawful working leaving those workers believing they are unable to contact the authorities for assistance and with few if any enforceable rights.  Limiting the length of the visa makes it likely that unscrupulous employers would keep workers working for them beyond the length of the visa, again without any recourse to meaningful legal protection against even severe exploitation.
The Government claims that anti trafficking measures can replace protections provided by the visa. Kalayaan, together with many others working with victims of trafficking, hve real doubts about how effective these measures are in practice for all victims. Nor do anti trafficking protections do anything to protect an individual before they are trafficked or to assist those who have been severely exploited but whose abuse does not meet all the trafficking criteria.
It is vital that we take action now, before these proposals are implemented. Please watch this space for campaign actions and please do get involved to prevent this move towards state sanctioned slavery.

Photo credit: Leticia Valverdes, Kalayaan and Oxfam

Ending the abuse: Policies that work to protect migrant domestic workers

Kalayaan's new report draws on evidence collected over the last decade and demonstrates that migrant domestic workers are highly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. The research shows the the 'Overseas Domestic Worker (ODW) visa is an inexpensive and effective way of protecting MDWs, and that without this legal channel trafficking of domestic workers via illegal routes could increase. There are however areas in which urgent action is needed to improve protections particularly for domestic workers who enter the UK accompanying diplomats. These workers are shown to be 20 times more likely to be in slavery than those who work in private households.

You can download a copy of the report here.

Photo credit: Leticia Valverdes, Kalayaan and Oxfam

New requirement for visa applications - employer passport

New visa forms were brought out by the UKBA on 7 April 2011. In addition to changing the fee (it is now £550 to renew a domestic worker visa in the post), the UKBA are asking that domestic workers provide their employer's passport as evidence of the employer's right to reside in the UK. Normally all documents sent to the UKBA must be originals. Kalayaan have spoken to the UKBA about this requirement and they have agreed that a photocopy of the employer's passport (and visa if the employer is not a British National) is acceptable. A note about this will soon be included in the guidance given to caseworkers (sometimes referred to as the IDIs). Until the note is issued we will provide you with a letter detailing our conversation with the home office so that you can make the caseworker assessing your application aware of this. Please call us to request our help.

Kalayaan is a winner of the Guardian Charity Awards 2010

Kalayaan is delighted to be one of five small charities recognised for our 'extraordinary work with vulnerable people'. As well as a cash prize, the award will give Kalayaan valuable mentoring, support and training. You can find out more on the guardian website.

Migrant domestic workers on a Kalayaan trip to Cambridge