It’s time to fix the Overseas Domestic Worker Visa.
Thousands of migrant domestic workers are being exploited. It’s time for a visa system that protects them and upholds their rights.
The UK’s exploitative Overseas Domestic Worker (ODW) visa regime has trapped migrants in a system that enables modern slavery behind closed doors.
In 2012, the Government stripped migrant domestic workers of basic rights and protections. Since then, the number of domestic workers reporting abuse to Kalayaan has risen significantly: workers are trapped behind closed doors with abusive employers who ignore the needs for rest, privacy and adequate food.
14% of workers issued a visa prior to 6 April 2012 presented with indicators of trafficking. This rose to 40% of the workers issued a visa after 6 April 2012 and 41% of the workers issued a visa after 6 April 2016
Protect migrant domestic workers from exploitation and abuse
The Government has committed to reduce violence against women and girls by half in ten years. Yet thousands of women are exploited as migrant domestic workers. Why? Because the Government will not implement visa reforms that would reinstate their basic rights and protections.
In 2012, the visa terms were severely restricted, and the following new restrictions have been accompanied by increased levels of exploitation:
- No right to change employer
- Not renewable
- No dependents
- No pathway to settlement
Since 2012, successive governments have been aware of the wealth of evidence on the exploitation caused by removing rights from the original ODW visa: Parliamentarians have been lobbied, petitions have been signed, and workers have bravely spoken out. Civil society organisations have engaged with various government stakeholder groups, and many international monitoring mechanisms have expressed concern about the UK’s legislative framework and how it puts workers at unacceptable risk. All the evidence has been ignored.
The Government has the power to protect workers from abuse and exploitation. Instead, it treats workers as expendable and ignores the evidence and testimony of workers with lived experience of exploitation.
What do migrant domestic workers want?
It’s time for a visa that protects fundamental employment rights for migrant domestic workers and protects them against gender-based violence.
We stand together with migrant domestic workers. They have been clear for years on the rights they need to be safe at work:
- The unconditional right to change employer
- The right to renew their visa
- The right to be joined by spouses, partners and children
- After 5 years of continuous work, the right to settlement
These could create real change for migrant domestic workers and add much-needed protection from exploitation, abuse and isolation. It’s time for a visa that protects migrant domestic workers.
Read our research.