Who are Kalayaan

Who are Kalayaan
Kalayaan* is a registered charity established in 1987 to provide advice, advocacy and support services in the UK for migrant domestic workers. We are NOT involved in helping people to come to the UK from another country. Kalayaan is the only organisation in the UK providing support services to migrant domestic workers. It works with all migrant domestic workers regardless of nationality, gender, physical ability, religion or age. Kalayaan registers approximately 350 new migrant domestic workers each year.

Staff of Kalayaan                                   

The isolated, dependant and unregulated nature of working in private household, combined with gender-based and racial discrimination means that domestic workers are vulnerable to exploitative practices. 

They can face physical, psychological and sexual abuse, discrimination, low pay and long hours. Employers often use passport retention as a means of control. 

Migrant domestic workers are often unfamiliar with the UK system and unsure of their rights in this country. Often they speak little or no English and made vulnerable by their dependence on one employer for information about their status in the UK, their job, their housing and their immigration status. 

Justice 4 Domestic Workers                 

Kalayaan works with its clients to overcome these barriers and improve their quality of life. We also campaign for the rights of Migrant Domestic Workers as workers in the UK and strongly oppose the government's new proposals for Migrant Domestic Workers as part of "Making Migration Work for Britain". Unless the proposals are amended the Government's proposals will effectively remove even the most basic of employment rights for MDWs. 

Kalayaan works with Justice 4 Domestic Workers, a self-help build campaign organisation that help, support and protect all Migrant Domestic Workers. J4DW is supported by Unite Union.

*Kalayaan is a Filipino word meaning ‘freedom’.