Still time to take action to protect migrant domestic workers

The UK Government is planning to remove the important protections provided by the migrant domestic worker visa. The result will be an increase in abuse, exploitation and trafficking for domestic servitude.

The Consultation which contains these proposals has now closed but the UK Government has not yet announced any decision. If you want to take action, you can still potentially influence a decision by writing to your MP and expressing you concerns. Here is a template letter.

You can also write directly to the Immigraton Minister Damian Green MP, outlining your concerns about the planned changes to the visa, and urging the Government to:

·         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

·         Ensure domestic workers who are in full-time domestic employment are able to apply to renew their visas

·         Ensure domestic workers retain the right to apply for settlement

Address: Damian Green MP, Minister for Immigration, Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

Last chance to save rights of migrant domestic workers

The Government Consultation containing the disasterous proposals for migrant domestic workers closes next week on the 9^th September http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/consultations/employment-related-settlement/employment-related-consultation?view=Binary

To remove the visa altogether as proposed would only deter good employers. Employers prepared to break the law in their employment practises are unlikely to hesitate at bringing domestic workers on family or visit visas. Once here on these visas domestic workers would have no rights in the UK and would be working in breach of their immigration conditions.

The other proposed option is for workers to enter on a 6 or 12 month, non renewable visa. On this visa they would not be permitted to change employer, no matter what their treatment, nor would they be protected by UK labour laws. It is not clear what would they would be expected to do once their visa expired as many have been recruited from a third country, to which they would have no right of return without their employer. To return to their country would not be out of the question for many domestic workers who have debts incurred while securing their overseas job. It seems likely that workers would not only be severely exploited on this visa but that employers would encourage (or force) them to stay on in the UK once their visa had expired.

Please respond raising your concerns at the removal of a visa which works well to protect some of the most vulnerable workers in the UK. An online response can be submitted directly here https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/workroutesconsultation

Jail for woman convicted today of keeping a domestic worker as a slave

You can find coverage in the Guardian, Telegraph and on the BBC.

Kalayaan is concerned that without the protections contained within the domestic worker visa, allowing workers to leave abusive employers without jepordising their immigration status, future workers in similar cases may be too scared to involve the police.

Please visit www.kalayaan.org.uk for actions to maintain the visa.

Watch our video showing why migrant domestic workers need basic protections in law

http://vimeo.com/26645064

This video documents why migrant domestic workers need basic protections in law. The UK Government proposes to remove the existing protections including the right to change employer. Kalayaan demands these proposals are dropped and protections are improved.

Less than a month left to protect migrant domestic workers in the UK!

The Government's Consultation on employment related settlement which contains proposals to remove protections for migrant domestic workers will close on the 9th September- in less than a month.

Please respond before this date to express any concerns you have with the proposals. You can find Kalayaan's full and template response on our website www.kalayaan.org.uk . You can respond online here https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/workroutesconsultation or can fill out and return the form by post or email here http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/consultations/employment-related-settlement/consultation-response.pdf?view=Binary

Government's new Human Trafficking strategy will not prevent trafficking for domestic servitude

On the 19th July the Government published its new strategy on Human Trafficking.

Kalayaan is concerned that the strategy places too much faith in border controls and has too little focus on victim protection. We have found nothing within the strategy which would replace the protections for migrant domestic workers provided by the domestic worker visa.

The domestic worker visa has been found to be the most important prevention of trafficking for domestic servitude.

Find out more about the proposals and write to your MP or respond to the Government's Consultation.

Domestic workers speak out!

On the 10th July over 250 migrant domestic workers attended a public meeting held at Unite the Union to discuss their concerns at the proposed changes to the domestic worker visa and to respond to the Government's Consulation.

There was unanimous agreement that the changes as proposed would be a disaster and a return to slavery. As one worker put it:

'if we were unable to change employer, we will suffer abuse and we will not be treated like any other employee in the UK. We have this right, we are safe now, why change something which helps people?'

Please write to your MP (you can use our template response letter) and respond to the Consultation to keep domestic workers protected.

You can find Kalayaan's template Consultation response here and you can respond online here. Please don't forget to respond before the Consultation response deadline of 9th September.

Photo credit: Paddy Craig