Campaign to secure rights for overseas domestic workers

Columban Aodh O'Halpin and Sr Margaret Healy, who work with Justice for Domestic Workers (J4DW), report on the latest development in trying to secure rights for overseas domestic workers in Britain.

In the ongoing struggle to restore rights to Overseas Domestic Workers (ODWs) - rights taken from them in April 2012 - a glimmer of hope has appeared. Domestic workers in Britain felt themselves forced into slavery in 2012, when controversial visa laws were introduced which tied domestic workers visas to their employers.

Domestic workers operating under the new visa system are forced to work long hours, are not paid the minimum wage, denied overtime pay or simply not paid at all. And women who thought they would be working in one household find their employer wants them to work in two or three, without extra pay. They often have no choice but to accept, otherwise their visa will be cancelled. Cases that J4DW have worked on include a woman forced to sleep on the floor and kept alive on out-of-date scraps of food thrown at her by her employers' children. If workers manage to flee, they become illegal immigrants and have to pursue work via shadowy channels.

Most are sending funds back home to support large families. They have no option but to stay in the UK and keep working at all costs. If domestic workers report their employers' abusive behaviour to the police they are often deported straight away, says the charity.

However, now, the government has claimed that ODWs would be protected under the modern slavery bill despite much evidence to the contrary. Because of pressure from organisations, MPs and members of the House of Lords, they commissioned James Ewins, a barrister and now a QC, to do a full report on the issue.

On Tuesday 9 February a meeting was held in the House of Lords, sponsored by Lord Hylton and chaired by Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary of Unite the Union. At this meeting James Ewins outlined a summary of his Report and Recommendations.

In March 2015, when the Report was being commissioned, Karen Bradley MP said: "we have asked for this review to take place and we look forward to the recommendations" and "the intention is that whoever is in government will implement the review's recommendations" (Karen Bradley MP 17 March 2015, Modern Slavery Bill Debate).

"Over 40 people attended the meeting on 9 February, including representatives of various organisations, overseas domestic workers and ourselves. James Ewins opened his presentation with an outline of the difficulties he had in getting government facts and figures. He found this very strange as systems are in place to monitor every person entering and leaving the country.

"Three of the domestic workers who had escaped from their employers gave a graphic description of what they had suffered before escaping and the difficulties they are experiencing now under the new legislation. The Review found that 'the existence of a tie to a specific employer and the absence of a universal right to change employer and apply for extensions of the visa are incompatible with the reasonable protection of overseas domestic workers while in the UK.

"In other words, under the present system ODWs can leave their employer but as their length of stay in the UK is limited to six months they don't in reality have access to justice or to exercise any rights. To be able to access these rights, James Ewins has recommended that the period of six months be extended to two and a half years. We believe this is a step in the right direction, but the problems of ODWs will not be solved until the basic rights as workers that they had prior to 2012 are fully restored.

"The Review also calls for mandatory group information meetings for all overseas domestic workers who remain in the UK for more than 42 days. This is to give them the opportunity to access information regarding their rights and to share information and get help should they need it if their employer is exploiting them."

The government has not yet responded formally to the Report of James Ewins. Meanwhile, an Amendment and Parliamentary Questions are being prepared for the Report Stage on the 9 March in the hope that the Recommendations will be included in the Immigration Bill. It is really important that we contact our MPs and Members of the House of Lords and encourage them to support this Amendment.

For more information see: www.facebook.com/Justice-for-Domestic-Workers-456016897839252/