Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

6.35
in private households did under the old immigration rules. If the number of migrant domestic
workers referred by NGO Kalayaan to the Government’s NRM is compared with the number of
individuals entering the UK, there is a 0.2% rate of trafficking on the private household route for
domestic workers in comparison with a 3.8% rate on the diplomatic household route. 65 A third
of the domestic worker trafficking cases referred by Kalayaan 66 to the pilot project Operation
Tolerance, and the NRM between 1 April 2009 and 31 December 2010 had come to the UK to
work with a diplomat. 67
The UKBA state that at the same time as removing the rights of domestic workers they have
introduced measures against abuse, but these measures are neither new nor effective.
The information letter they will give out to domestic workers has more information on the
restrictions of the visa than the rights domestic workers are entitled to under law. Ensuring
domestic workers have been employed for 12 months by their employer prior to entry will not
ensure that the employment relationship is exploitation free. The contract of employment that
the Government requires will be meaningless if domestic workers have no way of enforcing it
because they lose their ability to work and stay in the UK as soon as they flee an employer. (See
Article 9 and Appendix: 10 for more information)
Recommendations:
• Reinstate the rights of migrant domestic workers including the right to change
employer; eligibility to renew a visa if in full-time domestic work; eligibility for
settlement after five years; and eligibility to bring dependents to the UK
• Sign and ratify the International Labour Organisation Domestic Workers
Convention 68
65. Lalani, M. (2011) Ending the Abuse: Policies that work to protect migrant domestic workers. Kalayaan: London http://www.kalayaan.org.uk/
documents/Kalayaan%20Report%20final.pdf
66. Kalayaan http://www.kalayaan.org.uk/ Accessed: 21/03/13
67. Lalani, M. (2011) Ending the Abuse: Policies that work to protect migrant domestic workers. Kalayaan: London http://www.kalayaan.org.uk/
documents/Kalayaan%20Report%20final.pdf
68. Domestic Workers Convention http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_
ID:2551460:NO
60 Women’s equality in the UK: CEDAW shadow report 2013