Recursos para la escritura 1. División y extensión

Pollert and Charlwood (2009) have argued that employees without collective agreement or union membership are vulnerable workers. Unlike in other EU countries like Italy and Spain where domestic workers are covered by collective agreements,²⁴ there is no collective agreement for domestic workers in the UK and the work is unregulated. The exclusion of UK domestic workers from vital employment and health and safety protections allowed unscrupulous employers to exploit them; thereby putting the workers in a dangerous and economically disadvantaged position.

24 See ILO – Domestic workers negotiate new collective agreements in Uruguay and Italy, Document | 02 May 2013. http://www.ilo.org/travail/areasofwork/domestic-workers/WCMS_212212/lang--en/index.htm last accessed August 16, 2015

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Of at least 52.6 million people (17% men and 83% women) who work as domestic workers across the world in 2010 (see fig. 1), ‘‘only 10 percent is covered by the general labour law that protect the other workers (ILO, 2013: 50).

FIGURE 1:PROTECTION OF DOMESTIC WORKERS UNDER NATIONAL LEGISLATION,2010

Source: ILO 2013

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In the UK, it is not compulsory for employers to issue contract of employment to the workers.

But, it is mandatory for employers to issue their employees with a statement of employment particulars that details the terms and condition of their agreement.²⁵ Despite the evidence that in the other professions, employers often take it upon themselves to issue their employees with a full contract of employments (Deakin and Morris, 2012), employers domestic workers hardly issue any contract or the correct statement of terms and condition to their workers (HRW, 2014; Kalayaan and Oxfam, 2008). Further, despite the Home Office effort to ensure the ODWs are issued with a statement of terms and condition,²⁶ there is evidence to suggest that most employers of domestic workers often choose to circumvent or mislead the Home Office.²⁷ History has shown that the work agreement between employers and their domestic workers often tend to be essentially verbal (Anderson, 2001; Kalayaan and Oxfam, 2008).

The lack of documentation even makes it easier for the employers to arbitrarily change the terms of the agreement and/or dismiss the worker without any warning and/or any benefit.

The current ODWs visa which, came into effect on 6^th April 2012 restricted to six months, the maximum stay of newly admitted domestic workers to the UK. Unlike their counterparts on the pre 6^th April 2012 ODWs visa, those on the new visa are unable to renew their visa and are unable to change employers. These restrictions put the ODWs at the mercy of their employers and reduce their ability to protect themselves; thereby promoting modern day slavery (HRW, 2014). According to a Kalayaan publication on the status of the current ODWs visa,²⁸ between 6^th April 2012 and 6^th April 2014, a total of 402 domestic workers reported to the organization (see fig 2).

25 See the Employment Rights Act 1996 c.18, London: OPSI, sections 1, 2, & 4

26 Home Office – Domestic Workers in Private Households, Guidance v9.0, Valid from 12 December 2013

27 Although employers do issue some form of contract to enable the worker to apply for the ODWs visa and in the case of those admitted before 6^th April 2012, to enable them renew their visas, the visa issued to the Home Office do not always represents the actual agreement between the parties. See for instance, Taiwo v Olaigbe, EAT (0254/12)

28 Kalayaan (2014) Still enslaved: The migrant domestic workers who are trapped by the immigration rules April 2014. London: Kalayaan

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Although, only 120 of those who reported were on the new visa comparing to 282 on the old visa, the abuse and exploitation reported by those on the new visa is more than that reported by those on the old visa.

FIGURE 2:COMPARISON OF ABUSE REPORTED TO KALAYAAN IN PERCENTAGE (APRIL 2012–APRIL 2014

Source: Kalayaan 2014

It is visible from the report that almost three quarters of those on the new visa reported never being allowed out of the house unsupervised (71%) compared to 43% of those on the old visa. Further, 65% of those on the new visa did not have their own rooms, share room with the children or slept in the kitchen or lounge compared to 34% of those on the old visa. 53%

of those on the new visa work more than 16 hours a day compared to 32% of those on the old visa. 60% of those on the new visa reports pay of less than £50 a week, compared to 36% on the old visa. Furthermore, a subsequent report by HRW (2014) confirmed that domestic workers often have their passport confiscated by the employers, confined to the home, experience physical and psychological abuse, subject to extremely long working hours with no rest days, and are either paid very low wages or no wages at all.

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Perhaps the recognition that domestic workers are excluded from most international labour frameworks that protect workers²⁹ prompted the adoption of convention 189 in 2011 by the ILC. The convention which sets an inclusive framework for domestic workers around the world came into effect on 5^th September 2013. Significantly, amongst the countries that have ratified and implemented it are Italy and Germany. So far, the UK Government has refused to recognise it. Thus, denying UK domestic workers the chance to become more visible to the public and the opportunity to improve their experience. Further, the unwillingness of the UK Government to extend the health and safety law and working time protection to those employed in the households, and the turning of a blind eye towards the plights of ODWs continue to impact on the negative experience of domestic workers in the UK.