Prime minister licenses exploitation by not allowing migrant workers to leave abusive employers, say Liberty and Human Rights Watch before Lords debate

David Cameron’s pledge to make Britain the world leader in tackling modern slavery will face further scrutiny on Monday, when the government is accused of prioritising looking tough on immigration above preventing the abuse of foreign workers.



Less than three years after the prime minister unveiled his plans to tackle human trafficking, the government is blocking attempts to abolish the system that ties domestic workers to their employers, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

Since April 2012 each migrant workerhas been tied to one employer upon entering the UK, meaning they cannot move jobs because they are unable to renew their visas or change employer if the relationship sours.

Campaigners say the situation must be overturned as it allows abusive employers to demand extremely long hours and withhold pay and food, while placing workersin danger of economic, physical and sexual abuse.

Statistics show a recent increase in the exploitation of domestic workers, a categorisation that includes cleaners, nannies and cooks, who cannot seek justice without the fear of deportation if they leave their abusive employers.

The modern slavery bill will be debated on Monday in the House of Lords with an amendment to the domestic overseas workers visa tabled that seeks to ensure a minimum level of protection by allowing vulnerable domestic workers to change employer.

About 15,000 domestic workers accompany foreign employers to the UK each year. Campaigners argue that such a change will allow vulnerable workers to escape situations of slavery without the immediate prospect of deportation, while also recognising that domestic overseas workers are not a sub-class of people here merely to facilitate the lifestyle of their employer.

The charity Liberty points to overwhelming evidence that the tied visa has prompted an increase in exploitation, with the joint select committee on human rights and joint select committee on the draft modern slavery bill warning that in their view it does so.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch said it had found serious abuses of migrant workers by foreign employers in the UK. Researcher Izza Leghtas has written a report that accuses the government of “failing to protect a group of workers who are extremely vulnerable to abuse due to the hidden nature of their work”.

We do not believe there is persuasive evidence the so-called tie to an employer has led to an increase in abuse Lord Bates, Home Office

Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly who has written a report on human trafficking in London, concluded that through the visa the government was “actually licensing modern-day slavery”.

Bella Sankey, director of policy at Liberty, said: “The evidence that the tied visa – a hallmark of repressive regimes the world over – has led to an increase in abuse of vulnerable women on our shores is damning.”

Despite this, the government is not backing the amendment, instead offering a review of the visa system by the end of July.

A letter from Home Office minister Lord Bates, dated 9 February 2015, states: “We do not believe that there is persuasive evidence that the so-called tie to an individual employer has led to an increase in abuse. However, we do recognise the importance of the concern over the visa tie.”

Sankey added: “The government, desperate to retain a policy so closely tied to its doomed immigration cap, stubbornly averts its eyes. The fact that staying in servitude is often a more attractive option than the alternative is abhorrent – we urge peers to act on Wednesday to protect the most vulnerable and defeat this unpleasant example of modern slavery.”

Lord Hylton, who tabled the amendment, said: “Since the early 1990s I have been involved in the struggle to protect domestic workers from overseas. Between 1998 and 2012 domestic workers could at least change employers and assert their rights to pay and to compensation for maltreatment. Now they are tied to a single employer, who is free to abuse them.

“If the government are serious about ending slavery in Britain, they should accept our amendment.”

The Home Office has stated that under the existing system domestic workers have “access to protections under employment laws”.

The Bishop of Carlisle, James Newcome, said: “I am an enthusiastic supporter of the modern slavery bill, and believe that this simple but important amendment will provide necessary protection for domestic workers from overseas and restore some flexibility with regard to their employment.”