Reading West MP Martin Salter held a Commons debate in Westminster Hall yesterday to highlight the plight of abused Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) who are brought to Britain and treated, in the words of Mr Salter, as “modern slaves.”

Mr Salter petitioned Speaker John Bercow for the debate, entitled “Visa rights of Migrant Domestic Workers” after visiting Kalayaan, a West London based charity that offers direct support for abused workers from overseas.

Martin Salter was particularly concerned with the plight of abused Migrant Domestic Workers attached to foreign embassies in Britain. Whilst most workers from overseas are protected to a degree by their MDW visa if they take up a position in a private home as they can subsequently move employers, those attached to foreign missions in London cannot. They often have no escape route from abuse, and little chance of justice if they do manage to escape, due protect that diplomatic immunity offers to their employers.

Speaking the debate, Mr Salter said:-

“I am a member of the Select Committee on Home Affairs, which in 2008 produced a strong and hard-hitting report on the obscenity of human trafficking. The title of this debate refers to visa rights for migrant domestic workers, but it will become apparent that what we are actually discussing is a secret slavery taking place a stone’s throw away from this building. For the most abused groups of vulnerable workers, the dark ages are still happening, just around the corner from this mother of Parliaments. It is a scar on this country that such things occur within our borders; it is certainly a scar on the conscience of the diplomatic missions that use diplomatic immunity and their privileged position to treat fellow human beings in the most appalling, disgusting, dehumanising and disgraceful manner. It must stop.”

He continued:-

“In many cases, workers have absolutely no knowledge of their immigration rights and status. If their passports and papers are confiscated, the employer has the absolute whip hand. Such workers live in fear of criminal prosecution, deportation or any sort of threat-valid or otherwise-that the employer can choose to make. We outlawed slavery in 1833, which was an awfully long time ago. As far as I can see, what is happening is little better than a 21st-century system of slavery.”

The Reading MP read out the harrowing story of Aliah, who soon realised that her “dream job” working for a foreign embassy in London was actually a nightmare. She was sexually abused by the diplomat and physically abused by the diplomat’s wife. She had her passport confiscated, had to work 17 hours a day, received no wages, and was only allowed to leave the house to buy milk. She eventually managed to escape after the diplomat cornered her and beat her head against the front door in a drunken rage.

Mr Salter said:-

“This appalling and completely unacceptable abuse is still occurring in some-not all-diplomatic missions in London right now. It is an affront to a civilised society and a scar on the conscience of nations whose representatives are still prepared to treat their fellow human beings as 21st-century slaves. What they do in their own countries is one thing, but what they do in our country is a matter for us and for this Parliament. Frankly, I do not give a flying fig about the representations from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the worries about upsetting important international partners. This is a domestic British issue, and it needs to be resolved.”

He invited Home Office Minister Phil Woolas to extend the provisions of the specific Migrant Domestic Worker Visa beyond 2011 when it was due to expire, and urged him to widen the provisions so it covered staff in diplomatic missions.  In his response, Mr Woolas confirmed that the Government continue to offer protection to Migrant Domestic Workers via the transferable visa system beyond 2011.

Speaking after the debate, Martin Salter said:-

“I am glad that so many colleagues from all political parties joined with me to put pressure on the Home Office to review the legislation relating to Migrant Domestic Workers, and I was heartened by the Minister’s assurances that the visa protection will now extend beyond the 2011 cut off date. I was less pleased that we have still not got a cast-iron commitment from the Government to extend the visa protection to staff in diplomatic missions. I highlighted some particularly harrowing cases of violence, bullying and sexual assault which would normally lead to prosecution if it wasn’t for diplomatic immunity. I have no doubt if Migrant Domestic Workers in diplomatic missions were free to move employers are not trapped in what is still arcane bonded labour scheme then many of these dreadful incidents would simply not take place because the workers would be free to take their services elsewhere.”