REC Childcare brings the campaign to retain the Domestic Workers Visa to Parliament.

Released on 17 October 2011

The REC today spoke at a Parliamentary event on the domestic workers visa, highlighting recruiters concerns about the proposals for it to be scrapped.

The event, organised by Fiona McTaggart MP, looked at the implications of the proposed reforms to the Domestic workers visa and the effects that this would have on the candidate, clients, the recruitment industry and the wider employment market.

Julia Harris, member of the REC Childcare executive and Managing Director of the Housekeeper Company, who spoke on the panel at this event said:

“Today was an extremely important meeting and highlighted the significance of the Domestic workers visa in protecting candidates, whilst providing clients with high quality care and support.  By uniting politicians and businesses, as well as anti slavery campaigners and domestic workers, we create a more powerful voice to explain the importance of the domestic workers route.

“We must ensure that all parties have a clear understanding of both the importance of retaining the domestic workers visa, protecting this vulnerable group of workers from potential exploitation, and the vital role they play in filling live in positions looking after children or the elderly.  It is clear that these positions aren’t being filled by UK or EU Nationals and it is critical that by trying to drive down immigration the Government does not leave households without the essential support that they need.”

Highlighting the effect on workers, Fiona McTaggart, MP for Slough and sponsor of the event added:

“The overseas domestic worker visa gives a worker the power to withdraw their labour without becoming an illegal migrant.  Just doing that has cut abuse massively and it is wrong for the government to try to return domestic workers to the risk of slavery.  Workers in diplomatic households who do not have the freedom to move employers are nearly 20 times as likely to suffer abuse as other migrant domestic workers.”