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Slavery

My Lords, I am pretty old—but perhaps not necessarily by the standards of this House. However, I am not too old to learn and I have learned a great deal today by listening to the truly outstanding speeches which have marked this debate, not least the outstanding contribution of the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Hornsey. I hope I will not be accused of undue partiality when I say that I was particularly privileged to hear the noble Baroness, Lady Howells, who initiated this debate. She spoke movingly about the past and the present. I thank her very much for doing so. The noble Baroness, Lady Cox, illustrated by her personal and tragic reminiscences of slavery how she has done so much to make this a better and fairer world. However, despite the efforts made by the noble Baroness and others, this odious situation of slavery still exists. I must also mention my old friend—I suppose in this place I should refer to him as my noble friend—Lord Morris of Handsworth. His speech was intensely moving. Bill Morris has never forgotten his roots, neither when he was leader of the TGWU nor now that he graces this House with his presence. We are indebted to him for what he had to say today. There is an uncanny likeness between the slavery outlawed some 200 years ago, so graphically and horrendously outlined by my noble friend Lady Howells, and the plight that befalls many immigrants in the UK today. We should also remember the horrors of the German concentration camps in the last century, Darfur and many other terrible crimes. However, I propose to concentrate on issues closer to home. A substantial reason for the appalling problems confronting asylum seekers is that they are prevented from working. It is an inability devised largely by our own law. Keith Best, who is a former Conservative MP and a friend, is the chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service. He said: "““All asylum seekers should be allowed to fend for themselves by working if possible. To refuse to let them do so is vindictive and leads to tensions in our society””." All vulnerable workers deserve some protection under the law. Migrant domestic workers won this right with the support of the Labour movement and trade unions. When the Labour Government came to power to 1997, they were not overlooked, in contradistinction to what had happened under the Tories. Despite this, too many employers abuse their position. They inflict psychological and physical abuse; they provide wholly inadequate sleeping and living accommodation, appalling and dangerous working conditions, and meagre wages. Unfortunately, that is the story that we all too often witness today. Some employers simply exercise too much power over their employees, forcing them to go underground and thus rendering them even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Why, for example, should employees’ passports be retained by their employers? Why should migrant or any workers be tied to their employers? Why should any worker be exposed to lies, and the torturers benefit from impunity? The Government rightly believe in an immigration system that is fair, simple, rigorous and transparent, but too many asylum seekers are exposed to situations which are demeaning and wrong. It is time therefore for consciences about current evils to be pricked, as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Unemployment said on 10 May 2006. We were outraged, as we should have been, bywhat happened to the Chinese cockle-pickers at Morecambe Bay, some of whom died. But this is not the only unacceptable aspect of what is occurring. Scarred by low wages, bullying and verbal racism, life is particularly harsh for asylum seekers in some hotels—perhaps even a majority of hotels. They have no employment contracts, no sick pay, and no proper holiday pay. Agencies pay less than the minimum prescribed by law. Perhaps a major part of the trouble lies in the fact that most hotels, especially the smaller hotels, employ a bias against trade unions. That is probably due to the success of trade unions in uncovering this form of abuse. All too often, they are labelled as trouble-makers. Well, the more trouble-makers we have, the better it is. Many hotels have a clear case to answer. Among them is the Kensington Close Hotel, and there are many others. How many prosecutions have taken place? How many are contemplated? A new form of slavery has emerged. It is no less incumbent on us now to address this issue than it was 200 years ago.