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Migrant Domestic Workers (Visas)

It is a pleasure to be under your guidance, Mr. Benton, for what is probably the last Adjournment debate of my time in Parliament. I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to praise the work of not only some superb non-governmental organisations active on this issue but those right hon. and hon. Members who have been more involved with the subject than I have been. 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. That will be the thrust of my contribution and, I am sure, the contributions made by other right hon. and hon. Members. Before I come to the substance of the debate, I would like to thank Kalayaan for its work. Kalayaan is a charity offering direct support to migrant domestic workers. It was instrumental in arguing for the new migrant domestic worker visa, which has worked, as I will demonstrate, but which sadly does not extend to migrant domestic workers employed in diplomatic missions. Kalayaan runs advice sessions with a focus on immigration and employment, as well as an excellent community centre, which I had the privilege to visit the other week. It also runs activities for clients, including English classes, training, and confidence building workshops. It hosts a social area, too—a safe space where migrant domestic workers can meet other people and access advice and support away from the ever-watchful eyes of their wealthy employers. The newspapers are full of criticism of my trade union, Unite—the old Transport and General Workers Union—of which I am proud to be a member, as I will be until my dying day. I pay tribute to the work of Diana Holland of Unite, who has made the issue of migrant domestic workers a personal crusade. I am delighted that she might be heartened, depending on the Minister's answers—I know that he wants to agree with me—by the continued progress that we could make on the issue if we used the powers available to us. The issue involves the abuse of some of the most vulnerable people in our country, if not our society—they are barely in our society. For many of us on the left side of politics, such issues are what brought us into public life and politics in the first place. However, of course, concern does not exist only on the left. We must acknowledge the huge contribution made by the hon. Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen)—I want to call him my hon. Friend—who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on the trafficking of women and children. It is probably one of our most active all-party groups and has an impressive track record, having organised an important meeting with the Minister on 24 November to highlight the abuse of migrant domestic workers and the workings of the migrant domestic worker visa system. His response is still sought. I understand that the all-party group has set up 11 such groups in Parliaments across Europe. That is a genuine example of how the much-maligned all-party parliamentary group system can forge important links across national boundaries.