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write to your member of parliament

The Home Alone campaign is gearing up for its most crucial time - the International Labour Conference in Geneva in June 2011 - where governments will vote as to whether a new international measure on domestic work will be created or not.

Disappointingly the UK government is still not supporting all the measures proposed within the Convention. The Government aren’t properly listening to our concerns! If you are in the UK, please ask your MP to urge the Government to change its position and fully support the adoption of a Convention to ensure domestic workers are protected from slavery.

To find out who your MP is and email them visit www.writetothem.com or post a letter to:
(NAME) MP
House of Commons
London, SW1A 0AA

You can use the sample letter below and adapt it with your own words before sending if you wish.

sample letter

Subject: Please urge the Government to support a new ILO convention to protect domestic workers from slavery

Dear (NAME) MP

I am writing to ask for your urgent support for Anti-Slavery International's HOME ALONE campaign which is calling upon the Government to support the adoption of a new International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on domestic work. Governments from around the world will vote in June 2011 at the annual International Labour Conference in Geneva as to whether a new Convention will be created or not.

I am deeply concerned about the situation of domestic workers in the UK and around the world, many of whom suffer from abuse, exploitation and slavery. Working behind closed doors in private households, domestic work is all too often undervalued and unregulated. In many countries domestic workers are excluded from national labour legislation. Existing international conventions have failed to address the unique circumstances of domestic work nor have they provided adequate protection against exploitation and slavery.

I appreciate that UK law provides some protective measures to migrant domestic workers, notably prohibiting employers from confiscating their passports and enabling them to change employers. However, despite these provisions the abuse and enslavement of domestic workers continues. An international Convention would not only strengthen protections for domestic workers here but ensure that domestic workers everywhere are better protected.

It is therefore extremely disappointing that the Government is not fully supporting the creation of a new Convention and has continued to express reservations in relation to some of the most crucial provisions for domestic workers proposed within the Convention. The UK must ensure that no exemptions are made in relation to the protection of the rights of domestic workers, so as not to perpetuate their ongoing vulnerability and abuse. Potentially unequal treatment of domestic workers before the law highlights the very need for a Convention which clearly sets out their rights and the responsibilities of employers. In a recent report, 93 states from around the world responded to the proposed Convention and the overall attitude is encouraging signalling an emerging international consensus in support of it. The UK’s current position means we are lagging behind rather than taking a leading role in line with an emerging international movement to strengthen legal rights for domestic workers everywhere.

I would be very grateful if you could raise this matter as soon as possible with the Minister for Employment relations, Ed Davey, urging him to reconsider the Government’s current position.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

(your name)

Many thanks for joining our HOME ALONE campaign and helping to END DOMESTIC SLAVERY.

Please send any responses you receive to Gemma Wolfes at g.wolfes@antislavery.org or post them to:
Anti-Slavery International
Thomas Clarkson House
The Stableyard, Broomgrove road,
London, SW9 9TL

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