Manifestations and causes of domestic servitude 2010, para. 33

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Neo-bondage may also emerge in the context of migration for domestic work. Migrant domestic workers will often assume a considerable debt towards the employer or the agency organizing her recruitment and transport to cover the cost of the air ticket and recruitment fees. The domestic worker is then expected to work off this debt. In many countries, migrant domestic workers are not able to change employers as the validity of their visa depends on the initial employer's sponsorship (see section 2f). In addition, they might be blocked from returning to their home country, because employers or recruitment agencies withhold passports or return air tickets. They cannot leave their position before they have worked off their recruitment debt. With salaries being often as low as US$ 100-300 per month, this means that migrant domestic workers become bonded for long periods to a single employer, making them easily exploitable.
Legal status
Non-negotiated soft law
Body
Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
Document type
Special Procedures' report
Means of adoption
N.A.
Topic(s)
  • Economic Rights
  • Governance & Rule of Law
  • Movement
Person(s) affected
  • Persons on the move
Year
2010
Paragraph type
Other
Paragraph number
33