Under a new policy, workers are tied to one employer and so are unable to renew their visas or change employer if they are abused
LONDON, Feb 23 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain's upper house of parliament should help prevent the abuse of foreign domestic workers by amending an anti-trafficking bill to give them the right to change their employers, campaigners said on Monday.
The government, which introduced the Modern Slavery Bill in response to growing reports of exploitation, estimates there are up to 13,000 victims of slavery in the country.
Many are forced into manual labour, others are sold to brothels or kept in domestic servitude.
In April 2012, Britain changed its visa rules for overseas domestic workers as part of a clampdown on immigration.
Under the new policy, workers are tied to one employer and so are unable to renew their visas or change employer if they are abused, their passports confiscated, made to work long hours with no wages or denied food and proper breaks, campaigners say.
The government has announced a review of the visa rules for overseas domestic workers. But activists said it was not enough.
"We don't need another review to tell us the tied visa system facilitates abuse, both in the UK and abroad," said Izza Leghtas, researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"The solution is to amend the bill so these vulnerable people can escape abuse," Leghtas said in a statement.
Kalayaan, a group lobbying for migrant domestic workers' rights, said tied visas has led to more exploitation and abuse, including trafficking for domestic servitude.
"Every day more workers enter on the tied visa and are at risk of abuse. The UK should not lose the opportunity to address this with the Modern Slavery Bill," Kalayaan's Kate Roberts said in a statement.
The Modern Slavery Bill, being considered by the House of Lords, is widely expected to be passed before elections in May.
(Editing by Ros Russell)
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