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THE ENDURING VULNERABILITY OF MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS IN EUROPE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2013

Clíodhna Murphy
Clíodhna Murphy*
Affiliation:
Lecturer in Law, Dublin City University, cliodhna.murphy@dcu.ie.
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Abstract

While the rights of domestic workers are expanding in international law, including through the adoption of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention in 2011, migrant domestic workers remain particularly vulnerable to employment-related abuse and exploitation. This article explores the intersection of the employment law and migration law regimes applicable to migrant domestic workers in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland. The article suggests that the precarious immigration status of many migrant domestic workers renders employment protections, such as they exist in each jurisdiction, largely illusory in practice for this group of workers. The labour standards contained in the Domestic Workers Convention, together with the recommendations of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers on the features of an appropriate immigration regime for migrant domestic workers, are identified as providing an alternative normative model for national regulatory frameworks.

Keywords

Article 4 ECHRemployment lawILO Conventionimmigration lawmigrant domestic workers
Type
Articles
Information
International & Comparative Law Quarterly , Volume 62 , Issue 3 , July 2013 , pp. 599 - 627
Copyright
Copyright © British Institute of International and Comparative Law 2013 

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References

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16 CMW General Comment (n 13).

17 Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, General Recommendation No 26 on Women Migrant Workers (UN Doc CEDAW/C/2009/WP.1/R, 5 December 2008) (CEDAW General Recommendation).

18 (2006) 43 EHRR 16.

19 Application No 67724/09, Judgment of 11 October 2012.

20 Application No 4239/08, Judgment of 13 November 2012.

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26 ILO Report on Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Report IV(1)) (n 23) 13.

27 ibid 2.

28 Art 6.

29 Art 7

30 Art 10.

31 Art 11.

32 Art 13.

33 Art 14.

34 In respect of health and safety regulations and social security, the Convention acknowledges the concerns of States in these areas by allowing them to apply these measures progressively, and in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.

35 Art 16.

36 ILO, ‘Effective Protection for Domestic Workers: A Guide to Designing Labour Laws’ (2012) 4.

37 ibid.

38 CMW General Comment (n 13) para 37.

39 ibid para 37-4; CEDAW General Recommendation (n 17) para 26(b).

40 Chen (n 4).

41 See ‘Report of the Committee on Domestic Workers’, International Labour Conference, Provisional Record, 100th session, Geneva, June 2011.

42 HL Deb Col WA242 (Baroness Wilcox) (12 October 2011). See also HC Deb cols 288–9 (Ed Davey MP) (29 June 2011).

43 Prior to drafting the convention, the ILO circulated a questionnaire to members to which the Irish State did not respond. Similarly, during the drafting negotiations the Irish government did not make a significant contribution. In the Committee on Domestic Workers the only (recorded) interventions of the Irish government related to the requirement to provide MDWs with a contract of employment prior to entering the state of employment and how that would fit with EU/EEA rights relating to free movement of workers. ILO Provisional Record, 100th Session 15 June 2011, Report of the Committee on Domestic Workers.

44 See Written Answers, 6 March 2011, Dáil Eireann Debate Vol. 758, No 1, Richard Bruton TD (in response to question from Mary Lou McDonald TD). See also Written Answers, Tuesday 22 May 2012, Dáil Eireann Debate Vol. 766, No 1, Richard Bruton TD (in response to question from Gerard Nash TD).

45 See International Labour Conference, 99th session 2010, Report on Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Report IV(2)) and ILO Provisional Record, 100th Session 15 June 2011, Report of the Committee on Domestic Workers respectively.

46 ILO Report IV(2) (n 45) para 92.

47 ILO, ‘Italy Ratifies the Domestic Workers Convention’ (22 January 2013). In accordance with art 21, the Domestic Workers Convention will enter into force on 5 September 2013, 12 months after the date on which it was ratified by two ILO member States.

48 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, GA res 45/158, annex, 45 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No 49A) 262, UN Doc A/45/49 (1990) entered into force on 1 July 2003.

49 This reflects the general diversity of the regulation of domestic work. See JM Ramirez-Machado, ‘Domestic Work, Conditions of Work and Employment: A Legal Perspective’ (Conditions of Work and Employment Series No 7, ILO 2003) (ILO Conditions of Work Report) 7.

50 Issues relating to the regulation of the industry arising from ‘services a la personne’ are dealt with in a number of articles: see Labour Code, Partie Législative Nouvelle, Septieme Partie, Livre II, Titre III ‘Services à la Personne’ (arts 7231, 7232, L7233 and L7234 (ANSP), art R7232-19. See also arts L1271-1 to L1271-17 (‘Chèque emploi-service universel’).

51 Art L2261-15 provides that collective agreements can be extended. Arts L2261-15 to L2261-31 set out the conditions and procedures by which collective agreements can be so extended. See generally, Freedland, M, ‘Employment Law’, in Bell, J, Boyron, S and Whittaker, S, Principles of French Law (2nd edn, OUP 2007) 494Google Scholar. See also ILO Conditions of Work Report (n 49) 27. However note Freedland's comment that despite the fact that the conceptual approach to collective agreements remains intact, there is a great multiplicity of techniques of argument about the precise effect and duration of collective agreements (at 495).

52 Convention collective nationale des salariés du particulier employeur du 24 novembre 1999. In respect of other collective agreements for domestic workers, see Convention collective nationale des salariés du particulier employeur du 24 novembre 1999. Etendue par arrêté du 2 mars 2000 (JO du 11 mars 2000); Convention collective nationale des assistants maternels du particulier employeur du 1er juillet 2004. Etendue par arrêté du 17 décembre 2004 JORF 28 décembre 2004. Convention collective nationale de travail concernant les jardiniers et jardiniers-gardiens de propriétés privées du 30 janvier 1986. Etendue par arrêté du 27 mai 1986 JORF 8 juin 1986; Convention collective nationale de la branche de l'aide, de l'accompagnement, des soins et des services à domicile du 21 mai 2010/ Arrêté du 23 décembre 2011 portant extension de la convention collective nationale de la branche de l'aide, de l'accompagnement, des soins et des services à domicile et d'avenants à ladite convention collective (n° 2941).

53 Arrêté du 2 mars 2000 (JO du 11 mars 2000).

54 Art 1(a).

55 Art 5.

56 Art 6 and art 20(a)(5).

57 Art 21.

58 Art 7.

59 Model permanent contract, Annex 1 to the Collective Agreement of 1999, para 7.

60 ILO Report on Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Report IV(1)) (n 23) para 171.

61 Contained in art 25, together with the agreement contained at Annex V.

62 See F-X Devetter, F Jany-Catrice and T Ribault, Services à la personne (La Découverte 2009) in particular the chapter entitled ‘Des métiers sans profession’, 99.

63 See ILO Conditions of Work Report (n 49) 27.

64 See ‘Plan de dévelopement des services à la personne’ (16 February 2005) <http://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/20050216_dp_presentation-plan.pdf>; ‘Plan 2 de développement des services à la personne: Créer, Professionaliser, Simplifier’ (ANSP, March 2009) <http://www.servicesalapersonne.gouv.fr/Public/P/ANSP/Actus/2009/mars/20090324_Plan2.pdf>.

65 For a look at some of the innovations, see Kerbourc'h, J-Y, ‘L'étonnant dynamisme de l'emploi à domicile’ (2005) 2 Travail et Protection sociale, Alerte 29Google Scholar; Borgetto, M, ‘Les services à la personne’ (2006) Revue de droit sanitaire et social 3Google Scholar; Laforge, G, ‘La structuration de l'offre de services à la personne après la loi du 26 juillet 2005’ (2006) Revue de droit sanitaire et social 5Google Scholar.

66 See PY Verkindt, ‘Le cheque emploi service universel’ Revue de droit sanitaire et social (2006).

67 ANSP and Finances Publique, ‘Déclaration des revenus 2010’. For a full analysis of the mechanism and implications of the CESU, see Verkindt, ‘Le cheque-emploi service universel’ (n 66). See also Windebank, J, ‘The Chèque Emploi-Service, the Titre Emploi-Service and the Chèque Emploi-Service Universel in France: The Commodification of Domestic Work as a Route to Gender Equality?’ (2006) 14(2) Contemporary France 189CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Tomei (n 11).

68 Windebank (n 67).

69 Blackett (n 7) 11.

70 Windebank (n 67) 194.

71 EU Fundamental Rights Agency (n 12) 19. Although as the report points out, the levels are difficult to quantify due to lack of data.

72 See also Devetter, FX and Rousseau, S, ‘The Impact of Industrialization on Paid Domestic Work: The Case of France’ (2009) 15 European Journal of Industrial Relations 297, 311CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

73 See Calleman, C, ‘Domestic Services in a "Land of Equality": The Case of Sweden’ (2011) 23 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 121CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

74 See van Walsum, S, ‘Regulating Migrant Domestic Work in the Netherlands: Opportunities and Pitfalls’ (2011) 23 Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 141CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

75 See Léon, M, ‘Migration and Care Work in Spain: The Domestic Sector Revisited’ (2010) 9(3) Social Policy and Society 409CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also ‘Spain Approves New Regulations for Domestic Employees’ (ILO, Developments in Law and Practice 2012).

76 See generally Albin, E and Mantouvalou, V, ‘The ILO Convention on Domestic Workers: From the Shadows to the Light’ (2012) 41 Industrial Law Journal 67CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

77 See Hardy, S, Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Great Britain (3rd edn, Kluwer Law International 2007)Google Scholar; also Albin and Mantouvalou ibid.

78 See section 51 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Regulation 19, Working Time Regulations 1998 (No 1833 of 1998) (which provides that Regulations 4(1) and (2), 6(1), (2) and (7), 7(1), (2) and (6) and (8) do not apply in relation to a worker employed as a domestic servant in a private household), respectively.

79 Regulations 36 and 37 of the Minimum Wage Regulations 1999.

80 ILO Report IV(1) (n 23) 7.

81 Appeal No UKEAT/0553/10/DM, Judgment of 8 December 2011 (EAT judgment). See also M Lalani, ‘Ending the Abuse: Policies that Work to Protect Migrant Workers’ (Kalayaan May 2011) 22.

82 EAT judgment, para 58.

83 ibid, para 46.

84 ibid, para 46.

85 ibid, para 58.

86 ibid, para 58.

87 Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton has confirmed that: ‘domestic workers are protected by virtue of the fact that the full suite of employment rights legislation, including that of redress for violations of their employment rights, apply to domestic workers in the same way as they apply to other categories of employees in Ireland’. Written Answers, Dáil Éireann Debate Vol. 759 No 1 (13 March 2012) in response to a question from Gerald Nash TD.

88 Although the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 makes provision for deductions from the workers’ wages for board and lodging: Section 20 of the Minimum Wage Act 2000.

89 The Code of Practice was developed on foot of a social partnership agreement (see footnote infra) and the pilot inspection scheme was developed as a result of pressure from Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (see below).

90 It was agreed in section 23.2 of Part 2 of ‘Towards 2016 – Ten Year Framework Social Partnership Agreement 2006–2015’ that the Labour Relations Commission should be asked to develop a code of practice to set out the current employment rights and protections for persons employed in other people's homes pursuant to its functions under section 42 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990. The Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice for Protecting Persons Employed in Other Person's Homes) (Declaration) Order 1990 declared that the code of practice set out in the Schedule shall be a code of practice for the purposes of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

91 Section 5.11.

92 For example, passport, visa, identity cards, bank account documentation. Section 5.8.

93 Section 5.2.2.

94 Section 5.10. See also section 5.2.1.

95 ILO (n 36) 48.

96 Although note that the Code does have some evidential value: section 42(4) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 provides that ‘In any proceedings before a court, the Labour Court, the Commission, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Director of Equality Investigations or an equality officer, a code of practice shall be admissible in evidence and any provision of the code which appears to the court, body or officer concerned to be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings shall be taken into account in determining that question.’ Section 43 provides that the Labour Court can give its opinion on the interpretation on a code of practice, investigate a complaint that there has been a breach of the code of practice and make a recommendation setting out its view on the matter.

97 ILO Report (IV)(1) (n 23) 72.

98 See ‘MRCI Welcomes NERA Campaign to Protect Rights of Domestic Workers – 2010’ (Press Release, 16 November 2010). See also MRCI, ‘Private Homes: A Public Concern – The Experiences of Twenty Migrant Women Employed in the Private Home in Ireland’ (Recommendation at para 3.4: ‘develop a special section in the Labour Inspectorate to investigate this area of work’). See also the statistics contained in MRCI Domestic Workers Action Group Survey, 2010 and Press Release, 1 May 2012. The domestic work sector holds the second largest percentage of complaints made to MRCI.

99 NERA's website lists the standard records to which an inspector will require access to during the course of an inspection. List available at <http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/informationforemployers/recordstobemadeavailableforinspections/>.

100 Some householders did show the inspector the accommodation provided to the domestic worker, which in his view was satisfactory, however his official remit did not include inspecting the accommodation provided.

101 S Mullally and C Kenny, ‘The ILO Convention and Recommendation on Decent Work for Domestic Workers’ UCC Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights Working Paper (April 2012); M Galotti, ‘The Gender Dimension of Domestic Work in Western Europe’, No 96 International Migration Papers (International Labour Office, Geneva, 2009) 61. See also ILO Conditions of Work Report (n 49).

102 See NERA Briefing of January 2011 and also updated undated briefing (copies on file with the author).

103 As pointed out by NERA in its updated briefing.

104 Semi-structured interview with NERA officials, 19 April 2012, carried out by the author (semi-structured interview). Updated briefing. The ‘inspections revealed the need for clarity regarding the work an employee is required to perform and when they are required to perform it’.

105 MRCI Press Release, 30 April 2012: ‘In recent years MRCI has uncovered over forty cases of forced labour and domestic servitude. We have also seen a marked increase in the exploitation of domestic workers employed by embassies and diplomatic staff in Ireland.’

106 Semi-structured interview.

107 The method of calculating the employee's average hourly rate of pay is set out in section 20 of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000.

108 EUFRA report (n 12) 38: ‘Labour inspectors usually play a secondary role, as their power to carry out inspections in private homes is limited. They can generally intervene only after employees report infractions. Court orders or similar permissions are usually required to conduct checks inside private households.’ See also Galotti (n 101) 23. See also Smith, ‘Aging and Caring in the Home: Regulating Paid Domesticity in the Twenty-First Century’ (n 24), in relation to health and safety inspections. See also the EU position that the private home is not a normal workplace: Committee on Domestic Workers 2011, para 631.

109 See Procedure 3.5, NERA Case Management Manual (1 May 2011). This is noted by NERA in its January 2011 briefing. The enabling legislation generally states: ‘An inspector shall not, except with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling (other than a part of the dwelling used as a place of work) unless he or she has obtained a warrant from the District Court under subsection (X) authorising the entry.’ See section 33 of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, for example.

110 See ILO Report (IV)(1) (n 23).

111 See generally, Albin and Mantouvalou (n 76) 67; see also Mullally and Kenny (n 101) 16 ff.

112 ILO Report (IV)(1) (n 23) 3.

113 Mundlak, G and Shamir, H, ‘Between Intimacy and Alienage: The Legal Construction of Domestic and Carework in the Welfare State’ in Lutz, H (ed) Migration and Domestic Work: A European Perspective on a Global Theme (Ashgate 2008) 161Google Scholar, 166.

114 ILO Report (IV)(1) (n 23) 3.

115 ibid 13.

116 Galotti (n 101) 28.

117 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, Report on ‘Protecting Migrant Women in the Labour Market’ (Doc 12549, 24 March 2011).

118 EU Fundamental Rights Agency (n 12) Chap 1, ‘The Gap between Demand and Supply’.

119 CMW General Comment (n 13) para 21.

120 ibid.

121 Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee in Respect of Kuwait, 17 October 2011, para 18. See also Human Rights Watch, ‘Walls at Every Turn: Abuse of Migrant Domestic Workers through Kuwait's Sponsorship System’ (HRW 2010).

122 CMW General Comment (n 13) paras 51–53.

123 CMW General Comment (n 13) paras 54–55.

124 CMW General Comment (n 13) para 42.

125 CMW General Comment (n 13) para 50.

126 ibid.

127 CEDAW General Recommendation (n 17) para 11.

128 Protecting Migrant Women in the Labour Market. Report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population. Ms Pernille Frahm. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc11/EDOC12549.pdf).

129 MRCI, ‘Private Homes, A Public Concern: The Experience of Twenty Migrant Women Employed in the Private Home in Ireland’, 21.

130 ibid 21.

131 Ibid Appendix A.

132 Arrêté du 18 janvier 2008 relatif à la délivrance, sans opposition de la situation de l'emploi, des authorisations de travail aux ressortissants de Etats de l'Union européene soumis a des dispostions transitoires.

133 ‘Employé de ménage à domicile’.

134 ‘Intervenant à domicile’.

135 ‘Intervenant aupres des enfants’.

136 ‘Aide-soignant’.

137 Arrêté du 18 janvier 2008 relatif à la délivrance, sans opposition de la situation de l'emploi, des authorisations de travail aux étrangers non ressortissants d'un Etat membre de l'Union européenne, d'un autre Etat partie à l'Espace économique européen ou de la Confédération Suisse.

138 EUFRA (n 12).

139 Art L1262-1-3 of the Labour Code and Circular NOR IMIM0900078C of 3 August 2009. The Circular introduces a simplified procedure for applying for the work permit, involving the filing of a form with the relevant authorities.

140 Art L1262-1-4 of the Labour Code.

141 Circular NOR IMIM0900078C of 3 August 2009, referring to the provisions of Article R312-4 of the Social Security Code.

142 Circular NOR IMIM0900078C of 3 August 2009.

143 Lalani (n 81).

144 UK Border Agency, ‘Employment-Related Settlement, Tier-5 and Overseas Domestic Workers: A Consultation’ (June 2011) (Consultation Paper).

145 See generally Anderson, B, ‘Mobilizing Migrants, Making Citizens: Migrant Domestic Workers as Political Agents’ (2010) 33(1) Ethnic and Racial Studies 60CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

146 The Immigration Rules 1994 HC 395 (as amended) (Immigration Rules).

147 Formerly para 159B of the Immigration Rules.

148 Formerly para 159E of the Immigration Rules.

149 This was not set out in the Immigration Rules but was accepted practice.

150 As they could qualify for ‘indefinite leave to remain’ if they met the criteria laid down in Immigration Rule 159G.

151 Formerly para 159A of the Immigration Rules.

152 See Lalani (n 81).

153 Lalani (n 81) 18–21.

154 House of Commons, Home Affairs Select Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2008–2009, The Trade in Human Beings: Human Trafficking in the UK, HC 23-I, 14 May 2009, paras 118–119.

155 UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Addendum: Mission to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 16 March 2010, A/HRC/14/30/Add.3, p. 15 and 16, and recommendation at para 76.

156 Application No 25965/04, Judgment of 7 January 2010.

157 Home Office Announcement, ‘Immigration (Employment-related settlement, Overseas Domestic Workers, Tier 5 of the Points Based System and Visitors)’, 29 February 2012.

158 Paras 159A(iv) and 159B of the Immigration Rules.

159 Paras 159A(vi), 159G(i) and 159E of the Immigration Rules.

160 Kalayaan, ‘Response to “Employment-Related Settlement, Tier-5 and Overseas Domestic Workers: A Consultation”’ (5 August 2011).

161 EUFRA Report (n 12) 39.

162 Home Office Announcement, ‘Immigration (Employment-related settlement, Overseas Domestic Workers, Tier 5 of the Points Based System and Visitors)’, 29 February 2012, 2; Lord Reay, House of Lords 28 November 1990 c1052.

163 Consultation Paper, 29. See also National Institute of Social and Economic Research (commissioned by the Migration Advisory Committee, ‘Skilled Immigration and Strategically Important Skills in the UK economy’ (17 January 2012 <http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/workingwithus/mac/research-skill/niesr-skilled.pdf?view=Binary>).

164 Consultation Paper, 29.

165 In relation to the ILO Convention, see eg HL Deb Col WA242 (Baroness Wilcox) (12 October 2011); HC Deb cols 288–289 (Ed Davey MP) (29 June 2011). In relation to the ODW visa, see eg Consultation Paper, ibid; Home Office Announcement (n 162).

166 ‘Rights of Migrant Domestic Workers in Europe’ (UN Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner Europe Regional Office 2010) at 10.

167 Lutz, H, ‘When Home Becomes a Workplace: Domestic Work as an Ordinary Job in Germany?’ in Lutz, H (ed) Migration and Domestic Work: A European Perspective on a Global Theme (Ashgate 2008) 43, 49Google Scholar.

168 Galotti (n 101).

169 ibid. See also Danish Centre against Human Trafficking, ‘Au pair and trafficked? – Recruitment, residence in Denmark and dreams for the future, A qualitative study of the prevalence and risk of human trafficking in the situations and experiences of a group of au pairs in Denmark’ (2010); Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, ‘Unprotected Work, Invisible Exploitation: Trafficking for the Purpose of Domestic Servitude’, (OSCE 2010). See also Kartusch, A, ‘Domestic Workers in Diplomats’ Households: Rights Violations and Access to Justice in the Context of Diplomatic Immunity’ (German Human Rights Institute 2011)Google Scholar.

170 van Hooren, F, ‘When Families Need Immigrants: The Exceptional Position of Migrant Domestic Workers and Care Assistants in Italian Immigration Policy’ 2(2) Bulletin of Italian Politics (2010)Google Scholar <http://gla.ac.uk/media/media_194307_en.pdf> 21–38.

171 See generally León (n 75); Scrinzi, F, ‘Migrations and the Restructuring of the Welfare State in Italy: Change and Continuity in the Domestic Work Sector’ in Lutz, H (ed) Migration and Domestic Work: A European Perspective on a Global Theme (Ashgate 2008) 29Google Scholar.

172 EU Fundamental Rights Agency (n 12); CMW General Comment (n 13) para 21.

173 See CMW General Comment (n 13) para 21: ‘Overly restrictive immigration laws may lead to higher numbers of migration domestic workers who are undocumented or in an irregular situation, and thus particularly vulnerable to human rights violations’.

174 (2006) 43 EHRR 16.

175 ibid paras 143–145.

176 Application No 67724/09, Judgment of 11 October 2012.

177 Application No 4239/08, Judgment of 13 November 2012.

178 C.N. v UK, Application No 4239/08, Judgment of 13 November 2012, para 71.

179 C.N. and V v France, Application No 67724/09, Judgment of 11 October 2012, para 71.

180 ibid para 77.

181 C.N. v UK, Application No 4239/08, Judgment of 13 November 2012, para 75.

182 Application No 25965/04, Judgment of 7 January 2010.

183 S Mullally and C Murphy, ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers: Recognising the Migration Nexus’ (paper presented at Seminar on Gender, Migration and Human Rights, EUI Florence, 18–20 June 2012) (copy on file with the author).

184 HC Deb col 101WH (10 May 2006).

185 See UK Border Agency, ‘Employment-Related Settlement, Tier-5 and Overseas Domestic Workers: A Consultation’ (June 2011) 30.

186 Article 34, Loi no 2003-239 du 18 mars 2003 pour la sécurité intérieure (NOR: INTX0200145L).

187 While the Court ‘noted’ that the legislation had been amended, it did not opine on whether the amended legislation provided practical and effective protection against the actions of which the applicant was a victim, as it was not in force at the time and therefore did not apply (para 148). The amendments were quite minimal and the relevant provisions still ‘do not deal specifically with the rights guaranteed under Article 4 of the Convention, but concern, in a much more restrictive way, exploitation through labour and subjection to working and living conditions that are incompatible with human dignity’ (para 142) meaning that French law is probably still in breach of art 4.

188 Mantouvalou, V, ‘Modern Slavery: The UK Response’ (2010) 39 Industrial Law Journal 425CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

189 See Murphy, C, ‘State Needs to Work on Slavery’ (Irish Times, 5 January 2013)Google Scholar.

190 Section 1 of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Bill 2013 proposes to amend the definition of “labour exploitation” contained in the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 to encompass the ILO definition of forced labour.

191 Albin and Mantouvalou (n 76) 67. See also Mantouvalou (n 188) and Mantouvalou, V, ‘Servitude and Forced Labour in the 21st Century: The Human Rights of Domestic Workers’ (2006) 35 Industrial Law Journal 395CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

192 Albin and Mantouvalou (n 76) 67. See also Mantouvalou (n 188) and Mantouvalou (n 191) 395.

193 Lutz, H and Palenga-Mollenbeck, E, ‘Care, Gender and Migration: Towards a Theory of Transnational Domestic Work Migration in Europe’ (2011) 19(3) Contemporary European Studies 349CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

194 Blackett (n 7) 6.

195 ibid 6. See also D'Souza (n 11).

196 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (n 5) 19.

197 Airey v Ireland [1979] 2 EHRR 305, para 24.