Background
Here is the main background of our organization and the story of Migrant domestic workers
What is Waling-Waling and Who Are We:
Waling-Waling is a beautiful orchid growing in crevices in the mountain areas of the Philippines.
During the day it is closed but opens into a beautiful flower at night-time. As migrant workers without rights in the UK we felt like the WW but we also realised that together we could fight for our rights as human beings and as workers. Our members consist of different nationalities but we have one thing in common - we are all workers and many of us are workers without rights.
In 1979 the then newly elected Conservative government in trying to limit the number of people entering the UK stopped primary immigration and abolished the domestic work, visa, This- visa was used for people coming to work within the NHS, in the Hotei & Catering Industry, and the private household, But they still allowed wealthy employers to bring their domestic staff with them, giving a visitor visa to the domestic workers thereby tying them to their employer. Outside the household of the employer, the workers had no rights whatever and could be detained and deported by immigration officials without reference to anyone
From 1980 - 1997, because of inhuman treatment experienced in the private household, over 4,000 migrant domestic workers escaped from abusive employers and came to the CFMW for help Many suffered from physical and sexual abuse non-payment or underpayment of wages, long hours of work, and sleep and food deprivation We were beaten, had things thrown at us, for example, heavy glass, ashtrays, boiling water, we had our hair pulled and were constantly being shouted at with our employers using abusing and degrading terms, such as donkey, (hamara) dog (kalba) monkey, never by our name. Our employers usually withheld our passports, which is a criminal offense but they were rarely, if ever, charged with theft, while we had to survive without a legal identity In the UK