We Are the Backbone of the Community and We Deserve Equality Not Silence By Carol W
- thevoiceofdomesticworkers
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
I have been a domestic worker since November 2022. I bring to this work a full understanding of what it means and what it costs, drawing my strength from my family, my faith, my fellow domestic workers, my knowledge of my rights, and the hope I carry for a better future. On my hardest days, prayer is what steadies me. And through it all, I hold onto a conviction that I state simply and powerfully: I am the backbone of this community, and I deserve equality.
That word, backbone, is not chosen casually. It reflects something I have come to understand from the inside: the invisible labour that holds entire households and communities together has a name and a face, and that name and face deserve to be visible.
I rise each morning at eight and begin a workday that is built entirely around care. Care for children. Care for elderly family members. Care for the management of a home that makes everything else in the family's life possible. The families I work for can go to work, pursue their careers, and live their lives in part because I am present and skilled and committed.
I am completely hopeful that things will improve, rating my belief at the maximum. The world's current understanding of domestic worker dignity and value, however, I place at only two out of five, and the respect offered by employers and the government I rate at not at all. The gap between what I deserve and what I currently receive is significant, and I am clear-eyed about it.
I believe all four of VODW's campaigns are essential. The right to change employer without restrictions. The right to renew the Overseas Domestic Worker Visa. The right to stay and settle in this country. And the right to apply for British Citizenship. I consider every one of these rights life-changing, and I identify the loss of all of them as equally damaging. No single right can be restored and called sufficient. All four must come back.
I rate the urgency of restoring pre-2012 rights at the absolute maximum and rate the government's current protection of migrant domestic workers at the lowest possible level. The situation is urgent. The system has fallen short. And I have been waiting long enough.
Every group must act. I must speak up. The government must make laws. Unions, NGOs, and the public must raise awareness and demand change. I am not asking any single group to carry this alone. I am asking all of them to take their responsibility seriously.
If these rights were restored, it would be very good for all of us. I imagine a future in which workers like me can work freely and happily. Not just tolerated. Not just employed. Free and happy. That is the destination. VODW is the map. And my voice, clear and strong, is part of the direction.
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