Why Domestic Workers Who Find Their Voice Change the World Forever By Sandra

I have been a domestic worker for more than ten years. Every morning, long before most households come to life, I am already up and ready. I have given more than a decade to this work, and I have done it with everything I have, driven by the love I carry for my family, by my faith, and by the bonds I have built with my fellow domestic workers along the way.

On the hardest days, when exhaustion presses down and the road feels uncertain, I pray. I turn inward, find my stillness, and draw from a well of strength that has taken years to build. That kind of resilience does not happen by accident. It is shaped by years of showing up, even when recognition was scarce and the work felt invisible.

I believe, with complete certainty, that the world can and will understand the true value of domestic workers. I give both my hope and my confidence the highest marks possible, not because things are always easy, but because I refuse to stop believing in something better. I have seen what happens when workers stand together, when we know our rights and speak our truth, and that knowledge has become part of my armour.

I want employers and governments alike to understand that domestic workers have rights, have dignity, and are strong. Not as a request, but as a statement of fact. These are not abstract ideals. They are lived truths, present in every early morning, every careful task, every moment of service given from the heart.

When I think about the rights that must come back, my answer is clear. The right to change employer without restrictions, the right to renew the Overseas Domestic Worker Visa, and the right to stay and settle in this country are not luxuries. They are foundations. Without them, a worker's entire life is held in suspension, our safety dependent on the goodwill of those above us, our future uncertain from one year to the next. I consider the loss of all these rights equally damaging, because when you strip away each layer of protection, what remains is vulnerability.

These campaigns, championed by the Voice of Domestic Workers, speak directly to what I have experienced and witnessed across more than a decade in this work. The right to change employer without restrictions means that no worker has to stay in a situation that harms them simply because they have nowhere else to go. The right to renew the ODW Visa means continuity, security, and the ability to plan a life rather than simply survive one season at a time. The right to settlement means roots, belonging, and the acknowledgment that our contribution to this society is real and lasting.

I believe the government must make laws, that we workers must speak up, and that advocates must raise their voices. Change requires action from every level, and I have thought carefully about what that means.

The word I reach for when asked what restored rights would mean to me is a single, powerful one. Freedom. It is the freedom to work without fear, to live without the constant shadow of uncertainty, to wake each morning knowing that my labour is protected and my presence is valued. That word holds everything I carry, and everything I hope for.

VODW stands beside workers like me because my story is not unique. It is the story of thousands who come to this country to care for others while navigating a system that has, for too long, offered us too little in return. My hope is something I hold tightly. My voice, steady and sure after more than ten years, is exactly the kind of voice this movement needs.

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