IMMIGRANT DOMESTIC SERVANTS PROTEST TREATMENT BY FOREIGN OFFICIALS STATIONED IN THE US

In late September, foreign domestic workers and human rights activists protested the way the domestic workers are treated by their employers, primarily the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  About 30 people gathered in front of a hotel hosting much of the annual World Bank-IMF conference.  While the World Bank and the IMF have made agreements to change their policies on domestic workers, they have not had the impact for which many had hoped.

Even as the institutions say they are implementing reforms, new cases of abuses are being reported.  Moreover, each institution refuses to allow independent monitoring or to allow social service groups to contact the domestic workers to inform them of their rights, so the extent of the problem is difficult to measure realistically. 

Over 30,000 domestic workers have entered the US during the 1990s on special visas that allow them to work to foreign diplomats and employees of international nongovernmental organizations.  While the majority are reportedly well-treated and are paid a decent wage, stories of shocking abuse are circulating.  For example, one Ethiopian woman who worked for an employee of the IMF was paid an average of under three cents an hour for eight years of work.  She recently obtained a judgment in federal court for $342,606, but has little hope of collecting, since her former employer has returned to Ethiopia.

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