Much is heard about ill-treatment of foreign domestic workers anecdotally, but what happens when employees don’t want to complain about their rights being breached? Tim Smith investigates.What prompts someone to travel halfway round the world to work horrendously long hours in conditions little better than slave labour, picking up a relative pittance of a salary?The answer for many foreign domestic workers in Bermuda, of course, is that however poor their life here, the wages are even more minuscule in their home country.But human rights campaigners say just because expatriate nannies and hospitality workers don’t complain — and even deny being mistreated when questioned by authorities — doesn’t mean their plight should be ignored.Lucy Attride-Stirling, who has fought on behalf of migrant workers, is calling for Government to introduce new legislation obligating employers to let all staff know their rights.“They come all the way across the world to work, and they are not treated like humans, they are treated literally like slaves,” said Mrs Attride-Stirling, a former executive director of Amnesty International.“It so upsets me and makes me angry to see employers cause these conditions.”Some individuals have such a poor grasp of English they don’t understand the terms of their contract, leaving them open to abuse and being severely underpaid, she said.One such example brought to The Royal Gazette’s attention was a Filipino nanny, practically held prisoner in a couple’s home for nearly two years, who became the subject of an Immigration Department investigation.That woman was paid a total of $7,000 between July 2009 and May 2011 — less than 20 percent of the money she was contracted to receive.She was also banned from leaving the home on her own and mixing with other people, and made to work seven days a week and through public holidays without a break, according to the Department’s investigation.Government probed the matter following a complaint from the public, and discovered the following breaches of the Employment Act:l the nanny was never allowed to take the statutory vacation leave of ten days;l she worked public holidays and overtime every day including weekends, without overtime pay or additional compensation;l she was never allowed to commune with society or leave the house unless accompanied by the couple, breaking her entitlement to at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week.Immigration gathered Butterfield Bank statements showing the couple, who were also Filipino, paid her a total of $7,000 in nearly two years; her contract stipulated she was supposed to receive at least $38,400.However when questioned the couple and the nanny denied the allegations. It’s understood the woman was sent back to the Philippines shortly afterwards and replaced by another nanny from the same country.The couple later produced an affidavit from the Philippines showing they had since paid the nanny the $32,000 they owed her.Immigration has since taken steps to ensure the second nanny is being paid in accordance to her employment offer and the couple is required to share bank statements showing she is being paid in accordance to her contract.It’s understood no legal action was taken over the matter.Asked about the case, an Immigration spokesman said: “The facts of this matter are known to the Department of Immigration and have been thoroughly investigated. Insofar as the law and policy allow, remedies have been applied to this particular situation.”In another example, highlighted previously by Mrs Attride-Stirling, an Ecuadorean domestic worker was given just $50 a week by her employer — the equivalent of less than $1 an hour.That woman was contracted to receive $400 a week, but was paid just $150 a week — and of that $100 went into her employer’s bank account, leaving $50 for herself.The employer was eventually ordered to pay her $10,000 following an arbitration hearing.At that time, a Building Workers International group, including Bermuda Industrial Union, called for Government to consider legislation to protect all workers.Union officials say domestic workers from Latin American and Asian countries are prepared to work for very low wages because it’s worth much more in their homeland.“The abuse is terrible,” said Mrs Attride-Stirling.“It’s very sad because some Bermudians get very angry and very rude to domestic workers that come from other places. But it’s not their fault; they’re looking for work like everyone else.“These people are desperate for work so they are willing to work forever in whatever circumstances.“For Bermudians who claim these people are taking their job, they should know it’s the employers who are not willing to pay Bermudians a proper wage.“They work from 7am to 10pm at night, sometimes with only half a day off. The conditions perpetrated by some of the owners are appalling.“The conditions in their own country are so dire, so bad, that they are willing to leave family and friends to work for a little bit more than they do back home.“The conditions they live in here are so terrible, but they send their money back home. They are afraid if they speak out they are going to be sent back. That’s a very real threat for them.”In many cases the employers are from the same country as the workers they are abusing, said Mrs Attride-Stirling.“It’s a cultural thing,” she said. “I have come across cases like Filipino families coming here and bringing their nanny and treating her just as bad.“Some of these people don’t speak English. The problem will continue to persist until the Government does something.“When I was with Amnesty, we presented a plan to Government to put in place some measures that will guarantee that a worker’s conditions are being monitored; that when they sign a contract there should be a person that speaks their language and can explain it to them.”Venous Memari, managing director of the Centre for Justice, said every person in Bermuda is protected against inhuman treatment, slavery and forced labour under the Bermuda Constitution, while the Constitution and the Human Rights Act both ban discrimination on the grounds of place of origin.However Ms Memari continued: “The difficulty is that even though these protections exist, most employees are fearful that if they try to pursue their remedies for example through the Human Rights Commission, the Department of Labour and Training or even the Department of Immigration they will be ostracised so they choose to tolerate inhumane treatment and all sorts of indignities just so that they don’t jeopardise their employment or long-term prospects of employment.“In the case of non-Bermudian workers, they are and feel particularly vulnerable because not only will they lose their employment, they may lose the right to work here. One way to protect workers from such abuses is to legislate minimum wage.”Asked what steps Government takes to prevent abuse of the civil rights of employees, particularly those who may not be aware of their rights, a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry spokeswoman said: “A formal complaint is required to activate an investigation by labour relations officers.“Labour relations officers will investigate all cases regardless of the status of the complainant, ie Bermudian or work permit holder. However, the Labour Relations Office does not comment on individual cases.”