Four Filipina domestic workers have reportedly filed legal charges against their diplomat employers — who have diplomatic immunity — for years of unpaid wages and other damages.
According to an Al Jazeera report, the evidence and testimony gathered in 2021 showed that the domestic workers, who were employed with the Pakistani Mission to the United Nations in Switzerland, suffered from violations of Swiss labor law, including alleged threats, coercion, exploitation, and human trafficking.
One worker, a 46-year-old identified as Virginia, claimed that she had not been paid for more than 20 years after signing a contract in 1999 that should have granted her a monthly wage of 1,200 Swiss francs (US$1,329) for a 40-hour work week, including board, lodging, and health insurance.
Yet when she arrived in Geneva, she learned that she would work unpaid for the Pakistan Mission three times a week, and would need to find other jobs to earn money.
The Swiss Mission, which oversees issuing visa permits to domestic workers in diplomatic households and monitors compliance with employee contracts, confirmed that the case was currently being investigated.
The Swiss Mission has suspended issuing visas for domestic workers employed under the Pakistan Mission until the dispute is settled.
