They’re the workers the rest of society chooses to forget – foreign migrants without the correct papers, employed as nannies, au pairs and cleaners in homes all over the country. Today, on the International Day of Human Rights, one Philippina woman who is fighting for recognition for their plight, has been awarded a prestigious Dutch prize for her work on human rights.

Listen to an interview with Lorie Matulay

Lorie Matulay came to the Netherlands nine years ago to work for a Dutch family as an au pair and says she didn’t expect it would be hard for her to register as an employee. But on arriving she was told she was too old to apply for the necessary documents, which are only granted to people between 18 and 25-years-old.

She had her own private contract with the family she worked for, and even though it was not legally recognised by the Dutch government it put her at ease. But many other migrant workers are less fortunate, she says:

“There’s a lot of them, and that’s why I’m standing up for them. Because even though I have a very nice employer my heart really feels for them. Their stories are worse than mine. The most important thing is healthcare -  there are people who are refused in the emergency room if they are really sick, and that’s really inhumane because a doctor should attend a patient no matter who they are.”

Trusted
In 2006 Lorie decided to set up a union  for undocumented employees called Trusted, which is urging the government to provide people with legal protection. Trusted’s first goal is to ensure undocumented workers have access to healthcare but she also wants better protection against unscrupulous landlords who take advantage of them.

“They know we don’t have papers, they are asking for a lot of money and then after three months – after they get all the advance payment, because you have to pay two months in advance before you move in – after that they kick them out and won’t return the advance payment.”

She says the situation has improved slightly since the Netherlands’ main union – the FNV – recognised undocumented workers. More attention is being focussed on their plight, she says, but there is still a long way to go before she achieves equal rights for her members.

Invisible
Lorie says part of the problem is that migrant domestic workers are not visible because they work in private houses, but hopes by winning the award she can spread the message to ordinary Dutch people who are unaware of their situation.

“When I first arrived, when I wasn’t fully involved in this campaign I thought this was a really beautiful country to live in, but then when I involved myself in the campaign I was very sad. I learned there are even Dutch people paid below the minimum wage. That really surprises me because I thought thought we were living in a middle class.. Actually my employer was really surprised – he said ‘I don’t believe that this is happening in my own country.’”

Lorie, who still works as an au pair in the Dutch town of Bussum, will be awarded the Clara Meijer-Wichmann Penning prize by the League of Human Rights and J’accuse organisations. She hopes one day to return to the Philippines to care for her own family, but today she syas it’s enough to have the support of her employer-family.