Saudi diplomat put buzzer on Pinay maid, fed her scraps

MANILA, Philippines — A Saudi diplomat in the UK allegedly made a Filipina domestic worker wear a buzzer around her neck, an employment court was told Thursday.

The Central London Employment Tribunal was also told that the Filipina, referred to as JW, was forced to work from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. every day, with no time off, The Independent reported.

According to the British paper, JW claimed she was made to eat the leftovers of Khalid Basfar’s family and even had to wear a buzzer so she could be on call 24 hours a day.

Basfar, a first secretary at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Mayfair, central London, had promised JW the minimum wage and a day off every week in exchange for a working visa.

JW said she was regularly verbally abused by Basfar’s family, was not able to leave the diplomat’s house and had her wages withheld.

She was allegedly allowed to call her family only twice a year, using Basfar’s mobile phone.

For six months’ work, JW was paid around P20,658.

For his part, Basfar asked for the case to be dismissed on the ground that he was entitled to diplomatic immunity.

But Basfar’s petition was dismissed by employment judge Jill Brown because his treatment of JW amounted to slavery and trafficking.

“The claimant is a victim of trafficking, who was exploited by the respondent and his family,” Brown said while outlining JW’s case, which she emphasized had not been proved.

The employment judge also said JW has been recognized by the Home Office as a potential victim of trafficking on the basis of her experience with Basfar.

“I conclude a claim instituted against a foreign diplomat by his domestic servant in relation to work in his home in assumed conditions of human trafficking and modern slavery relates to ‘commercial activity exercised outside his official functions,’” Brown added.

“It comes within the exception to diplomatic immunity,” Brown said.

JW’s claims against Basfar include wrongful dismissal.