Reemployment of about 8,000 refugee domestic workers who lost their jobs in connection with the evacuation of large cities has been rendered more difficult by a new Home Office order requiring employers to obtain confirmation in writing from the local labor exchange that British labor is unavailable before engaging a refugee domestic worker.
Refugee domestic workers thus lose their previous equal status with British labor, while on the other hand they are allowed to seek employment in other than domestic occupations if British labor is unavailable. Labor permits are generally granted only to refugees exempted from the special enemy aliens’ restrictions by the Allied tribunal.
Proof that British domestic workers were unobtainable was originally demanded only in cases where applications were made to bring new refugees to England.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
