Rights and Recognition for Domestic Workers – Support an ILO Convention on Domestic Work in 2011
Published: Thursday, October 28, 2010
Domestic worker organisations and trade unions have been battling to get domestic work onto the International Labour Organisation (ILO) agenda for the last 50 years. In 2008, the battle finally paid off and at present the negotiation process is well underway. But many challenges lie ahead in the coming year before domestic workers can claim victory and have their employment rights recognised and protected by legally-binding international standards.
Despite providing essential roles in society by enabling others to work outside the family home, the valuable work of childminders, cleaners and carers for the elderly is undervalued and under protected. Getting domestic work recognised as work is one of the major struggles of domestic workers' movements, globally. In some countries, domestic work is completely excluded from the protection of labour laws.
Millions of women and girls around the world are domestic workers. They are recognised as some of the most abused and exploited workers. Isolated behind closed doors, these 'invisible workers' can suffer abuse at the hands of their employers. Wage exploitation, long working hours, forced labour, sexual, physical and psychological abuse and harassment are all common. The domestic work sector needs specific legislation to protect this historically neglected group.
The Domestic Workers Action Group (DWAG), supported by the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, has been campaigning for the rights and dignity of domestic workers in Ireland since 2004. DWAG and ICTU are mobilising support for a strong ILO Convention. DWAG is campaigning together with domestic worker organisations internationally to ensure that domestic workers' voices are being fairly represented in the process to ensure the final instrument protects the rights of all domestic workers, regardless of their immigration status or whether they are employed by a diplomat - two contentious issues in current discussions. The reality is migrant women make up a significant component of domestic workers globally. Any discussions will have to consider their situations. DWAG believes that a person's immigration status should never be allowed to be used to deny a worker their rights - this is morally indefensible.
The campaigning will come to a head in Geneva in June 2011, when the standard will be discussed and finalised, hopefully taking the form of an international Convention supplemented by a set of Recommendations. Our task now is to negotiate and convince the Irish government to commit to supporting a Convention that is both effective and ratifiable.
This campaign for the rights and recognition of domestic workers needs to be made visible. In the build up to June we need to strengthen alliances, as lobbying the government into responding positively is a priority.
For more info on this campaign visit www.domesticworkerrights.org / www.mrci.ie/Domestic-Workers/ or email aoife@mrci.ie