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The government, worker and employer delegates at the
100th annual
Conference of the International Labour
Organization (ILO) on Thursday, 16 June adopted a
historic set of international standards aimed at
improving the working conditions of tens of millions of
domestic workers worldwide.
“We are moving the standards system of the ILO into the
informal economy for the first time, and this is a
breakthrough of great significance,” said Juan Somavia,
ILO Director-General. “History is being made.”Conference
delegates adopted the
Convention on Domestic Workers (2011)
by a vote of 396 to 16, with 63 abstentions and the
accompanying
Recommendation by a vote of 434 to 8,
with 42 abstentions.
The two standards will be the 189th Convention and the
supplementing 201st Recommendation
adopted by the Labour Organization since it was created
in 1919.
The Convention is an international treaty that is
binding on Member States that ratify it, while the
Recommendation provides more detailed guidance on how to
apply the Convention.
The new ILO standards set out that domestic workers
around the world who care for families and households,
must have the same basic labour rights as those
available to other workers: reasonable hours of work,
weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours, a limit on
in-kind payment, clear information on terms and
conditions of employment, as well as respect for
fundamental principles and rights at work including
among others freedom of association and the right to
collective bargaining.
Women or girls and many are migrant workers
Recent ILO estimates based on national surveys and/or
censuses of 117 countries place the number of domestic
workers at a minimum of 53 million, but experts say
there could be 100 million in the world, considering
that this kind of work is often hidden and unregistered.
In developing countries, they make up at least 4 to 12
per cent of wage employment.
Around 83 per cent of these workers are women or girls
and many are migrant workers.
The Convention defines domestic work as work performed
in or for a household or households. While the new
instruments cover all domestic workers, they provide for
special measures to protect those workers who, because
of their young age or nationality or live-in status, may
be exposed to additional risks relative to their peers,
among others.
Gender equality
According to ILO proceedings, the new Convention will
come into force after two countries have ratified it.
“Bringing the domestic workers into the fold of our
values is a strong move, for them and for all workers
who aspire to decent work, but it also has strong
implications for migration and of course for gender
equality,” Mr. Somavia said.
In the introductory text, the new Convention says that
“domestic work continues to be undervalued and invisible
and is mainly carried out by women and girls, many of
whom are migrants or members of disadvantaged
communities and who are particularly vulnerable to
discrimination in respect of conditions of employment
and work, and to other abuses of human rights.”
The adoption of the new standards is the result of a
decision taken in March 2008 by the ILO Governing Body
to place the elaboration of an instrument on the agenda
of the Conference. In 2010, the Conference held its
first discussion and decided to proceed with the
drafting of a Convention supplemented by a
Recommendation adopted today.
The ILO is the only tripartite organization of the UN,
and each of its 183 Member States is represented by two
government delegates, and one employer and one worker
delegate, with an independent vote.
Swisslatin /ILO News (06.16.2011) |
