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Decent Work

For Domestic WorkersLaw and PracticeReport IV (1)

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Structure of the presentation

Domestic work: main features Domestic work in national law and practice: a focus on

working conditions and social protection Domestic workers, freedom of association and collective

bargaining ILO’s work on domestic workers Possible draft international labour standard(s)

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Why is domestic work important?

An ILO’s old concern Domestic work allows the household and the

economy outside the household to function Oldest and most important occupation for

many women around the world “Invisible”, undervalued and poorly regulated Work with serious decent work deficits

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How many domestic workers?

Lack of accurate and comparable data Varying definitions of domestic work in national statistics Under-reporting because of high incidence of undeclared

domestic work Domestic work absorbs a significant proportion of total

employment (see next slide) DW comprise also men, but women are the large

majority (see next slide) In the last 30 years migrant domestic work on the rise

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What is Domestic Work? Work like any other, work like no other

Work which takes place in the employer’s household

Work which does not generate profits for the employer

Often, the workplace and the home overlap Work which is not perceived as such De jure and de facto partially or totally excluded

from the scope of labour law protection; regulated by strong non-state norms

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Who is the employer?

Employer may: be a natural person, including any

representative of this person (e.g. Barbados) include the entire family

(e.g. Brazil and Bulgaria) include placement agencies (e.g. Barbados) a third party like a recognized health care

agency, or the State acting as an intermediary (e.g. USA)

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Contract of employment

Contracts facilitate the formalization of the employment relationship Contracts may be verbal (e.g. Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala,

Paraguay, Viet Nam) or in writing (e.g. Brazil, Nicaragua, Spain) Some countries are starting to provide non-binding model contracts

(e.g. Peru, Canton of Geneva) When domestic workers cross international borders to work:

Several countries require a written contract (e.g. Tanzania, Indonesia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore)

Others may require translation of the contract in the language of the domestic worker (e.g. Philippines and Qatar Memorandum of Agreement)

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Working conditions: Remuneration

Domestic work is undervalued Limited bargaining power of domestic worker Wages often used as a form of control Under payment or late payment of wages is common Lodging and board typically regarded as a form of

payment, but some countries forbid this practice (see next slide)

Salary deductions often made for damage caused by domestic workers in the course of their work

DW often excluded from minimum wage coverage (see next slide), but interesting developments in Uruguay

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Working conditions: working time

Significant differences between generally applicable working time standards and those that concern domestic workers (see next slide)

About 50% of countries do not impose a mandatory limit on normal hours of work for domestic workers

50% of countries permit domestic worker to work longer hours than other workers; over 45% impose the same limit for all workers

58 % of countries provide between 1 and 2 days of rest time per week; 40% do not specify any rest time period.

83% countries do not impose any specific limit on night work; most of the remainder set the limit at eight hours

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Social protection and domestic workers

Significant variation in the extension of social benefits to DW (see next slide)

DW are often excluded from OSH legislation, their work being considered not risky

As long as the household is not recognized as a workplace, occupational health and safety for domestic workers will be difficult to achieve

DW working for multiple employers face difficulties in demonstrating eligibility to social benefits (e.g. Netherlands)

The majority of countries provide maternity leave de jure (see next slide), but enforcement is problematic

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Cheque service: from Informal to Formal

Simplified payment structure to

A) facilitate the calculation of mandatory employment deductions

B) assist in the payment for services rendered by employees, on an intermittent basis, to several employers

Adopted by France (1993), Quebec, Canada (1998), Canton of Geneva (2004)

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Domestic Workers Rights to Organize and Collectively Bargain

Convention No. 87 applies also to DW

Difficulties to exercise these rights: Isolation in individual households Poor working conditions and low pay Limited resources of their organizations Low trade union membership Low organization of employers’ associations Non-recognition of their right to collectively bargain. Non-recognition of their organization as legitimate representing

organizations

Brazil: Decision of 15th Labour Tribunal for Campinas (2004)

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Domestic workers organize

Domestic Workers’ Organizations: Brazil: First organization formed in 1936 in Sao Paulo. National

Federation of Domestic Workers (FENATRAD), founded in 1997, 35 unions affiliated.

Latin America and Caribbean Confederation of Household Workers (CONLACTRAHO) member organizations from 13 countries. Promotes DW visibility and rights and cooperation with official trade unions

All India Domestic Workers Union lobbies for minimum wages, payment of wages, weekly rest and annual leave periods, as well the establishment of a servant registry

Asian Domestic Workers Union since 1988 operates in Hong Kong, SAR. Members come from Philippines, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

The United Women of Maryland (USA) are forming workplace cooperatives to push for improved conditions for DW

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Trade unions reaching out to DW

Trade Unions In Canada, the United Steelworkers (USW) and a migrant workers’

association, Migrante-Ontario, established an independent workers’ association with a section representing domestic workers in Ontario (2008)

A two-year Partnership Agreement on Migrant Labour between the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the Indonesian Trade Union Congress (ITUC) was signed on 17 September 2006.

Project “Protection for Domestic Workers!”, International support network (IUF, PSI, UNI)

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Rerum Novarum Workers’ Confederation of Costa Rica and the Sandinista Workers’ Confederation of Nicaragua reach a cooperation agreement for establishing a trade union support centre for migrants in 2006.

UNITE in the UK and FNV Bondgenoten in the Netherlands recognize DW as members in alliance with DW organizations

In Sri Lanka, the National Workers Congress (NWC) has signed a cooperation agreement with unions in receiving countries, including the Jordanian General Federation of Trade Unions

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ILO’s work on domestic workers

Technical cooperation (TC)

Research

International Labour Standards(ILS)

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Focus of TC and research work

Enhancing the visibility of domestic workers Through research and by building capacity of researchers in the

different regions Brazil: The Decent Work Agenda of Bahia and the Citizenship

Program for Domestic Workers (Federal programme) Addressing legal flaws and overcoming the enfercement gap

Costa Rica Domestic Workers’ Association (ASTRODOMES): dissemination of information on labour and social security rights

Lebanon: recognition that migrant workers are entitled to labour rights and steps to develop a regulation on employment agencies.

Promoting a rights based-approach Project on the Greater Mekong sub-region: legal assistance and

rights’ education have been provided to domestic workers in Thailand and the Philippines

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Coverage of domestic workers under existing ILS

Unless explicitly excluded, domestic workers are considered to be covered by existing ILS

A number of ILO conventions allow for their exclusion (see next slide)

DW requires specific regulation which acknowledges the special characteristics of the work and the context in which it takes place

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Possible draft International Labour Standards on DW

ILC 2010 will decide the number and type of draft instrument (s)

Possible scenarios: a Convention, or a Recommendation, or a Convention and a Recommendation, or a Convention with binding and non-binding parts

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Possible elements to be included in a Recommendation

The recommendation offers standards that would enhance the protections found in the Convention

Identification of the special conditions in which DW is carried out

Circumscription of the practice of payment in kind Guidance on identifying, limiting and appropriately

calculating working time Guidance on food and accommodation for live-in domestic

workers Address vulnerabilities of domestic workers, including age

and migration status, and identify standards specific to them

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Possible convention with binding and non-binding parts

Beyond formal inclusion of DW, towards specific regulations

Would reaffirm the coverage of domestic workers under existing ILS

Would provide clear targets that take into account the specificity of the domestic work relationship

Would offer options as to how the decent work objectives might be achieved

Would promote a multi-level approach to governance

Clarity and simplicity

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Steps towards the preparation and adoption of ILO draft international labour instrument(s) on domestic workers

March 2009: The Office sends a law and practice report along with a questionnaire to ILO Member States. Governments are requested to consult with the most representative workers’ organizations and employers' associations

August 2009: Deadline for submission of replies to the Office. January 2010: The Office sends to ILO Member States a second report examining the

replies received to the questionnaire in 2009 June 2010: First discussion at the International Labour Conference (ILC) of the ILO. A

decision is taken on the form of the draft ILO instrument(s)- whether a Convention or a Recommendation or both or a Convention with binding and non-binding parts.

August 2010: The Office sends a third report containing (a) draft instrument(s) to Member States

End November 2010: Deadline for submission to the Office of comments on the third report by Member States

March 2011: The Office sends two reports to member States: one examining the replies received on the third report, and the other containing the text of the draft instrument(s) revised in the light of comments received

June 2011: Second discussion at the ILC. A Convention or any other agreed instrument will be discussed and adopted or rejected by the ILC

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THANK YOU!