Proposed Conclusions of International Labour Coference on Decent Work on Domestic Workers
A. Form of the instruments
1.The International Labour Conference should adopt standards concerning decent work for domestic workers.
2.These standards should take the form of a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation.
B.Definitions
3.For the purpose of these standards:
a). the term “domestic work” should mean work performed in or for a household or household;
b). the term “domestic worker” should mean any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship;
c). a person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis is not a domestic worker;
C.Proposed Conclusions with a view to a Convention
4.The Convention should include a preamble with the following wording:
a)mindful of commitment of the ILO to promote decent work for all through the achievement of the goals of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Right at Work and the ILO Declaration on Social justice for a Fair Globalization;
b)recognizing the significant contribution of domestic workers to the global economy, which includes increasing paid job opportunities for workers with family responsibilities;
c)considering that domestic work continues to be undervalued and invisible and is mostly carried out by women and girls, many of whom are migrants or members of historically disadvantaged communities, and who are therefore particularly vulnerable to abuses of basic human right and to discrimination in respect of employment and working conditions;
d)further considering that’ in developing countries with historically high rates of un employment, domestic workers constitute a significant proportion of the national workforce, are predominantly nationals drawn from the ranks of the unemployed and are among the most marginalized and vulnerable workers;
e)recalling that international labour Convention and Recommendations apply to all workers, including domestic workers, unless otherwise provided;
f)nothing that there are international labour Conventions and Recommendations which have particular relevance for domestic workers, such as, where appropriate, the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949, the Migrant Workers (supplementary provisions) Convention, 1975, the Workers with the Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981, the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997, The Employment Relationship Recommendation, 2006, as well as the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration;
g)recognizing the special conditions under which domestic work is carried out that make it desirable to supplement the general standards with standards specific to domestic workers, to enable them to enjoy their right fully, taking into account the right to privacy that each domestic worker and each household enjoys;
h)recalling other relevant international instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and in particular its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, the Convention on the Right of the Child and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
5.(1) The Convention should apply to all domestic workers, provided that a Member which has ratified it may, after consulting representative employers’ and workers’ organizations and, in particular organizations representing domestic workers and their employers, where they exist, exclude wholly or partly from its scope;
a)categories of workers who are otherwise provided with at least equivalent protection;
b)limited categories of workers in respect of which special problems of a substantial nature arise.
(2) Each Member which avails itself of the possibility afforded in point 5 (1) should, in its first report on the application of the Convention under article 22 of the Constitution of the ILO, indicate any particular category of workers thus excluded and the reasons for such exclusion and, in subsequent reports, specify any measures that may have been taken with a view to extending the application of the Convention to the workers concerned.
6.Each Member should take measures to ensure the effective protection of basic human rights for all domestic workers.
7.Each Member should take, in relation to domestic workers, measures to respect, promote and realize, in good faith, and in accordance with the ILO Constitution, the fundamental principles and right at work, namely:
a)freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
b)the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
c)the effective abolition of child labour; and
d)the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
8.(1) Each Member should set a minimum age for domestic workers in accordance with the provisions of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, and the Worst Form of Child Labour Convention, 1999, and not lower than that established by national laws and regulations for workers generally.
(2) Each Member should ensure that domestic work performed by domestic workers who are under the age of 18 and above the minimum age of employment does not deprive them of, or interfere with, their education or vocational training.
9.Each Member should take measures to ensure that domestic workers, like workers generally, enjoy fair terms of employment as well as decent working conditions and, where applicable, decent living conditions respecting the worker’s privacy.
10. Each Member should ensure that domestic workers are informed of their terms and conditions of employment, in an appropriate, verifiable and easily understandable manner, including, where possible and preferably, through written contracts in accordance with national laws and regulations, in particular:
a)the name and address of the employer;
b)the type of work to be performed;
c)the remuneration, method of calculation and regularity of its payment;
d)the normal hours work;
e)the duration of the contract;
f)the provision of food and accommodation, if applicable;
g)the period of probation or trial period, if applicable;
h)the term of reparation, if applicable; and
i)termination of employment provision.
11.Each Member should take measures to ensure that domestic workers enjoy effective protection against all forms of abuse and harassment.
12. (1) Each Member should take measures to ensure that domestic workers:
a)are free to negotiate with their employer whether to reside in the house hold;
b)are not bound to remain in or with the household during the periods of daily and weekly rest or annual leave;
c)are entitled to keep in their possession their travel and identity documents.
(2) In taking these measures, due respect should be given to the right to privacy of both the domestic worker and the household.
13. (1) Each Member should take measures to ensure that the normal hours of work, over time compensation, periods of daily and weekly rest and paid annual leave of domestic workers are not less favourable than those provided for workers generally in according with national laws and regulations.
(2) Weekly rest should be at least 24 consecutive hours per each seven-day period.
(3) Periods during which domestic workers are not free to dispose of their time as they please and remain at the disposal of the house hold in order to respond to possible calls should be regarded as hours of work to the extent determined by national laws or regulations, collective agreements or any other means consistent with national practice.
14.Each Member should take measures to ensure that domestic workers enjoy minimum wage coverage, where such coverage exists, and that remuneration is established without discrimination based on sex.
15. (1) The wages of domestic workers should be paid directly to them in legal tender at regular intervals but not less often than once a month.
(2) Taking into consideration point 15 (1), nationals laws or regulations, collective agreements or arbitration awards may provide for the payment of a limited proportion of the remuneration of domestic workers in the form of allowances in kind, in conditions not less favourable than those applicable to other categories of workers generally, provided that measures are taken to ensure that such allowances are agreed to by the worker and are appropriate for the personal use and benefit of the worker.
16.Each Member should take appropriate measures, with due regard to the specific characteristics of domestic work, to ensure that domestic workers enjoy conditions that are not less favourable than those applicable to workers generally in respect of:
a)occupational safety and health; and
b)social security protection, including with respect to maternity.
(2) The measures referred to in point 16 (1) may be applied progressively.
17.(1) National laws and regulations should require that migrant domestic workers receive a written job offer or a contract of employment containing minimum terms and conditions of employment that must be agreed upon prior to crossing national borders for the purpose of taking up domestic work to which the offer or contract applies, without prejudice to regional, bilateral or multilateral agreements, the rules of a regional economic integration area, where applicable to migrant domestic workers.
(2) Members should cooperate with each other to ensure the effective protection of migrant domestic workers’ right under this Convention.
18.Each Member should take measures to ensure that all domestic workers, either by themselves or through a representative, have easy access to courts, tribunals or other dispute resolution procedures under conditions that are not less favourable than those available to workers generally.
19.Each Member should establish effective means of ensuring compliance with national laws and regulations for the protection of domestic workers.
20. (1) Each Member should take measures to ensure that domestic workers recruited or placed by an employment agency, including migrant domestic workers, are effectively protected against abusive practices, including by establishing the respective legal liability of the household and the agency.
(2) Each Member should take measures to:
a)establish for the registration and qualifications of employment agencies, including for publicly available information on any past violations;
b)ensure regular inspections of employment agencies to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and institute significant penalties for violations;
c)provide accessible complaint mechanisms for domestic workers to notify authorities of abuse practices; and
d)ensure that fees incurred by agencies are not deducted from the remuneration of domestic workers.
21.Each Member should implement, in consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations the provision of this Convention through laws, regulations and collective agreements, as well as through additional measures consistent with national practice, by extending or adapting existing measures to cover domestic workers or by developing specific measures for them.
22.The Convention should not affect more favourable provision applicable to domestic workers under other international labour Conventions.
REFERENCES
The Committee on Decent Work on Domestic Worker 2010
“ILC Provisional Record 12” 99th session, Geneva
