Features

2012

1. 

   European labour migration

   From public sector worker in Portugal to cleaner in Switzerland

   20 September 2012

   As protests spread in southern Europe – especially in Greece, Spain and Portugal – against austerity measures, more and more people hit by the crisis are moving to northern countries in search of decent jobs. Public sector workers are not an exception.

2. 

   From the Philippines

   Domestic work is no longer a “domestic issue”

   05 September 2012

   The ratification of ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers by the Philippines this week breaks new ground in extending basic labour rights to the nearly 100 million of domestic workers worldwide. We look at what it will mean for these workers when the Convention comes into force next year.

2011

1. 

   Article

   Ms Thanh gets a passport; Skills training holds rural families, communities together

   02 December 2011

   Story of Tran Thi Thanh, a 43-year-old grandmother in My Loc, who acquired her first-ever passport and will use it to find work in Taiwan as a domestic workers.

2. 

   Feature story

   Questions and answers on the hidden reality of children in domestic work

   08 August 2011

   The recently approved ILO Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 on decent work for domestic workers aim to protect and improve working and living conditions of millions of workers worldwide, who have few – if any – labour rights. Many are children who spend long hours working as domestic helpers, performing tasks such as cleaning, ironing, cooking, minding other children and gardening instead of being at school. ILO News spoke to ILO experts Martin Oelz (TRAVAIL) and José M. Ramírez (IPEC) on the current situation of child domestic workers and how the new Convention and Recommendation can help impact their lives.

3. 

   Feature story

   Questions and Answers on the Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers

   21 June 2011

   The landmark treaty setting standards for the treatment of domestic workers that was adopted at the International Labour Conference in Geneva has been widely hailed as a milestone. The Convention and accompanying Recommendation on decent work for domestic workers aim at protecting and improving the working and living conditions of domestic workers worldwide - estimated to number anywhere between 53 million and 100 million. ILO Online spoke to Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Employment Programme.

2010

1. 

   Domestic workers

   Decent work for domestic workers: towards new international labour standards

   31 May 2010

   Domestic work employs millions of workers, mostly women, around the world. The June 2010 session of the International Labour Conference will hold a first discussion on a new international labour standard for a domestic workforce that is growing worldwide. ILO Online spoke with Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO’s Conditions of Work and Employment Programme, about working conditions of domestic workers, and how they can be improved.