All news: domestic workers

Labour rights

Domestic workers in Europe falling through the loopholes

Many domestic workers in Europe do not enjoy as much legal protection as other workers. ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers – which will come into force in a year’s time – offers a chance to improve the lives of the millions of...

Domestic workers' rights both "necessary" and "feasible"

Conference on ILO Convention No. 189 places decent work for domestic workers on the regional policy agenda

Regional conference on domestic work in the Arab States to convene in Cairo

Government, worker, employer representatives, civil society groups, diplomatic missions and international organizations will convene in Cairo from 22-24 October to discuss domestic work in the Arab States.

Regional knowledge-sharing forum – labour inspection and the domestic work sector, Lisbon, 11-12 October 2012

LAB/ADMIN participated in a regional knowledge-sharing forum on labour inspection and domestic work in Lisbon, Portugal, organized by the International Labour Office in cooperation with the Government of Portugal on 11 and 12 October 2012.

European labour migration

From public sector worker in Portugal to cleaner in Switzerland

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...

From the Philippines

Domestic work is no longer a “domestic issue”

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...

Domesitc workers

Labour rights recognized for Filipino domestic workers

The Philippines' ratification of ILO Convention 189 officially extends basic labour rights to domestic workers and will bring the convention into force within the year. But what does passing this landmark legislation actually change in the life of a...

Convention N° 189

Landmark treaty for domestic workers to come into force

The ILO’s Convention on Domestic Workers has now been ratified by two countries, meaning it will come into effect in a year’s time. The Convention extends basic labour rights to tens of millions of domestic workers worldwide.

Dominican Republic: Unions support Haitian migrant workers

Time for Arabs to live up to their call for social justice by protecting vulnerable workers

Which Arab country will be the first to ratify the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers?

Domestic Workers ask Parliament for the ratification of Convention 189

Enhancing NGO and Media Engagement in the Campaign for Migrant Domestic Workers

In the context of the EU-funded project “Action Programme for Promoting the Rights of Women Migrant Domestic Workers/PROWD,” the International Labour Organization’s Regional Office for Arab States (ILO-ROAS) is convening a three-day workshopon...

One year on, Uruguay is first to ratify ILO domestic work Convention

Uruguay becomes the first to ratify the ILO’s standard-setting Convention on Domestic Workers. The international treaty aims to improve the lives of domestic workers worldwide in the face of huge decent work deficits.

The “abused maid”: A good tale for a film, but not for real life

Millions of domestic workers get paid below the minimum wage, and rarely benefit from health insurance, paid leave, or even time off. Has anything changed since the adoption last year of the ILO’s Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic...

Domestic workers – ‘family’ or employees?

Almost a year ago, in June 2011, a milestone event took place that promised to improve the lives of millions of working people – mostly women - worldwide, including more than a quarter of a million in Hong Kong and potentially as many as 20 million...

Examining conditions of domestic workers and child domestic workers in Nusa Tenggara Timur

Despite of the importance of the role of domestic workers, domestic work is still not recognized as work. Since their work is done in private households, which are not considered work places in many countries, their employment relationship is not...

Examining conditions of domestic workers and child domestic workers in North Sumatra

The great majority of domestic workers are female with low educational levels; they mainly come from poor families in rural communities. Apart from adult domestic workers, one of the most common child labour forms found in Indonesia is child...

Examining conditions of domestic workers and child domestic workers in South Sulawesi

To address issues related to domestic workers and child domestic workers and as an effort to provide recognition to domestic workers, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and SmartFM Makassar, a leading radio station in Makassar, will...

Examining conditions of domestic workers and child domestic workers in West Java

According to an ILO study in 2004, there were an estimated 2,593,399 domestic workers in Indonesia; of these, 1.4 million domestic workers were estimated to work in Java alone. The great majority of domestic workers are female with low educational...

Domestic Workers: Activities and Campains for Ratification of ILO Instruments

Since the adoption in june 2011 of the the Convention 189 (C 189)and the Recommendation 201 (R 201)for domestic workers by government , worker and employer delegates of the ILO, ,Unions in collaborration with ILO-Bureau for Workers Activities...