The first of a series of thematic meeting was held online on 17 November 2021 with the participation of all relevant parties under the awareness-raising campaign launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Turkey to ensure that domestic workers work in decent conditions.

The first technical meeting themed “Expanding Social Protection Coverage for Domestic Workers” was held as part of the “Information and Awareness-Raising Campaign for Decent Work for Domestic Workers” that would be implemented in June 2021 - June 2022 under the “More and Better Jobs for Women Programme” implemented by the ILO Office for Turkey with funding from Sweden.

The campaign aims to solve the issues of working conditions for domestic workers through social dialogue

As the campaign aimed to bring together all relevant constituents as the government, workers’ and employers’ organisations in social dialogue to contribute to overcoming the barriers to decent work for domestic workers, the first technical meeting assessed the current state of access to social protection mechanisms by domestic workers in Turkey and in the world, and addressed what could be done to expand social protection coverage for domestic workers.

“Domestic workers ensures the sustainability of the society and continuity of jobs of employees in other sectors”

In his opening remarks for the meeting, Mr. Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Turkey, noted that domestic workers, who were mostly women and worked under precarious conditions, catered to such fundamental needs for the sustainability of the society as house cleaning, care for children, sick and elderly and the campaign was thus launched to ensure decent work conditions for domestic workers who indeed laboured invisibly to facilitate workers in other sectors to continue their work.

Mr. Özcan said: “As we, ILO Office for Turkey, revealed in a study report of 2021, women domestic workers in Turkey 90% of whom were women had no access to social security. A vast majority of domestic workers in the world have no access to social protection mechanisms. Accompanying such deprivation are such factor as low wages, irregular work as well as the short- and long-term overwhelming impact of the COVID-19 crisis on domestic workers.”

“For social protection, efforts to formalize employment and multi-stakeholder social dialogue are important”

Noting that comprehensive work pursuing formal employment was needed to expand social protection coverage for domestic workers, Mr. Özcan added that “It will greatly help if social security policies should be addressed along with other regulations including such as minimum wage, occupational safety and health, and promotion of social dialogue so that domestic workers work in decent conditions. For all these issues, multi-stakeholder social dialogue platforms including the trade unions of domestic workers are important.”

“Ratification of ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) important”

“This year is the 10th anniversary of the adoption of ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). In that context, I firmly believe that the said convention should be promoted and comprehensive campaigns should be organized to improve the working conditions of domestic workers.”

Noting that the social security system was designed comprehensively to cover foreign workers and continued to expand, Mr. Özge Songül, Deputy Director-General of the Insurance Premiums of the Social Security Institution, said: “This system covers domestic work as well. Domestic workers are defined as eligible for social insurance. All bureaucratic barriers to their social coverage have been eased.”

At the panel themed “What can be done to enhance the access of domestic workers in Turkey to social protection mechanisms?” moderated by Ms. Ayşe Emel Akalın, Gender and Social Dialogue Officer at the ILO Office for Turkey, Ms. Ebru Özberk Anlı, ILO Senior Programme Officer, provided information on the “More and Better Jobs for Women Programme” and activities undertaken for domestic workers under the programme.

Ms. Özberk Anlı said: “The objective of this initiative is to identify problems relating to ensuring decent work for domestic workers, exchange information with stakeholders, raise awareness, and ultimately develop proposals for solutions through stakeholder meetings.”

The “Information and Awareness-Raising Campaign for Decent Work for Domestic Workers” includes many activities such as preparing brochures for domestic workers and their employers, stakeholder meetings, social media campaigns, interviews with domestic workers of celebrities.”

“Informality key barrier to social protection”

Having undertaken comprehensive work on domestic workers and actively supporting the campaign, Dr. Ceyhun Güler of Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey University stated at the panel that the high informality in domestic work resulted in much fewer domestic workers accessing social security protection.

“Specific working conditions of domestic workers should be considered”

Dr. Ceyhun Güler provided information that out of 10 domestic workers, 8 worked informally (81.2% for exact figures); and out of 5 domestic workers, only 1 had effective access to social security.

“Legislation is needed which considers the specific working conditions of domestic workers and is in alignment with conditions accorded to other workers.”

Mr. İbrahim Özçelik, Head of Department for Employers of the Social Security Institution, provided detailed information on legislation providing insurance to domestic workers.

Campaign Call for Ratification of ILO C189

At the question and answer segment of meeting, participants stated that they would provide support necessary for the distribution of the brochures for domestic workers and their employers prepared by active support of Dr. Ceyhun Güler, and that a campaign must be launched to call for the ratification of ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).

Decent Work Guide for Domestic Workers

Two more technical meetings are planned, one on “Access of Domestic Workers to Secure Jobs” and another on “Improving the Working Conditions of Domestic Workers”, with the participation of relevant parties under the “Information and Awareness-Raising Campaign for Decent Work for Domestic Workers” during June 2021 - June 2022.

At the end of the campaign, a guide will be prepared for the benefit of all relevant parties to draw attention to and develop solutions for the issues of domestic workers, and ultimately promote decent conditions for domestic workers.