Migrant domestic workers
ILO launches EU-funded programme on migrant domestic workers at UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development
At a special side event on migrant domestic workers at the UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in New York, the “Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers” was launched by the ILO and its partners.
At a special side event on migrant domestic workers at the UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in New York, the ILO Director-General, the Secretary of Labour of the Philippines, the Central Director from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General as well as representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations discussed about the challenges and opportunities to make decent work a reality for domestic workers.
They launched the “Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers”, an EU-funded initiative to promote the human and labour rights of migrant domestic workers worldwide by addressing the challenges that make migrant domestic workers particularly vulnerable to the risks of exploitation and abuse. The initiative is implemented by the ILO in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women and the Indonesian trade union KSBSI. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Domestic Worker's Network (IDWN) are associates in the project.
More than 100 participants, including members of governments, workers’ and employer’s organizations and civil society, attended the event.
The ILO Director-General stressed the importance of ILO Convention 189. “In times of ageing societies and growing labour participation of women, domestic workers help other people to reconcile their work and family responsibilities. They are not servants, nor members of the family, nor second class workers”, Guy Ryder said. He also underscored that abuses should be side-stepped and that ILO Convention 189 is a crucial instrument to do so, because it sets minimum standards for all domestic workers.
Peter Sutherland, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration and Development, stressed that he “cannot see any reason why any country could be opposed to the ratification of Convention 189”.
The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr Simonovic spoke of a “zero tolerance” for the abuse of migrant domestic workers. The employers called for a code of conduct for a responsible recruitment of domestic workers. The workers’ representatives mentioned the importance of involving employers.
They launched the “Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers”, an EU-funded initiative to promote the human and labour rights of migrant domestic workers worldwide by addressing the challenges that make migrant domestic workers particularly vulnerable to the risks of exploitation and abuse. The initiative is implemented by the ILO in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women and the Indonesian trade union KSBSI. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Domestic Worker's Network (IDWN) are associates in the project.
More than 100 participants, including members of governments, workers’ and employer’s organizations and civil society, attended the event.
The ILO Director-General stressed the importance of ILO Convention 189. “In times of ageing societies and growing labour participation of women, domestic workers help other people to reconcile their work and family responsibilities. They are not servants, nor members of the family, nor second class workers”, Guy Ryder said. He also underscored that abuses should be side-stepped and that ILO Convention 189 is a crucial instrument to do so, because it sets minimum standards for all domestic workers.
Peter Sutherland, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration and Development, stressed that he “cannot see any reason why any country could be opposed to the ratification of Convention 189”.
The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Mr Simonovic spoke of a “zero tolerance” for the abuse of migrant domestic workers. The employers called for a code of conduct for a responsible recruitment of domestic workers. The workers’ representatives mentioned the importance of involving employers.