Lebanon: What challenges for Domestic Workers?

Anna Biondi Deputy Director of ACTRAV

ACTRAV INFO: You have participated in the founding Congress of the Domestic Workers' Union in Lebanon. What is the typical profile of domestic workers in this country?

In Lebanon, as well as in many other countries in the region, domestic workers are mainly migrants, coming from Syria, Palestine, Africa and South East Asia, often recruited as live-in domestic workers under the unjust Kafala system.

It is still difficult to have an accurate number of domestic workers, nationals or migrants: the Ministry of Labour estimates between 150,000 and 220,000 workers, but this number does not include the many workers who enter with no work permit through unscrupulous agencies.

ACTRAV INFO: Currently, what are the main challenges faced by domestic workers in Lebanon?

Domestic workers are often isolated or segregated at home (some without even a day off per week). They come from many different nations and speak different languages, hence they are unable to easily connect and share experiences. Their interfaces with the outside world are basically the employer and the agency. This is why they do not speak up -- for fear of losing the job and being deported. They are often deprived of their rights in terms of wages, compensations, hours of work, safety and health.

While the adoption of a unified contract and a draft law to regulate domestic work were positive steps taken in the past by the Lebanese government, these measures were not accompanied by the abolition of the Kafala system or by any amendment to the law; hence protection for domestic workers has yet to be fully realized.

ACTRAV INFO: How can ILO/ACTRAV give support to these workers?

The ILO has already given support to the workers, including through the project “Promoting the Rights of Migrant Domestic Workers,” with a participatory methodology that allowed workers to learn to speak freely, formulate common priorities and solutions to challenges, regardless of cultural differences or nationalities. I salute the fact that both Lebanese and non-Lebanese workers collaborated in this endeavour, creating the path towards an inclusive union of service workers (domestic workers, office cleaning workers and so on).

The ILO as a whole in the next phase needs to support opening spaces for dialogue among workers and their freely elected representatives, the government – starting from the Ministry of Labour, but also including other relevant ministries and authorities – and supporting the creation of an organization of employers as counterpart. The issue in fact can be resolved only if both the legislative and the collective bargaining levels will be addressed: the ILO can provide support in both cases. ACTRAV, in particular, will monitor the situation of workers and the respect of their fundamental rights, in close collaboration with the international trade union movement.

The founding of the Domestic Workers’ Union of Lebanon is, notwithstanding the difficulties, in any case a milestone for the region and the world at large, hence – while it is important to be vigilant in reference to the challenges – this is also the time to celebrate these courageous workers who have the most difficult job, caring for the most precious people in families -- the seniors and the children – and who fully deserve respect and decent work as any other worker.