Making decent work a reality for domestic and home care workers in Europe

BRUSSELS (ILO News) - The ILO participated in a roundtable at the European Parliament hosted by EFFE, a network representing actors involved in home-based care and domestic work in Europe, addressing the urgent challenges facing the domestic and home care sector.

Care work, which is essential to every society, remains chronically undervalued, underregulated, and mostly invisible. Yet without it, families cannot function, economies cannot grow, and people cannot age with dignity.

Women bear the brunt. Nearly 90% of domestic workers in Northern, Southern, and Western Europe are women, and more than half are migrants. Most work informally, without access to pensions, health insurance, or legal protections. Behind closed doors, in private homes, they often face low pay, long hours, poor conditions, and high risks of violence, harassment, and even forced labour.

If we want resilient, inclusive societies, we must value the people who provide the care

said Irene Wintermayr, Policy Officer at ILO-Brussels.

In 2024, ILO constituents adopted a new Resolution on decent work in the care economy. The Resolution underlines that countries should develop integrated, rights-based care policies that include care in employment, education, and social protection systems.

Second, they should formalize care work. Third, governments must invest in quality, affordable care services. Fourth, workers must be better represented and protected. Fifth, better data collection would help to understand care work and improve policy responses.

These areas are reflected in the ILO’s 5R Framework: recognize care work as essential, reduce the burden of unpaid care, redistribute care responsibilities fairly across society, reward care workers with decent jobs and protections, and represent their voices in policymaking.

Investing in care is not just a social obligation, it is a smart economic strategy. The ILO’s Care Policy Investment Simulator shows that care investments can generate jobs, especially for women, and strengthen family well-being.