Marking the International Domestic workers Day June 16th 2017 in Tanzania

In marking the International Domestic workers Day, 16 June 2017, the Tanzania’s Conservation, Hotel, Domestic Social Services and Consultancy Workers Union (CHODAWU) in collaboration with the ILO are organizing a one day workshop on 16 June 2017, in the capital city, Dodoma.

The workshop is intended to campaign and advocate for the need to take cognisant measures towards ratification of ILO convention 189 (2011) on Decent work for domestic workers and formalization of the sector. It’s also aimed at deepening participants’ understanding on the key drivers of informality and promoting written contracts and social security registration for domestic workers as measures towards formalization.

The workshop, to be officiated by the Labour Commissioner, Prime Ministers’ Office – Parliamentary Affairs, Policy, Labour, Employment, and People with disabilities, Ms. Hilda Kabisa, will involve representatives from relevant Government ministries, Members of Parliament, employers and workers organizations (Mainland and Zanzibar), NGO’s/CSO’s, IDWF, media and domestic workers themselves.

The Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers was adopted by the ILO in June 2011, aimed at improving working conditions for domestic workers worldwide. It requires countries to guarantee domestic workers the same rights as other workers regarding daily and weekly rest periods, working hours, overtime compensation, and paid annual leave as well as adequate protection against violence.

According to the Tanzania’s Situational Analysis of Domestic workers Report (2013), there are about 884,000 domestic workers in the mainland and 204,000 in Zanzibar, representing 5% of the total working age population (15-64 years) in the country. Further, domestic workers are legally covered by the law as normal workers but the sector is highly characterised by informal practices. The workers therefore still face very poor working conditions; hence, a strong need for measures towards formalization of the sector.

Todate, twenty-two countries worldwide have ratified the above convention, and many more have adopted labour law reforms to improve protection for domestic workers. Some are still in the process to domesticate the convention.