Unionizing domestic workers to promote decent work in Bangalore – New ILO report
The ILO report on Unionizing Domestic Workers: Case Study of the INTUC – Karnataka Domestic Workers Congress” was released today in Bangalore, India.
15 April 2013
BANGALORE (ILO NEWS) The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched its report “Unionizing Domestic Workers: Case Study of the INTUC- Karnataka Domestic Workers Congress” on Monday 15 April 2013.
The report highlights the entire process of organizing domestic workers and enrolling them into Karnataka Domestic Workers’ Congress (KDWC) by the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) in Bangalore city. This report also presents the challenges faced while organizing domestic workers as well as various strategies used to overcome these challenges. Domestic workers, who enrolled in KDWC across the city were interviewed and their living and working conditions were captured in this report. It is one of the initiatives taken by the ILO, together with the trade unions in India, to broaden the knowledge base and secure decent working and living conditions for domestic workers in India.
Domestic workers’ fundamental rights have been the concern for ILO since 1936. The ILO Convention No. 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers’ which was adopted at the International Labour Conference in 2011, is a comprehensive international labour standard which aims at making decent work a reality for domestic workers. Domestic work constitutes one of the rapidly increasing informal sectors in India. The Employment and Unemployment Survey, conducted by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2009-2010, indicates that domestic workers constitute 2.7 per cent of total employed persons in India amounting to more than 10 million domestic workers. The majority of these domestic workers are women. Recognizing the critical importance in organizing domestic workers, the ILO has been working with its tripartite partners ; Trade Unions in India, the Government of India through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and Employers Organizations, to improve the working and living conditions of domestic workers. The ILO encourages organizing domestic workers into trade unions as a means to improve the working and living conditions of domestic workers and supports trade union efforts to organize domestic workers. The report is a result of joint initiatives of INTUC and ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ILO/ACTRAV) to organize domestic workers in Bangalore. More than 11,000 domestic workers have been recruited to Karnataka Domestic Workers’ Congress (KDWC) so far. KDWC was granted affiliation of INTUC in 2010, and it intends to make further progress in unionization to promote decent work for domestic workers.
For further information please contact:
Ms Tine Staermose
Director
ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India
Tel:+91 11 4750 9200
Email
Mr. Ariel Castro
Senior Specialist, Workers' Activities
ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi
Tel: +91 11 4750 9264
Email
Ms Suneetha Eluri
National Project Manager
ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi
Tel: +91 11 4750 9284
Email
The report highlights the entire process of organizing domestic workers and enrolling them into Karnataka Domestic Workers’ Congress (KDWC) by the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) in Bangalore city. This report also presents the challenges faced while organizing domestic workers as well as various strategies used to overcome these challenges. Domestic workers, who enrolled in KDWC across the city were interviewed and their living and working conditions were captured in this report. It is one of the initiatives taken by the ILO, together with the trade unions in India, to broaden the knowledge base and secure decent working and living conditions for domestic workers in India.
Domestic workers’ fundamental rights have been the concern for ILO since 1936. The ILO Convention No. 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers’ which was adopted at the International Labour Conference in 2011, is a comprehensive international labour standard which aims at making decent work a reality for domestic workers. Domestic work constitutes one of the rapidly increasing informal sectors in India. The Employment and Unemployment Survey, conducted by the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2009-2010, indicates that domestic workers constitute 2.7 per cent of total employed persons in India amounting to more than 10 million domestic workers. The majority of these domestic workers are women. Recognizing the critical importance in organizing domestic workers, the ILO has been working with its tripartite partners ; Trade Unions in India, the Government of India through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and Employers Organizations, to improve the working and living conditions of domestic workers. The ILO encourages organizing domestic workers into trade unions as a means to improve the working and living conditions of domestic workers and supports trade union efforts to organize domestic workers. The report is a result of joint initiatives of INTUC and ILO’s Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ILO/ACTRAV) to organize domestic workers in Bangalore. More than 11,000 domestic workers have been recruited to Karnataka Domestic Workers’ Congress (KDWC) so far. KDWC was granted affiliation of INTUC in 2010, and it intends to make further progress in unionization to promote decent work for domestic workers.
For further information please contact:
Ms Tine Staermose
Director
ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India
Tel:+91 11 4750 9200
Mr. Ariel Castro
Senior Specialist, Workers' Activities
ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi
Tel: +91 11 4750 9264
Ms Suneetha Eluri
National Project Manager
ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi
Tel: +91 11 4750 9284