Decent Work

1
Decent Work

• For Domestic Workers
• Towards International Labour Standards on the
  Subject

2
Why an ILS on this subject now?

• Old ILO concern
• work-family tensions with demand for paid care
  work
• serious decent work deficits
• Most important occupation for millions of women

3
What is Domestic Work? Work like any other, work
like no other

• not perceived as real work
• in the employers household
• does not generate profits for employer
• workplace and home often overlap
• De jure and de facto excluded from labour law
  protection
• regulated by strong non-state norms

4
Working conditions Remuneration

• undervalued work
• high proportion of in-kind payment
• often no minimum wage coverage
• underpayment or late payment of wages
• salary deductions
• households earnings determine earnings of DW

5
Working conditions working time

• About 50 of countries do not impose mandatory
  limit on normal hours of work
• 50 of countries permit longer hours than other
  workers
• 58 of countries provide 1 to 2 days of rest per
  week 40 do not specify rest time period
• 83 countries do not impose limit on night work
• Only a few countries regulate working time and
  provide for overtime compensation

6
Vulnerability and abuses the special case of
migrant domestic workers (MDWers)

• Inequality of treatment with nationals
• especially social protection
• no automatic coverage under national healthcare
  schemes
• Vulnerability to abuse
• unaccredited employment agencies
• dependency on one employer the loss of
  employment entails loss of work permit
• requirement in some countries to live-in
• with-holding of passport by employer
• pregnancy or HIV status often result in workers
  dismissal

7
Possible draft International Labour Standards on
DW

• ILC 2010
• number and type of draft instrument (s)
• Possible scenarios
• a Convention, or
• a Recommendation, or
• a Convention and a Recommendation, or
• a Convention with binding and non-binding parts

8
Goals of possible new instrument(s)

• Cover as many DWers as possible
• Clear and simple
• Ratifiable
• Provide sufficient guidance and incentives to
  enable their meaningful implementation

9
Steps towards the preparation and adoption of ILO
draft international labour instrument(s) on
domestic workers

• March 2009 The Office sends a law and practice
  report along with a questionnaire to ILO Member
  States. Governments are requested to consult with
  the most representative workers organizations
  and employers' associations
• August 2009 Deadline for submission of replies
  to the Office.
• February 2010 The Office sends to ILO Member
  States a second report examining the replies
  received to the questionnaire in 2009
• June 2010 First discussion at the International
  Labour Conference (ILC) of the ILO. A decision is
  taken on the form of the draft ILO instrument(s)-
  whether a Convention or a Recommendation or both
  or a Convention with binding and non-binding
  parts.
• August 2010 The Office sends a third report
  containing (a) draft instrument(s) to Member
  States
• End November 2010 Deadline for submission to the
  Office of comments on the third report by Member
  States
• March 2011 The Office sends two reports to
  member States one examining the replies received
  on the third report, and the other containing
  the text of the draft instrument(s) revised in
  the light of comments received
• June 2011 Second discussion at the ILC. A
  Convention or any other agreed instrument will
  be discussed and adopted or rejected by the ILC