Domestic work is WORK
From Miriam Karmali, Freedom United
On International Domestic Workers’ Day explore what changes domestic workers are calling for and join domestic workers asking world governments for better protections against exploitation!
Read our blog!
Domestic work is a part of all our lives. Domestic work is childcare, cleaning, looking after the elderly, providing care for those who are ill, cooking, maintaining a home. Domestic work is difficult, requires long hours, is often undervalued and underpaid – and it is absolutely essential to keep our societies running.
Yet, of the estimated 75 million[1] domestic workers employed in others’ homes to do these tasks around the world, the vast majority – over 80% – are informally employed, thus excluded from social and labor protections.
Combined with the isolated nature of domestic work that often takes place in private households behind closed doors, workers are at heightened risk of exploitation, trafficking and abuse, especially when subject to restrictive immigration requirements tying them to their employers.
But there is a global standard to protect domestic workers – the ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, also known as C189. The Convention sets out obligations on states to ensure domestic workers are protected from abuse and exploitation, and that they “enjoy fair terms of employment as well as decent working conditions”[2] amongst other measures.
Check out our blog to learn more about how domestic workers are organizing around the world, what changes they’re calling for, and how you can get involved.
In solidarity,
Miriam and the team supporting the Freedom United community
[2] https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_802516/lang–en/index.htm
