Who Cares?—The ILO Convention ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers’

Abstract

AbstractThis article focuses on processes leading to the adoption of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which was adopted at the 100th session of the ILO's International Labour Conference in June 2011 and which will enter into force in September 2013. The landmark convention can be seen as a global political response to the debate around transnational care and domestic work, and a progressive step forward in the international organizing of domestic workers. The openings that the ILO offers to non-government groups have diversified the actors involved. Among other things, this has enabled domestic workers to play a part in the negotiation of the convention, thereby giving them ‘voice’ on the international stage.