REPORT□ DOMESTICWORKERS Domestic workers: their time now J ļ ļ istorie' is an overusedword.But,inthe ™■■ case ofthenextnewILO convention on ■ mthetable,itreally does apply. The world'sdomesticworkershave in their sights thefirst everinternational convention that recognisesthemas 'workers', withthe fundamentalrights of otherworkers.Giventhat,at best,theirwork is oftendismissedas merely 'help'and,at worst, manyare migrants keptin servitude, plusitis one ofthemainlocationsof childlabour,thisstep is not just 'historic' but utterly right andjust. As one domesticworkers'leadertold me in GenevalastJune, "these things that I knewinmy heartwerenotright butI justhad to acceptas 'howlifeis',itis so amazing nowtosee allthese governments having todiscussthem". InJune2011,theseconddraft ofa convention (withan accompanying recommendation) comes to theInternational LabourConference ('ILC') in Geneva.The contents willbe hotlydebated,as theywereat thefirst discussions at theILC this pastJune.Thereis stilla chancethattheconventionwill be rejectedin favourof a much weakerrecommendation. Some governments- particularlymany involvedin the mass export/import of migrant domestic workers from South/South-East Asiato theMiddleEast- arehostile. So istheEmployers' Groupat theILO, gaugingby itsresponsesin June. However,the convention has behind it the weight ofmoreprogressive governments, as well ofcourseas theWorkers Group,ablyled in the 2010 discussions by Halima Yacob from Singapore. Withconcerted lobbying - now - on thosewho arestill wavering ortrying tobeatoff certain important elements, itiswellpossiblethat itwillbe passedthiscoming June, andwithusefulwordingthatcan help to kick-start much neededchangesformillions of(largely) women aroundtheworld. The Hong Kong Domestic Workers' General Union was formed in2001torepresent the largely local women workers who areemployed mostly ona casual basis, with irregular hours oronly short-term contracts. Ignoredand abused Sixty yearsago,in 1948,theILCalready suggested thata specialinstrument was neededforthe world'sdomestic workers. Overtheyears,however ,no suchstepwas taken.Domestic workers weresupposedtobe included inthescopeofthe Declaration of FundamentalPrinciples and Rights, as wellas manyconventions and recommendations . Atthesametime, though, someconventions explicitlyallowed their exclusion, through so-called'flexibility clauses'- forexample , the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No.155) and the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000(No.183),twoareas ofgreatconcern to domestic workers. In practice anyway, mostgovernments convenientlyignored domestic workers.The ILO Committee ofExperts issuedcomments toa numberofthem . TheIPECprogramme worked incertainregions toeliminate theworst forms ofchild domestic labour.Butnone ofthisled to significantchange . The positivegainsin nationallegislation - in Austria, SouthAfrica, Tanzaniaand a number of LatinAmericancountries, forexample - were largelythe resultof internalmobilisation, of course. What theseexamples showisthat itispossibleto legislate forthissector, and eveninrelatively poorcountries, providing there isthepolitical will.Atthesametime, however, suchlawsas do existoften givedomestic workers lesserrights thanother workers, anditremains anuphill struggletogetgovernments toenforce them. Muchoftheproblem is related to deep-seated viewsofwomen'sroleinsociety. Domestic work - eventhatundertaken in other people'sprivate homesinreturn for payment - issomehowtaken as just'something that womendo',as much'care' or'love'as 'work'. Then,bybeingexcludedfrom thedefinition of 'work',verylittle data is gatheredaboutitssize ,scope and role,oraboutthe workers involved, whichonlyreinforces theidea that they arenotreally making an 'economic contribution ' as such. Evenworse,there isoften little protection from thecriminal physical and psychological violence thatso manydomestic workers suffer. Thereis something verystrange aboutthepsychology of abusing the very person to whom one has entrusted one's mostpreciouslovedones- children ,elders, thesick,thedisabled- nottomentionone 's private property. Among the most notorious employersof domesticworkersare those in the diplomatic corpsworldwidewho use theirimmunity from certain laws oftheir hostcountry to avoidtheir responsibilities as employers. Domesticworkers in diplomatic householdsare oftenallowed in In1948 the ILC suggested thata special instrument was needed forthe world's domestic workers,butuntil now no such step was taken CELIA MATHER isaUK-based writer on global labour issues, including for the IDWN/IUF. Page 17Volume 17Issue 42010 INTERNATIONAL union rights REPORT□ DOMESTICWORKERS Thereis stilla chance thatthe conventionwillbe rejected. Some governmentsand employersare hostile onlyon a visawhichtiesthemto thatfamily or thatcorps.Iftheyrunfrom abuse,theyimmediatelybecome 'illegal',homelessand destitute. Plustheemployer mayhaveseizedtheworker's passport, even thoughthatis illegalinternationally .Butfewhostgovernments seem willing to takeup a domestic worker's case witha foreign embassyon theirsoil,forfearof spoilingtheir 'international relations '. Despitethegraveneed forprotection, thisis nota sectoreasilyorganisedintotradeunions. One obvious reason is the isolationof many domestic workers in theprivate homesof their employers, where theylive as well as work. Elsewhere, unionsmight be grappling withthe factthatmanydomestic workers do nothave a single employer, but are part-time for many households eachweek.Someunionswouldalso be amongthosedisregarding thisworkthrough their owngenderdiscrimination. Another important factor istherecent rapidrise ofmigration. Therehavelongbeen internal and external migrants in thissector, as womenfrom poorcommunities seek a living. Butnow literallymillions ofwomenareleavingtheir own familiesandcommunities , sometimes fordecades,to meettheneedsofother families infarofflands. The MiddleEastin particular is absorbing huge numbers from South and South-EastAsia. Governments in thesendingcountries are facilitating thisas theworkers' remittances homehave becomea majorforeign exchangeearner. Gatheringmomentum On the...