The International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention No.189

What is domestic work? Millions of people including children as young as six work as domestic workers across the world doing a number of jobs around the home such as: Ironing Cooking Cleaning Food shopping Looking after children and the elderly Other household tasks

Experiences of domestic workers Positive working conditions for domestic workers: Have labour rights respected Paid a decent wage Given time off for rest and holiday Given sufficient food and accommodation Treated as a worker not a servant Addressed respectfully Negative working conditions for domestic workers: No labour rights, no maternity pay or minimum wage Work long hours without breaks No days off or holiday Paid small amounts or not paid at all Abused and treated as a ‘servant’ or ‘slave’ Made to sleep on the kitchen floor and fed scraps of food

The provisions of Convention 189 For years, many organisations have called for an international law to set out the rights of domestic workers. In June 2011, the International Labour Organization (a special United Nations agency that deals with work and rights relating to work) adopted Convention 189, the Domestic Workers Convention. Convention 189 works to recognise domestic workers as workers, not just ‘hired help’ and to give domestic workers the same protection and working rights as other workers, which include: –Working hours –Terms and conditions of employment (i.e a contract) –Rest and holiday time –Decent pay –Inspection of homes where domestic workers work –The right to join a trade union

Protection for domestic workers For many years, adult and child domestic workers have been calling for an international law which would protect them from abuse and exploitation. In June 2011, the International Labour Organization (a special United Nations office which deals with work rights) adopted Convention 189, known as the Domestic Worker Convention. The Convention gives rights to domestic workers such as: Decent working hours Decent Pay Time off for rest and holidays A contract Inspection of homes where domestic workers work The right to join a trade union

Child domestic workers lobby for their rights There are 15.5 million child (under 18) domestic workers across the world and organisations like Children Unite and Anti-Slavery International have been working over the years to help child domestic workers get their voices heard and their rights met…even at the highest level. Child domestic workers attended the ILO Conference held at the UN in Geneva in 2010 and 2011 to speak to ILO members about the situation of children in domestic work and lobby for special provisions to be included in Convention 189 that protect child domestic workers from abuse and exploitation.

Special provisions for children In addition to all the rights for adult domestic workers under Convention 189, child domestic workers also have these special provisions:  Children under 14 should not work as domestic workers  When working, it should not interfere with compulsory education of limit opportunities for higher education and vocational training  Hours of work should be limited  Space should be made for other activities including play time and time to see family  Child domestic workers should not be made to work at night  Work that is physically or psychologically demanding should be limited  There should be strong mechanisms to inspect where children work and make sure their rights are being met.

What happens now? Convention 189 has been adopted but governments now need to ‘ratify’or sign up to the Convention for it to start working. Ratification means that governments make a commitment to making sure the Convention can work in the country, and this can include passing a new national law that includes the provisions of the Convention.

UK Government response 173 governments voted in favour of the Convention including China, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia. During the development of the Convention, the UK government tried to water down provisions on working hours and health and safety at work for domestic workers as well as working and living conditions for children. The UK government was one of only eight countries which abstained from voting for the Domestic Workers Convention.

What should the UK Government do? The UK Government should ratify Convention 189 to show that it really cares about the rights of vulnerable domestic workers especially children. Britain was one of the first countries to abolish the transatlantic slave trade and we also have signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other laws that protect children. Therefore we have a tradition of protecting people and we should continue to send a strong message to the rest of the world, that we take the issue of protecting vulnerable working children seriously.