GENEVA: Member states of the UN labor agency adopted a treaty on Thursday to improve conditions for tens of millions of domestic workers worldwide, hailed as a great victory by an international trade union body.
Household and other domestic laborers are often migrants seeking to escape poverty at home only to suffer difficult working conditions with their new employers, for example in the Middle East, rights groups say.
Most are women or girls who do cleaning or look after children and some are subject to violence or sexual assault.
"This is a historical moment for domestic workers worldwide. Today we have taken a significant step by overwhelming majority towards making domestic work decent work … making what is too often invisible work visible," Juan Somavia, director-general of the International Labor Organization (ILO), told a briefing.
The convention brings ILO standards into the informal economy for the first time and could apply to some 50-100 million people, according to the ILO.
Under the text approved by the 183-member ILO, countries should take steps to ensure that domestic workers "enjoy fair terms of employment as well as decent working conditions."
The conference — where countries are represented by government, worker and employers delegates — adopted the convention with 396 votes in favor and 16 against.
Government officials from Britain, Singapore and Thailand were among 63 abstentions.
The convention also needs to be ratified by member states.
The text included provisions stating that hours of work should be "reasonable" with at least 24 hours of consecutive rest every week and that workers should be paid in cash at least once a month and have the right to collective bargaining.
They should be provided with a safe and healthy working environment as well as access to courts if disputes arise.
"Each member shall take measures to ensure that domestic workers enjoy effective protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence," the convention states.
"Domestic Slaves"
The Brussels-based International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) called the adoption of the convention historical and a great victory and urged governments to ratify and respect it.
Without proper monitoring, many migrant workers would "continue to suffer violent and oppressive employment conditions," including exploitative recruitment agencies, non-payment of wages and child domestic labor, it said.
The ITUC said there was widespread oppression and violence against migrant domestic workers — mainly women coming from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and elsewhere — in the Gulf.
"It is not acceptable that in countries with strong economies and a lot of personal wealth, we have an underclass of domestic slaves," ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said.
Addressing the annual ILO conference earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono voiced support for the convention, the latest instrument in the UN body’s arsenal to protect labor rights.
"This is an area that in many ways has been very much in the shadow of official employment," Merkel said.–Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay.
