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With so many years of struggle and campaigns by various migrants, unions and women’s organizations, finally domestic workers around the world have achieved the milestone of being recognized as workers. The convention passed by the International Labor Organization (ILO) on 16th June, 2011 has taken the status of millions of migrant workers, especially women and young girls to a better level. Now, with legal protection of their rights, it is expected that the working and socio-economic conditions of these workers will improve greatly.
Belonging to what is called an informal economy, domestic workers all over the world have been victims of low wages, forced work, child labor and various forms of discrimination. The official treaty will ensure their status as workers with a voice.
Karin Pape, coordinator of the International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN) says, “Domestic workers are not helpers. We are not maids, and we are not servants. Certainly none of us should be slaves. We are workers.”
South Asia is one of the biggest hubs that provide services of domestic workers within the region and also to other countries. Numerous workers, particularly females work throughout their lives as domestic maids and often are forced to work with poor conditions and salaries. Belonging mostly to low-income and disadvantaged communities, these workers are often exploited by their employers with low wages, demanding jobs and long working hours. This invisible form of service is an integral piece in our part of the world, where households almost malfunction if you do not have a domestic worker. However, a vital segment of our society is still undervalued - facing trouble with getting basic needs fulfilled, good family support, basic human rights, no legal support and exclusion from social security schemes.
Based on estimates of national statistics submitted by 117 countries globally, the ILO says there are at least 53 million domestic workers all over the world which includes a majority of women and girls. However, due to the concealed nature of the profession, the number can be as high as 100 million. This includes an estimated 2.1 million migrant domestic workers, out of which 83% are females and their total domestic work accounts for no less than 7.5 per cent of female wage employment all over the world, which is actually very low. 56% of domestics work with no legislation limiting their working hours, and 45% do not have the right to even one day off a week.
It is obvious that giving legal status to these workers by ILO will actually bring them in a position to improve their conditions to a large extent. Though this landmark treaty was never easy, it was approved by a vote of 396 to 16, with 63 abstentions and still its success totally relies on how it is implemented. General Secretary, Ron Oswald of IUF, which is the global federation for food, hotel and allied workers, said, “We now call upon all governments to put into law and practice what the Convention contains. This would change the lives of millions of domestic workers and their families for the better.”
This will also be a big challenge for the Gulf States because they get the most out of domestic workers. The record of these worker’s conditions in Gulf countries has been not very satisfying as they have been subjected to various forms of discrimination, hardships and harassment. South Asian domestic workers go in huge numbers to these countries. Women workers, among them, come mainly from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Ethiopia.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reports an extensive repression and violence against such workers in the Gulf. Extreme working hours, undefined number of functions, verbal and often physical abuse and mental torture are just some of what these migrant domestic helpers suffer at the hands of their local employers. General Secretary, of the ITUC, Sharan Burrow said, “It is not acceptable that in countries with strong economies and a lot of personal wealth, we have an underclass of domestic slaves, whose passports are taken when they arrive, and who have no one to turn to if their employer treats them with violence or harassment.”
Interestingly, during the convention’s negotiations, the governments of Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates raised objections to the binding nature of the treaty, but ended up joining the majority for its approval. Ms. Burrow emphasized on the ILO to prepare an action plan to monitor implementation of this convention in the Gulf States and said, “The international union movement will continue to shed light on the working conditions of migrant domestic workers in the Gulf countries, in particular Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain.”
This new legal binding by ILO will bring changes in the conditions of the domestic workers. It is expected to cover all aspects, such as contracts, remunerations, methods of calculation, periodicity of payment, accommodation, food and security. If agreed, the contracts will also specifically mention the nature of job, number of hours of work, worker’s rights to overtime reimbursement, daily and weekly rest times and paid annual leave. It is hoped that this moves forward from legal papers to final acts, as every law aimed at betterment can create wonders only if implemented in letter and spirit. 
Sabina Rizwan Khan is an environmental activist, working as Country Media Coordinator (Pakistan) for the South Asian Youth Action Climate Action Network (SAYCAN). She is also a certified youth trainer.
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