Labour rights and women activists are celebrating the long-awaited ratification of a treaty on labour rights for domestic workers. The treaty gives up to 100 million domestic workers the right to claim basic rights, including weakly days off, set hours and the minimum wage.
In the world, there are about 50-100 million domestic workers , whose tasks include cleaning, cooking, looking after children, and so on.
Such workers, mainly women and girls, are often poor and employed outside their home country, making them particularly vulnerable to abuse and slavery.
The treaty was adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2011. From Thursday, September 5, 2013, the domestic workers convention becomes binding for signatory countries. So far, eight countries have ratified the convention, including Italy, the Philippines, South Africa and Bolivia, with Germany and Switzerland to follow.
It is the first international convention that address the domestic workers specifically.
Human Rights Watch welcomed the treaty's ratification
The children's rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, Jo Becker, campaigned for two years in the run-up to the ILO's adoption of the treaty, said that domestic labour "is a huge sector that has historically been excluded from labour laws and legal protection."
The ratification of the treaty, she added, "has empowered workers to be more willing to stand up for their rights. In the Philippines, workers have been given social protection and a minimum wage. They have large numbers of domestic workers, so this is a huge change."
Such workers, mainly women and girls, are often poor and employed outside their home country, making them particularly vulnerable to abuse and slavery.
The treaty was adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2011. From Thursday, September 5, 2013, the domestic workers convention becomes binding for signatory countries. So far, eight countries have ratified the convention, including Italy, the Philippines, South Africa and Bolivia, with Germany and Switzerland to follow.
It is the first international convention that address the domestic workers specifically.
Human Rights Watch welcomed the treaty's ratification
The children's rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, Jo Becker, campaigned for two years in the run-up to the ILO's adoption of the treaty, said that domestic labour "is a huge sector that has historically been excluded from labour laws and legal protection."
The ratification of the treaty, she added, "has empowered workers to be more willing to stand up for their rights. In the Philippines, workers have been given social protection and a minimum wage. They have large numbers of domestic workers, so this is a huge change."
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