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International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 189 and the International Organization for Migration, any persons “moving to another country or region to better their material or social conditions and improve the prospect for themselves or their family,”[1] engaged in a work relationship performing “in or for a household or households.”[2] Domestic work itself can cover a "wide range of tasks and services that vary from country to country and that can be different depending on the age, gender, ethnic background and migration status of the workers concerned,"[3]. These particular workers have been identified by some academics as situated within "the rapid growth of paid domestic labor, the feminization of transnational migration, and the development of new public spheres”[4]. Prominent discussions on the topic include the status of these workers, motivations for becoming one, recruitment and employment practices in the field, and various measures being undertaken to change the conditions of domestic work among migrants.
Migrant domestic workers in the world
[edit]The status of migrant domestic workers is unique in the field of labor, due to the site of their employment: the home. The domestic sphere, by definition, “is imagined as a place for private individuals, not political or indeed market actors.”[5] Due to their embeddedness in what can be considered the “private sphere,” some analysts have gone so far as to equate domestic laborers with members of the employers’ families, a dynamic made all the more complex by these workers' status as migrants.[6] Historically, they have not been regarded as the same form of labor as manufacturers or doctors. From the end of the Second World War until the mid-1980s, for instance, “most ILO Conventions explicitly excluded domestic workers from the protections afforded by most employment Conventions.”[7]
The lack of knowledge concerning the composition of this workforce has been attributed to this historical lack of attention and advocacy. Current estimates place the number of domestics anywhere between 53 and 100 million.[8] The ILO, in 2010, projected the following distribution of domestic workers throughout the world:
| Region | Domestic Workers | Percentage of women |
|---|---|---|
| Developed Countries | 3 555 000 | 73% |
| Eastern Europe/CIS | 595 000 | 67% |
| Asia/Pacific | 21 467 000 | 81% |
| Latin America/Caribbean | 19 593 000 | 92% |
| Africa | 5 236 000 | 74% |
| Middle East | 2 107 000 | 63% |
Source: Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statistics and the extent of legal protection, International Labour Organisation. Geneva. 2013[9]
According to a report by the same organization, globally, “83% of domestic workers are women,” and migrants compose a majority of these.[10] Due, however, to “the heterogeneity, irregularity and invisibility of domestic and care work," statistics can never be comprehensive.[11]
Regulations and conventions
[edit]The fact that domestic work is often relegated to the private sphere, coupled with the sometimes-illegal status of these migrants, has created a sparse regulatory environment. As cited above, for example, the ILO had purposefully excluded domestic workers from their labor regulations. However, increasing advocacy, coupled with the increasingly transnational element of domestic work prompted the drafting of Convention 189, “Domestic Workers Convention, 2011,” which mandated rest hours, a minimum wage, some freedom of movement, a clearly-worded working contract before migrating, and a right to live outside of their workplace.[12] Though this convention passed with a majority of votes, it has thus far only been ratified by Uruguay and the Philippines, both net sending countries. The ILO is not the only international organization attempting to regulate this field, however. The European Parliament drafted a resolution, submitted to the European Commission, calling for domestics’ inclusion in future labour legislation, to take into account their unique work environment, and give training, social security, and set work hours to domestic workers.[13] This has yet to be adopted or change international regulation, though. As such, the regulation of migrant domestic labor is left to individual states, which, as will be examined, has led to abuses.
References
[edit]- ^ "International Organization for Migration: Key Migration Terms".
- ^ "International Labor Organization: Domestic Work".
- ^ International Labour Organization. "Domestic work". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 10 December, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Moors, Annelies; et al. (2009). Migrant Domestic Workers: A New Public Presence in the Middle East?. Social Science Research Council. p. 177-202.
{{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|first=(help) - ^ Anderson, Bridget (January 2010). "Mobilizing migrants, making citizens: migrant domestic workers as political agents". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 33 (1): 60–74. doi:10.1080/01419870903023660.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Altman, Meryl; Pannell, Kerry (2012). "Policy Gaps and Theory Gaps: Women And Migrant Domestic Labor". Feminist Economics. 18 (2): 291–315. doi:10.1080/13545701.2012.704149.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Rosewarne, Stuart (2013). "The ILO's Domestic Worker Convention (C189): Challenging the Gendered Disadvantage of Asia's Foreign Domestic Workers?". Global Labour Journal. 4 (1): 1–25. doi:10.15173/glj.v4i1.1126.
- ^ Press Release. "100th ILO annual Conference decides to bring an estimated 53 to 100 million domestic workers worldwide under the realm of labour standards". International Labour Organisation. Retrieved 18 November, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ International Labor Organization (2013). Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statistics and the extent of legal protection. ILO-Geneva. p. 20.
- ^ "Resource guide on domestic workers". International Labour Organisation. Retrieved 16 June 20111.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Stasiulis, Daiva; Bakan, Abigail B. (1997). "Negotiating Citizenship: The Case of Foreign Domestic Workers in Canada". Feminist Review. 57 (57): 112–139. doi:10.1080/014177897339687. JSTOR 1395804.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "C189 - Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)". International Labour Organisation. 16 Jun 2011.
- ^ "European Parliament resolution of 19 October 2010 on precarious women workers". 19 October 2010.
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