Domestic Workers Rally
Demand for an ILO Convention on Domestic Workers
a b
Domestic workers’ demand for the
Domestic Workers’ Rights are Human Rights a b Decent Work for Domestic Workers
Today, the Sunday right after the Human Rights Day on 10 Dec, we are in strong hands together. This year’s Human Rights Day is the World Mobilizing Day of Domestic Workers. Domestic Workers around the world are taking strong actions to fight for an ILO convention for domestic workers. We demand the International Labour Organization (ILO) members to support an ILO convention for domestic workers in the International Labour Conference in June 2010.
Domestic workers are vast in number. The work is one of the occupations with the largest number of workers. The big majority are women. The proportion of domestic workers in the workforce is 4-10% in developing countries and 1-2.5% in industrialized countries[1].
- Mal-practice agencies take away workers’ hard-earned money. Agencies are taking excessive agency fee from migrant domestic workers ($9,000-$21,000, which amounts to 3-7 months of salary). Worse, agencies force the workers to sign on blank documents and financial contract with loans. Workers are in debt and many of them have their passports kept illegally by agencies. Thus, workers are forced to keep silent on exploitation and abuses. This amounts to forced labour or modern-day slavery.
- Sweatshop wage & underpayment
Domestic workers are among the ones with the lowest wages. Survey shows that 70% of local domestic workers are earning less than $3,500 a month, half of them earn less than $2,000[2]. Migrant domestic workers are getting $8-$11[3] hourly. Moreover, migrant domestic workers are suffering severe underpayment – more than 30% of Indonesian and 50% of Nepalese migrant domestic workers suffer from underpayment. Domestic workers work long hours – local domestic workers need to work for as many employers as possible to get more income. Migrant domestic workers work very long. Studies show that only1% domestic workers work 8 hour per day while the rest are all working for 16 hour[4].
- Government’s discriminatory polices
The
- Severe violence, physical and sexual abuses
Working behind closed doors, domestic workers are suffering lots of violence and abuses. Migrant domestic workers are especially unable to escape from these as they are under the threat of termination, pressure of debt from agency fees, with their passports kept by agencies, and losing their visa because of 2-week rule.
- Occupation disease : 90% of local domestic workers suffer from occupational disease and strains. 30% are forced to stop working due to occupational disease.
- The “4.18” rule under Employment Ordinance restricts local domestic workers with multiple-employers from most labour protections, such as paid holidays, severance payment etc.
Domestic workers are one of the most vulnerable in times of economic crisis. Unemployment increases the number of domestic workers. The rise of living expense makes life harder for domestic workers and their families. It is urgent to provide social protection for domestic workers as we are facing economic crisis now.
ILO has decided to place in the agenda of International Labour Conference 2010 on decent work for domestic workers leading to the possible adoption of an ILO Convention or instrument. ILO has issued a questionnaire to its member states to gather inputs and opinions on this. ILO has requested member governments to consult about their most representative workers’ and employers’ groups in filling the questionnaire. However, the
Today, together with International labour unions and domestic workers groups and unions from other Asian countries, we demand the
l Support an ILO convention for domestic workers;
l Stop all kinds of violence, exploitation and discrimination against domestic workers;
l Stop excessive agency fees and exploitation by agencies;
l Stop underpayment. Statutory minimum wage for All;
l Scrap NCS and 2-week rule;
l Blacklist and punish bad practice agencies and employers;
l Establish protective measures to ensure decent working conditions, including decent wages, working hour limits, and decent living conditions for live-in domestic workers;
l Establish a universal pension scheme;
l Establish a central
l Demolish “4.18” rule in the Employment Ordinance, provide protection for casual and part-time workers;
l Build bilateral dialogue between sending and receiving countries to provide protection of migrant domestic workers especially during the migration process;
l Apply international standards and conventions to protect domestic workers’ rights.
Founding members of Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions in Hong Kong (Filipino Domestic Workers Union, Hong Kong Domestic Workers General Union, Indonesian Migrant Workers Union, Overseas Domestic Workers Union, Thai Migrant Workers Union, Union of Nepalese Domestic Workers),
Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, KOTKIHO, Asian Migrant Centre, Asian Migrant Domestic Workers Alliance, Vismin AMWA, Alliance of Progressive Labour-HK, Alliance to blacklist agencies and employers, Far East Overseas Nepalese Association, Coalition for Migrants Rights, Open Door~Employers and friends, and many other domestic workers and concerned groups and unions
Contact person： IP Pui Yu (Fish) 6126 0964 / Balotte 5178 5898
