New York Domestic Workers Celebrate Historic Vote at the United Nations Global Labor Standards Now Exist for Domestic Workers Published on Jun 16, 2011 - 6:59:02 AM
NEW YORK, NY, June 16, 2011 - On June 16, 2011, NY domestic workers gathered at the Washington Square Park Arch to celebrate another historic milestone as the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations arm that sets international labor standards, voted and passed the first-ever Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, a new legal instrument on decent work conditions for domestic workers.
Delegates from unions, governments and employer organizations from across the world, met in Geneva, Switzerland, at the 100th session of the International Labor Conference, the annual meeting of the ILO, to negotiate standards for conditions and terms of work for domestic workers. Support for the Convention was overwhelming, with 396 voting in favor, and only 16 voting against (all employers), with an additional 63 abstaining. Working behind closed doors, domestic workers who number 100 million worldwide are not covered by major labor laws in most countries of the world.
Juana Flores, a domestic worker in California who represented the US-based National Domestic Workers Alliance as an official member of the AFL-CIO delegation to the ILO, said, "So many women throughout the world have never been recognized for their labor. With this convention the world is recognizing, for the first time, that domestic workers are workers like any other and deserve the same treatment."
The ILO Convention affirms that domestic workers' have the same fundamental rights that all workers have:
* the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining,
* the elimination of all forms of forced labor,
* the effective abolition of child labor, and
* the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
With this Convention, there is global consensus that domestic workers must enjoy and governments are called on to ensure effective protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence.
Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO's Conditions of Work and Employment Programme, closed the meeting of the tripartite committee that drafted the ILO Domestic Workers Convention and Recommendation, saying, "Through the adoption of the proposed Convention and the supplementing Recommendation, this Committee is stating loud and clearly that domestic workers are neither servants nor members of the family, but workers with rights and obligations, like any other workers. It is also saying that care work, not only work aimed at generating profits, is important for both social and economic reasons, and that better working and living conditions for domestic workers will also result in better-quality services to families and households."
Betsey McGee, member of Hand in Hand: the Domestic Employers Association, testified before the ILO in Geneva about why employers also support a strong ILO convention: "To me, to Hand in Hand, to millions of fair-minded employers across the globe, this is a future we welcome. We believe that once we, as a global community, commit to helping domestic employers and employees establish humane home-based workplaces, we will be taking a critical step towards creating more equitable societies."
The international standards come on the heels of the passage of the first Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in the United States. In 2010, New York enacted basic rights and protections, including paid time off, overtime at the regular rate of pay, and protection from discrimination and harassment, for privately employed nannies, housekeepers, and elder caregivers. California is poised to become the second state in the nation to extend coverage to domestic workers under its state labor laws, as similar legislation is currently debated in the Senate. Both pieces of legislation were considered as models during the ILO negotiations.
The next step is for the member states of the ILO to ratify the international convention. Some governments attending the ILO have already indicated their willingness to ratify the Convention. Brontie Scott, a nanny and member of Domestic Workers United, the New York-based organization that led the 6-year campaign to pass the historic legislation, said, "It is very exciting that we are finally moving forward. I just hope that this is going to lead to worldwide protection for domestic workers. For too long domestic workers have been exploited and excluded. And, for too long we've been taken advantage of."
New York Domestic Workers Justice Coalition was founded in 2000 to organize domestic workers across all nationalities, including Filipina, Haitian, and South Asian. It is comprised of Domestic Workers United, Damayan Migrant Workers Association, Unity Housecleaners of the Workplace Project, Andolan, Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, and Adhikaar. The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is an alliance of 30 domestic worker organizations in 17 cities, organizing domestic workers in the United States for respect, recognition, and labor standards. Through leadership development, strategic campaigns, and alliance building, we seek to help build a powerful movement for social and global justice. NDWA is a founding member of the International Domestic Workers Network. www.domesticworkers.org. The International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN) is made up of domestic workers' unions and associations around the world. Truly a global network, member organisations come from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, North America, and Europe. www.domesticworkerrights.org.
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