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Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) - Guinea (RATIFICATION: 2017)

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Article 1(1)(a), (b) and (c) of the Convention. Definition of domestic work and domestic worker. The Committee welcomes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention. The Committee notes with interest that, in the context of the application of the Convention, significant steps have been taken, in close consultation with the various trade unions of domestic workers, to include the term “domestic worker” in the first section of the Labour Code. With respect to the definition of “domestic worker”, the Government reports that there is no such definition in the national legislation. However, it adds that domestic workers’ unions are lobbying for the adoption at the national level of a broad definition of “domestic worker”, covering all workers who perform domestic work in their employer’s home. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to incorporate in national legislation or collective agreements definitions of domestic work and domestic worker and provide information on how Article 1(c) of the Convention is being given effect.

Article 4. Minimum age. The Government reports that the minimum legal age for employment in the country is 16 years for all workers, including domestic workers (section 121.4 of the Labour Code). Regarding compulsory education for domestic workers under the age of 18 years and over the minimum age for employment (16 years), the Government indicates that the National Union of Domestic Workers (SYNTRAD), in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Related Practices (CNLTP), ensures that young domestic workers who wish to continue their education are able to do so. This is being done in part by raising the awareness of the parents concerned. The Government also indicates that the IOM – in collaboration with the CNLTP – is piloting a project entitled J-TIP (Assistance for the Guinean Government in the fight against human trafficking – J-TIP), which identified nine children who wanted to continue their education, all of whom were integrated into schools. In 2020, the National Union of Domestic Workers of Guinea (SYNEM) also succeeded in integrating into a school a ten-year-old domestic worker in Conakry who had been abused by her employer. In this regard, the Committee refers to its 2018 observation regarding the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), in which it noted the Government’s indication that compulsory schooling in Guinea was only imposed for primary school, namely up to the age of 13 years. The Committee also observed that the minimum age for admission to work specified by Guinea when ratifying the Convention was 16 years. Referring to the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions (paragraph 371), the Committee observed that if compulsory schooling came to an end before children were legally entitled to work, a vacuum might arise regrettably opening the door for the economic exploitation of children. Recalling that compulsory schooling is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, including in domestic work, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to close the legal gap between the age set for the end of compulsory schooling (13 years) and the minimum age for admission to employment (16 years) in order to reduce the increased risk of domestic exploitation of children and to ensure that the economic activities of domestic workers under 18 years of age do not jeopardize their opportunities for further education or vocational training.

Article 5. Protection against abuse, harassment and violence. The Government indicates that specific measures to combat harassment and violence are taken in the form of periodic monitoring, particularly following telephone calls from the workers concerned. It also indicates that employers who perpetrate harassment or violence may be investigated and prosecuted. The Government adds that, in parallel, domestic workers are informed of their legal rights and measures have been taken to disseminate the Convention among domestic workers. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that several arrests have been made in connection with cases of abuse of domestic workers and that the perpetrators of these assaults were placed in preventive detention for four months. The Government indicates, however, that to date no court decision has been handed down in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature and type of specific measures adopted to ensure that domestic workers enjoy effective protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence.Similarly, the Committee requests the Government to provide statistical data on the number of complaints received of harassment, abuse and violence in the context of domestic work by the various competent bodies – including those filed with the National Union of Domestic Workers of Guinea (SYNEM), the National Union of Domestic Workers (SYNTRAD), and the judiciary – as well as on the follow-up given to these complaints, the penalties imposed on the perpetrators and the reparations granted. The Government is also requested to provide concrete information on the nature and impact of the measures taken to disseminate the Convention among domestic workers.

Article 8(1). Migrant domestic workers. The Government indicates that the conditions of employment of domestic workers are generally covered by section 58 of Act No. L/94/CTRN of 23 June 1994 on the conditions of entry and residence of foreign nationals in the Republic of Guinea. The Government indicates, however, that it does not currently have a strategy for promoting regular work abroad by its citizens. It also indicates that there are no policy commitments with destination countries in relation to regular labour migration. In this regard, the Committee refers to its 2020 observations in relation to the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), in which it noted the concluding observations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee that expressed concern regarding: (a) the situation of Guinean migrants who were still in Libya; and (b) the situation of children, girls and women who were victims of domestic servitude and prostitution networks in foreign countries, especially in North Africa and the Middle East (CCPR/C/GIN/CO/3, 7 December 2018, paragraph 39). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged, including in cooperation with other States, to ensure that Guinean domestic workers recruited for domestic work in another country are protected, including under agreements guaranteeing them, for example, a written offer of employment or a written contract of employment valid in the country in which they are working, and specifying the terms and conditions of employment referred to in Article 7, before the workers cross national borders. The Government is also requested to provide specific information on measures taken or envisaged against private employment agencies or other entities such as organizers of illegal or clandestine movements of migrants for employment, from or to its territory, to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and to better protect them against clandestine movements.

Articles 9 and 10. Travel and identity documents. Measures to ensure adequate rest time and leave. The Government indicates that there are no specific binding provisions that would oblige employers to respect the right of the workers to retain their travel or identity documents. With respect to rest time, the Government states that employers are obliged to respect the legal maximum weekly and daily rest periods, from which even agreements cannot derogate. It also specifies that domestic workers are not included in the list of personnel not subject to Sunday rest (Labour Code, section 222.2). The Committee notes, however, the Government’s indication that the legal provisions concerning maximum weekly and daily rest periods remain general and without specific reference to the working conditions of domestic workers. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to guarantee the right of domestic workers to keep their travel and identity documents in their possession. It also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to effectively prevent and prohibit excessive hours of work for all domestic workers, including live-in domestic workers, by establishing daily rest periods and regulating overtime pay and compensatory rest periods (Article 10).

Article 13. Occupational safety and health. The Government indicates that domestic workers are covered by the general legislative provisions on health and safety at work in the same way as all other workers on the national territory, namely the provisions of section 232 of the Labour Code. Taking into account the specific characteristics of domestic work, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the specific measures taken to ensure the occupational safety and health of domestic workers.

Article 15. Private employment agencies. The Committee notes that the activities of Guinean private employment agencies are governed by sections 110.4 to 110.6 of the Labour Code, which, among other things, “prohibit private employment services from requesting remuneration or compensation from job seekers for services offered or rendered in the area of recruitment and placement” (section 110.5). It also notes the Government’s indication that in the event of a violation of the rights of any worker, necessary and appropriate measures are taken by the representative organizations of domestic workers in collaboration with the IOM for the reintegration of the victims. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the means by which appropriate, verifiable and easily understandable information on the terms and conditions of employment (Article 7) is provided by private recruitment agencies that arrange work placements for domestic workers, whether through written materials, including a model employment contract, or other materials, particularly in the case of Guinean domestic workers recruited on the national territory and placed abroad.The Committee also requests the Government to clarify whether a complaints mechanism has been implemented by the Labour Inspectorate to receive complaints of abusive practices by private employment agencies. The Government is also requested to provide details on the practice of reintegrating domestic workers whose rights have been violated, and to provide information on the number of violations found and the penalties imposed.

Article 17(2) and (3). Labour inspection and penalties. Access to household premises. The Government indicates that representative organizations of domestic workers are consulted on the application of the Convention, particularly in the context of national legislation and practice applicable to domestic workers, but also in the context of the activities of the General Labour Inspectorate in the country. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged for the development and practical application of a labour inspection strategy in the domestic sector, as well as the application of standards and penalties that take due account of the particular characteristics of domestic work. The Committee also requests the Government to provide details on the training received by labour inspectors, the number of inspections in the domestic work sector, the number of offences detected, and the penalties imposed. It further requests the Government to indicate, to the extent that it is allowed under national legislation, the conditions under which access to household premises is permitted, with due regard to privacy.