International Labour Review, Vol. 150 (2011), No. 3–4

New ILO standards on decent work for domestic workers: A summary of the issues and discussions

24 February 2012

The world’s millions of domestic workers are mostly excluded from national labour laws because they work in private homes, in employment relationships with special characteristics. They are highly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse – often overworked, underpaid and subjected to violence. Adopted in June 2011, the ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 201) embody the resolve of governments and workers’ and employers’ organizations worldwide to remedy this situation. The authors of this paper, who were closely associated with the preparations and tripartite negotiations that led to the adoption of these instruments, review their contents and highlights of the underlying debates.

Publication

Country profile: domestic work legislation in Spain

24 February 2012

The Government of Spain recently promulgated Royal Decree 1620/2011 of 14 November, regulating the special relationship that characterizes service within the family household.

An explanatory brochure

Convention 189 & Recommendation 201 at a glance

15 December 2011

Highlights of the provisions of the Domestic Workers Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201. These new standards, adopted in June 2011, are a strong recognition of the economic and social value of domestic work and a call for action to address the existing exclusions of domestic workers from labour and social protection. Given that most domestic workers are women, the new standards are an important step to advance gender equality in the world of work and ensure women’s equal rights and protection under the law.

Publication

Convention 189 & Recommendation 201 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers

15 November 2011

This booklet presents a set of new international labour standards – Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 concerning decent work for domestic workers - adopted on 16 June 2011 by the ILO’s International Labour Conference.

Publication

Fact sheet on Domestic Workers' profile and working conditions in the Philippines

08 November 2011

This factsheet presents the profile of domestic workers and their employers in the Philippines, and provides an insight into two important aspects of domestic work, namely wages and working hours.

Publication

Fact sheet on Domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific

01 November 2011

Work in households and homes is as old as time, vital for the well-being of families, communities and societies at large. Traditionally done by women and girls without pay, domestic work is often not perceived as “real employment”. Some argue that women’s contribution to the home and general social good is immeasurable, and so precious that any effort to add a price tag only demeans their contribution. This genderbiased argument has resulted in the effective, systematic, marginalization and undervaluation of domestic work.

Publication

Convention No. 189 - Questions and answers

10 August 2011

This short factsheet will help you understand what Convention No. 189 is, who it covers, and what minimum standards it sets.

Publication

Recognition for India’s invisible workers

01 August 2011

For various reasons, official statistics tend to undercount domestic workers. The case of India is particularly striking given the magnitude of the difference: estimates of the number of domestic workers in this country range between 2.5 and 90 million.

Publication

Domestic work is not just a “domestic issue”

01 August 2011

According to ILO estimates, there are between 50 and 100 million domestic workers worldwide and many countries have traditionally excluded them from employee protection legislation.

Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 30

Measuring the economic and social value of domestic work: Conceptual and methodological framework

19 July 2011