ILO: Moving towards decent work for domestic workers

On June 15, the International Labour Organization (ILO) issued a report showing that COVID-19 showed the difficulties displayed by domestic workers.

 

ILO’s report on the occasion of the Domestic Workers Convention stated that domestic workers were more vulnerable to the repercussions of COVID-19, which affected more than 60 million domestic workers in the informal economy.

 

The report indicated that due to the pandemic, domestic workers have lost between 5% and 20% of jobs in most European countries, in Canada, and South Africa. Losses range between 25% and 50% in America.

 

According to the report, only one in five domestic workers enjoys effective social protection and coverage. In this regard, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder stressed the need to expand and implement labour and social security laws so that domestic workers get decent work.

 

Ryder explained that a large number of domestic workers (36%) are still completely excluded from labour laws. Therefore, there is an urgent need to bridge legal gaps, especially in Asia, the Pacific, and Arab countries where the gaps are wider.

 

In this context, Ryder pointed out that the biggest challenge is implementing labour and social protection laws that will include domestic workers.

 

#ILO #Domestic_workers #Decent_work