In light of human rights activism and pressure since 2016 on Egyptian authorities to put an end to migrating domestic workers, a group of human rights and civil society organizations started an initiative entitled “Towards a safe work environment for women” in 2018. The initiative took place due to the absence of a unified labour law that protects the rights of domestic workers in Egypt from violations. The precedent initiatives mainly address employers abroad instead of female workers in the country and their rights.
The demands include putting pressure on Egyptian authorities to review Article 15 of the Domestic Workers Convention (C189) of 2011, which aims at “ensuring effective protection of domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers, hired or employed by private recruitment agencies, from abusive practices.” It necessitates finding mechanisms for examining and investigating domestic worker complaints.
Whereas the Convention provides that member states shall take all necessary and appropriate measures within their jurisdiction and in cooperation with other Member States to provide adequate protection and to prevent abuse. These measures include laws and regulations that define the obligations of private recruitment agencies and the family hosting the domestic worker. It, also, includes penalties and prohibits private recruitment for agencies that are involved in abusive and fraudulent practices.
A few months ago, 60 members of the Egyptian Parliament submitted a bill on domestic workers to the Committees for Manpower and Legislative and Constitutional Affairs, as domestic workers are not included in the labour law, which deprives them of health insurance and retirement pensions.
The bill 55 includes conditions for granting licenses to employment offices, terms of the contract between employers, domestic workers, and offices, salaries, working hours, vacations, retirement age, penalties, dispute resolution, inspection, and penalties. The worker can submit a complaint to the administrative authority within 10 days from the date of the violation.
#Egypt #Domestic_Workers #Bill
English 
العربية