• by Erika Guevara Rosas, Christine Ahn
• Thursday, June 16, 2011
• Inter Press Service

Today millions of women workers from across the globe made history. From June 2011 domestic workers secured the passage of the ILO Convention on domestic work for governments to ratify into law, writes Erika Guevara Rosas, Regional Program Director of the Americas and Christine Ahn, Senior Policy and Research Analyst at the Global Fund for Women.

Juana Flores, a domestic worker with Mujeres Unidas Activas in San Francisco says that with this ruling, domestic workers, for the first time, will no longer invisible and unrecognized. Under the Convention, domestic workers will have the freedom to associate and to collective bargaining. It abolishes all forms of forced, compulsory and child labor, and protects migrant workers by requiring employers to have written and enforceable contracts. Governments must now take measures towards ensuring that domestic workers receive equal treatment as regular workers, such as overtime pay, breaks, and a minimum wage. Domestic work will be recognized as work equal to any other, says Flores. We all deserve a just wage, vacation and sick days.

Domestic work is among the oldest and most important occupations for women worldwide. It is an industry that has roots in the global slave trade, colonialism and other forms of servitude. In todays globalized economy and feminized international migration, several factors make domestic work indispensable for the economy outside the household to function. More women are joining the labor force and working longer and more intense hours. Fewer governments have public policies that help workers reconcile work and family life as more and more child and family care services have been slashed, posing serious problems for rapidly ageing societies. All these factors have increased the demand for domestic workers who maintain vital household routines, thereby allowing millions of others to go out to work.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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