MODULE I Overall Framework on Domestic Work

MODULE I Overall Framework on Domestic Work

The ILO Perspective Decent work for ALL. Decent work - term= everyone s basic aspirations: Employment in conditions of freedom, dignity Recognition of basic rights An income to satisfy personal & family needs Income security in case of death, illness, crisis, old age Health care Exercise of voice and representation at work

The ILO Perspective Domestic workers are workers. They have rights like other workers. Promoting decent work for domestic workers is a matter of: HUMAN RIGHTS EQUALITY

A rights-based approach Two overarching, inter-related obligations: 1. Effective promotion and protection of the human rights of all domestic workers 2. Measures to ensure fair terms of employment and decent working and living conditions Protection against abuse, harassment & violence Right to be informed on terms and conditions of employment C.189, Art. 3 and 6

Invisible, but significant workforce Globally: 52.6 Million 1.7% of total employment 3.6% of paid employees

Overwhelming majority are WOMEN 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 undervalued, invisible, poorly defined and regulated Mostly carried out by women, many of whom migrants Domestic workers vulnerable to abuses of fundamental human rights Growing demand and importance of DW (especially care work) for the economy and society Specificities of domestic work led to adoption of new ILO convention In EU member States, although the law does not exclude domestic workers from general labour law provisions, in practice these provisions are very rarely applied to them (EESC, the professionalization of domestic work, SOC/321, Opinion to be adopted on 27 May 2011).

C189 and R201 Convention No. 189 Sets minimum standards Binding on ratifying States 4 ratifications as of today In force on 5 Sept 2013 Recommendation No. 201 Non-binding Guidance for strengthening national laws, polices and practice To be read in conjunction with Convention

Definitions What is domestic work? Work performed in an for a household or households Who is a domestic worker? any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship Not a domestic worker: a person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis C. 189, Art. 1

Scope All domestic workers Under strict conditions, possible exclusions: 1. Workers with higher or equivalent protection 2. Workers in respect to which application of Convention s provisions poses serious problems C.189, Art. 2

Presentation structure

MDW: a population at risk Triple burden: Unsure, often irregular migration status Unrecognised labour market status Highly gendered and isolated sector

Gender and migration connections Gender influences: who migrates and why and how the decision is made how migration impacts on migrants themselves on sending areas and on receiving areas

Trends of feminisation in international migration Gendered Migration Data and trends Female raise in number and share Thai and Filipino migrants in EU largely female (more then 70% in some countries) Europe: 30 M female migrants, 52% of migrant workers Women increasingly independent migrants, not only for family reunification Increasingly in temporary migration, (women and men, more then ½ of Filipino in EU are under temporary schemes), in and out of regular & irregular status Major contributor to economies: financial and social remittances

Trends of feminisation in international migration Gendered Migration Root causes Feminisation of poverty: women increasingly move in search of income opportunities to provide for their families; Discrimination and social exclusion at home Greater availability of employment opportunities in female dominated sectors (eg care and domestic work) at destination, though often irregular, informal employment

(Gendered) Migration Modalities TYPES OF MIGRATION AND LEGAL STATUS Women often have dependent legal status : eg. family reunification and marriage. Dependence from individual employers particularly relevant, eg domestic work No reliable data on irregular migrants, but a large proportion of women s migration and employment status is irregular (Domestic Work) = statistically invisible. Even when regular, often admitted under temporary work schemes, limiting enjoyment of rights, including social protection

(Gendered) migration experience LABOUR MARKET SEGREGATION AT DESTINATION Men in a wider range of occupations, but both in precarious, low status and possibly exploitative! Women suffer multiple discrimination: no EU policy covers the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity and cultural factors, Little human capital development and deskilling phenomenon Women migrants in EU: higher unemployment rates then national women and migrant men; higher rates of temporary contracts (1/2 of all women migrants in Spain). Women more often in part time jobs: highly important for renewal of residence permits

Condition of work and vulnerabilities to exploitation Both women and men Low wages, low status, long hours, limited access to social services, social protection, training, discrimination and xenophobic attacks Women: Higher isolation (relatively) higher psycho-physical abuse, including sexual abuse Specific needs and difficulties in access to health care (eg maternal and reproductive health care) Men: Higher exposure to violence/criminality Specific work hazardousness in selected sectors Lack of recognition of their vulnerabilities/stereotyping by law enforcement authorities and others

Factors contributing to female migrants (over)representation in domestic work Income inequalities between countries and within countries Gender labour market segregation both at origin and destination Gendered labour migration policies for low skilled workers/dw Inefficient skills/qualification recognition policies

Employment rate of migrants

A segregated labour market

Some data and trends in European countries

Women migration: not only low skilled Main countries of origin of highly skilled migrants in OECD countries by sex 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Column1 men women 0%

Deskilling phenomenon 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 % of women (15-64) in jobs fr which they are overqualified, selected EU countries 2003-2004 native-borned Foreign borned from non OECD countries

DW in EU: some facts and figures About 2.5 million DW in the EU, 90% women Large share of employment of migrant women: main entry point into the labour market. Labour force participation rate of migrant women tend to be higher in south EU, with large DW sectors >10% of foreign-born women in DW, compared to 1% of native-born women

Migrant women in DW in EU A important, and growing, sector: EC Job Vacancy Monitor 2012 rates housekeeping and restaurant service workers and personal care and related workers as the top three and four job vacancies in Europe Spain: from 355,000 (1995) to 747,000 (2011), 90% women >36% foreigners Italy: DW number tripled between 98 and 08 (about 707,800 in 2011), >80% foreign born, outnumber italians since 1990s France: rather stable around 600,000 since 2004, 85% women. >21% foreign born, (1/3 of employées de maison migrant) Belgium: 170.000 workers in service voucher system alone (2012), in Brussels 50% foreign born, mostly from within EU

A growing sector: the example of Spain

Factors contributing to growing demand for domestic and care work Population aging (EC estimate of up to 2 millions shortage in care sector by 2020) UE women integration into the labour market (Europe 2020 employment rate target: 75%), and low redistribution of household responsibilities (use of time surveys) Shrinking public welfare budgets Changing family structures, unchanged gender roles dynamics: crisis of traditional informal care provision Availability of flexible, low cost, female labour force

EU working age population decline With No migration: approx. 15 million less workers in 2020 compared to 2010 30

MDW profile and skills An increasing level of educational attainment: increasingly higher skills requested by employers Tendency to over-qualification particularly high in southern EU, especially for non OECD nationals Younger then national DW, but older then 10 years ago, often with family left behind Impact on their motivations, expectations, aspirations on migration, integration and eventual return

MDW working and living conditions Compared to national women (and migrant men), MDW face: High wage and working time differentials More difficult working conditions, especially for new arrivals, or temporary workers who are more prone to accept low wages, long hours, insufficient rest or leave, multiplicity of tasks, unsuitable accommodation, lack of privacy, etc. Physical, cultural, linguistic, isolation, (especially when live-in) and access to organization and voice Lack of information on rights and available support services, including on integration Over-qualification (lack of diploma recognition) Difficulties on portability of social security benefits

MDWs at the intersection of national and international policy areas Human rights including labour standards Employment and labour market policies, and care regimes Prevention of abuse and promotion of rights Gender equality Protection and law enforcement Migration policies and visa regulations Socio economic and cultural integration and non discrimination policies A need for an integrated, coherent policy approach