BRUSSELS (ILO News) – Claire Hobden, Specialist on domestic work and other vulnerable work, addressed EFFAT’s General Assembly of the domestic work sector and discussed trends in domestic work in Europe and Central Asia. She emphasised the need to build capacity for the implementation of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, No. 189.

Convention 189 aims to ensure that domestic workers enjoy rights equivalent to those enjoyed by other workers. This requires making sure that these workers are covered by labour and social security laws to the same extent as other workers, that they enjoy an adequate level of protection, and that such laws are effectively implemented.

ILO estimates show that there are at least 75.6 million domestic workers globally. Nonetheless, the ILO has found that eight out of every ten domestic workers are informally employed and lack effective labour protections.

Virtually all domestic workers in Europe and Central Asia are covered by some form of labour law, often with a combination of inclusion in the general labour code and specific labour laws. However, there are important implementation gaps.

In practice, only 33% of domestic workers in the region truly have access to at least one branch of social security. Of the nine social security contingencies, domestic workers are most frequently excluded from unemployment schemes. Despite the decision of the governments, workers' and employers’ organizations of the 187 ILO Member States to make ‘a safe and healthy working environment’ a fundamental principle and right at work, not all EU Member States have ratified the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, No. 155 and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, No. 187, and domestic workers are regularly excluded from national legislation in this area.

Almost 67% of domestic workers in Europe and Central Asia are informally employed. Of these, 97% work informally due to gaps in implementation of applicable laws and compliance. Ms Hobden explained that domestic workers tend to be more affected by implementation gaps due to the specific characteristics of their work, which are often reflected in the design of the legal framework. For example, domestic workers often work very short or long hours, both of which are closely associated with informality. In some cases, this informal status is because laws only apply to domestic workers working above certain thresholds. Other gaps are driven by a social norm of non-compliance: domestic work remains undervalued and not fully recognised as work.

In order to tackle these issues, there is a need to close both legal and implementation gaps, through for example, the recognition of domestic work as work with rights at least as favourable as those of other workers, the elimination of thresholds, empowering the labour inspectorate to promote compliance, and ensuring that social security is affordable and desirable. In particular, Ms Hobden emphasised that the ILO favours an inclusive approach that extends existing schemes to cover domestic workers, and highlighted the creation of a culture of decent work.