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Decent Work for Household and Domestic Workers in Jamaica - Presentation to ILO Conference on Domestic Workers

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by IDWFED published May 30, 2010 12:00 AM
Contributors: Shirley Pryce, President of Jamaica Household Workers Association,
The Jamaica Household Workers’ Association welcomes this effort to secure a new ILO Convention as it is a step towards better international protection of the rights of domestic workers. We agree with the ILO that”This is an historic advance in the fight on behalf of millions of domestic workers who today face widespread exploitation and are prevented from enjoying decent working conditions. ” (ILO)

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Interview, Panel, Presentation

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The Jamaica Household Workers' Association published a presentation on the 2010 ILO Conference.

Excerpt:

Situation of Household Workers in Jamaica

Domestic workers are the backbone of the Jamaican society and our jobs are very important to the development of our country. Our work, though sometimes invisible and seen by many as not important, supports thousands of men and women to go to work to support the economy and children to go to school to get an education to support the future development of the country.

For years we have been clamouring for change and our burning issues remain the same. To-date there has been little improvement in our wages, and working conditions. Because of this situation, we are very pleased that the ILO has seen it fit to support a Domestic Workers Convention in 2010 and to promote a Decent Work Agenda for Domestic Workers.

This presentation has therefore been prepared though meetings and consultations with our members and partner organisations. We are fighting for the recognition of Domestic Workers as workers and to enjoy and exercise our rights like all other categories of workers. We are also fighting for our recognition as women workers because Jamaican women and men do not have equality in the labour market. We are concentrated in occupations like domestic work that provide lower wages and poor working conditions. Thousands of Jamaican women are employed as domestic workers but relatively few are registered with our organisation. This presentation shares some of our experiences and explains why we fully support this new ILO Convention.

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