Latest Updates
Global: International Domestic Workers Day June 16 2017, the IDWF calls for "All for one, One for all: Dignity and Decent Work for all National, Migrant and Refugee Domestic Workers"
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 17, 2017 10:20 PMIn 2017, 21.3 million people worldwide are refugees displaced from their homelands. One of the few employment options available to women (and girl) refugees, who account for 50 per cent of this population, is domestic work. The sector – loosely regulated and with limited barriers to entry – attracts many refugees who otherwise find it difficult to obtain work permits and to have their degrees and qualifications recognized.
USA: Nevada Becomes the 8th State to Pass a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 25, 2017 09:43 PMOn June 12, 2017, Nevada passed Domestic Worker Bill of Rights SB 232 into law!
Global: 2017 June 16 Resources Highlight
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 21, 2017 06:08 PMIn honor of International Domestic Workers Day (IDWD) we want to share these resources:
Latin America: Migrant Domestic Workers in Latin America
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 13, 2017 12:12 AMInternational Domestic Workers Day is a celebration of a movement that seeks to secure the rights of this growing but generally hidden workforce. IDWF and its affiliates, together with a global network of organizations that work to protect migrant workers, join forces and develop different actions, services, research and resources in their efforts to guarantee the human rights of all domestic workers; independently of their nationality or immigration status.
India: The flip side of development – displacement and migration
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 12, 2017 02:35 PMMore and more of us work on migration or with migrant workers these days. We also know that the migrant workers get the worst deal even in sectors where other local workers may have more decent working conditions.
Europe: IDWF at the ILO
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 14, 2017 07:07 PMSeveral IDWF leaders from the ExCo, staff, and affiliates are participating now in the International Labour Conference discussions on labour migration, governance, and fair recruitment, ensuring the realities and needs of migrant domestic workers are addressed. Of particular concern are undocumented migrant workers, among them many domestic workers.
Belgium: IDWF receiving the Sr Jeanne Devos Award
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 28, 2017 06:29 PMIDWF received the Sr. Jeanne Devos Award 2017 from the ACV-CSC Service Union at its 32nd Congress in June this year.
USA: "When there is an extreme power imbalance, people—particularly women—are vulnerable to slavery."
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 13, 2017 12:35 AMLast month an article entitled “My Family's Slave,” published in the magazine The Atlantic, went viral on social media in the US and Philippines. The article was written by a man whose family enslaved a domestic worker for decades.
Uganda: Ugandan Migrant Domestic Workers - Challenges and organizing successes
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 12, 2017 11:04 PMIn 2016 HTS-Union (UHFTAWU) ran radio campaigns on domestic workers that was not limited to locals, but also migrant domestic workers. As a result over 67 local domestic workers have contacted the union for assistance and guidance while migrant domestic workers have been rescued from forced labour and abusive employment.
Spain: Sign Petition for C189 Ratification
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 12, 2017 11:58 PMThe campaign for C189 ratification is underway in Spain, by Grupo Turin. Please sign this petition to lend our international support!
India: "Unity is power" - Residents of Mumbai gated complex sack domestic workers who protested "rate card"
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 05, 2017 04:28 PMAround 200 workers staged a three-day strike after residents of a development in Chandivali unilaterally fixed wages at a level they believed was unfair.
Senegal: Conference of domestic unions On the Ratification Strategy of Convention C189
— by IDWFED — last modified May 31, 2017 11:09 PMUnder the auspices of the trade unions of domestic workers, a conference on the strategy to be adopted for the ratification of Convention C189 was held on Saturday 20 May 2017 at the Douta SECK Cultural House.
Indonesia: Respecting the role of Domestic Workers in Indonesia through Legal Protection
— by IDWFED — last modified May 18, 2017 05:22 PMThe perception of domestic work as easy and not valuable must change. The absence of legal protection for DWs allows employers to hire DWs for as low a wage as possible. There is an urgent need to formalize this relationship between employer and domestic worker, and to implement specific laws to protect the rights of DWs, since both employer and DWs are mutually in need of one other.
IDWF Statement on the May Day 2017: Uniting for a World of Democracy, Human Rights and Social Justice for all
— by IDWFED — last modified May 01, 2017 01:34 AMInternational Workers' Day, celebrated on the First of May, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world.
Asia: IDWF piloted a strategic planning Training-of-Trainers, followed by a 3-month practicum
— by IDWFED — last modified May 02, 2017 01:22 PMIDWF piloted a strategic planning Training-of-Trainers in Asia, followed by a 3-month practicum where participants put what they had learned into practice in their organizations.
Global: IDWF - Winner of the South Korean TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE AWARD 2017
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 21, 2017 05:24 PMIDWF won the 20th TJI HAKSOON Justice & Peace Award, by THE BISHOP TJI HAKSOON JUSTICE & PEACE FOUNDATION based in S. Korea. IDWF was awarded in recognition of its work to promote Domestic Workers’ right over the world.
USA: Kids to Trump: Stop Deportations!
— by IDWFED — last modified May 02, 2017 02:08 PMThe National Domestic Workers Alliance was one of the main organizers for a kids caravan and week of action for immigrant rights.
Global: The contradictions of contemporary au pair schemes
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 14, 2017 11:30 PMNot all au pairs are exploited, but they do all carry out domestic work in conditions that have been identified as encouraging maltreatment. Recognising them as workers is a first step towards ensuring their fair treatment, but it is only a first step.
Jamaica: "I slept in the dog house because I wanted to go to school", says Shirley Pryce
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 16, 2017 04:06 PMShirley Pryce, formerly a domestic worker herself, advocates for domestic workers’ rights in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. Globally The memory of her employers locking her out at night because she wanted to go to evening classes stays haunts her to date. Following Jamaica’s ratification of the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers, Pryce is advocating for a national law to protect the rights of domestic workers.
Jamaica: Promo audio for the coming interview with Shirley Pryce
— by IDWFED — last modified May 11, 2017 01:40 PM"This Sunday we meet the queen of the pack - MS. SHIRLEY PRYCE, Founder and President of the Jamaica Household Workers Union, and her own story is phenomenal."
Latin America: IDWF Regional meeting and CONLACTRAHO Congress
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 29, 2017 11:11 PMIDWF Regional meeting, Santiago de Chile, March 24-25 and CONLACTRAHO Congress and workshop on GBV, Mar 26-30.
Jamaica: Domestic workers entitled to eight weeks of maternity leave
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 07, 2017 06:30 PMDomestic workers can claim for maternity leave allowance for a maximum period of eight weeks.
Italy: FILCAMS CGIL "The YES of Women"
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 05, 2017 05:25 PMFilcams cgil along with three other "categories" have organized an event called "The yes of Women" and there were more than 2000 women attended. IDWF EXCO member Wendy Paula Garlaza Quinonez had the opportunity to speak on behalf of domestic workers in Italy and in Europe.
Lebanon: My Fair Home - Launch at FENASOL
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 03, 2017 11:37 PMIn March 2017, the National Federation of Employees' and Workers' Unions in Lebanon (FENASOL) joined the My Fair Home Campaign, an initiative of the International Domestic Workers Federation and the International Labour Organization. FENASOL affiliates from various Lebanese unions took the pledge to respect domestic workers' rights in their own homes.
Uzbekistan: International campaign wins release for Uzbekistan rights defender Elena Urlaeva
— by IDWFED — last modified Mar 28, 2017 06:01 PMElena Urlaeva was released on March 24 after 23 days of forced psychiatric "treatment", a success for the international campaign.
Bahrain: Trade Unions joined the My Fair Home campaign
— by IDWFED — last modified May 02, 2017 01:57 PMIn collaboration with the ILO’s FAIRWAY Project, the General Federation of Bahraini Trade Unions joined the My Fair Home campaign.
Guinea: President signed the Ratification of the Convention 189
— by IDWFED — last modified Mar 28, 2017 05:17 PMOn March 22, 2017, the President of the Republic of Guinea, His Excellency Professor ALPHA CONDÉ, Head of State, signed the Ratification of the Convention 189 relating to Domestic Workers pursuant to Law / 2016 / N ° 073 / AN of December 30, 2016.
Antigua: Lower House approves amendments to two key labour laws
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 06, 2017 06:19 PMThe Lower House of Parliament has appproved amendments to two critical pieces of law, which speak to the rights of workers and their right to be protected.
Antigua: Passed law on Workplace Inspection for Domestic Workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 11, 2017 05:34 PMThe Lower House of Parliament has appproved amendments to two critical pieces of law, which speak to the rights of workers and their right to be protected.
Global: IDWF delegates at the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2017
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 29, 2017 11:35 PMIDWF delegates bringing the voices of domestic workers to the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2017.