Latest Updates
USA: NDWA Applauds Appeals Court Decision Granting Two Million Home Care Workers Basic Rights
— by IDWFED — last modified Oct 13, 2015 05:37 PMSecuring Basic Protections for Home Care Workers Is Crucial to Strengthening Critical, Growing Workforce
Hong Kong: Filmmakers launch crowdfunding campaign to pay tribute to the city's unsung heroes --- domestic workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 25, 2015 05:12 PMFilmmakers, Joanna Bowers and Tony Verb, are raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign to porduce a documentary which will pay tribute to these women called THE HELPER.
Hong Kong: Migrant Domestic Workers Tell Their Stories
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 13, 2015 09:41 PMHear the stories from a Thai and a Nepalese domestic worker: their struggles and successes.
Global: Introducing Final 2015 Fairness Award Honoree - Myrtle Witbooi
— by IDWFED — last modified Nov 03, 2015 02:38 PMThe Global Fairness Initiative just announced that Myrtle Witbooi, a leading labor rights activist on behalf of Domestic Workers, will be honored with the 2015 Fairness Award. Ms. Witbooi is the General Secretary of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) and the first president of the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF). A former domestic worker during apartheid South Africa, her leadership helped secure passage of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers (C. 189), marking unprecedented involvement of informal women workers in the ILO standard-setting process.
Italy: Course On Decent Work for Domestic Workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 10, 2015 02:14 PMCourse on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Oct. 26-30, 2015 at the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC/ILO) in Turin, Italy. Offered in English and Arabic. Scholarships available for those who qualify.
Bangladesh: Human chain against torture on domestic workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Dec 22, 2015 02:36 PMOn Aug 6, Domestic Workers Rights Network- DWRN Bangladesh organized a Human chain against torture on domestic workers.
Macau: "Blue card" for non‑resident domestic workers automatically renewed
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 19, 2015 05:01 PMThe work permit, known as a blue card, for non-resident domestic workers will be automatically renewed from August on, the Human Resources Office of the Government announced on Saturday.
Bangladesh: Domestic workers need the law on their side
— by ASM Ali Ashraf — last modified Jun 20, 2016 09:03 PMMore than 2 million poor women and children are employed as domestic workers in Bangladesh. It is a harsh reality that they operate in a legal and policy vacuum, a result of the national labour laws of 2006 and 2013, both of which exclude domestic workers from legal coverage.
Threatened, assaulted, trapped: Asia's treatment of domestic workers laid bare
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 27, 2015 09:30 PM"In some places, they earn as little as $9 a month. In others, they don't earn any salaries at all, so they are really like slaves," said Elizabeth Tang, General Secretary of the International Domestic Workers Federation.
National Union of Domestic Workers of Trinidad and Tobago fighting for the rights of domestic workers
— by Sofia Trevino — last modified May 16, 2016 05:09 PMThe National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE) of Trinidad and Tobago is campaigning to secure recognition for domestic workers as workers under the Industrial Relations Act, organizing around a Caribbean-wide project to promote freedom of movement for domestic workers and promoting the ratification of Convention 189 (the Domestic Workers Convention) of the International Labor Organization.
Global: EC-ILO cooperation brings better life for migrant domestic workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Nov 13, 2015 09:22 PMThe EU-funded Global Action Project on Migrant Domestic Workers expands knowledge on the challenges that domestic workers face, advocates for their rights, encourages policy and legislative reform, and supports organization and advocacy through pilot interventions in five migration corridors.
Advocates, lawmakers push for better system to handle complaints by Hong Kong's foreign domestic workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 21, 2015 06:25 PMDomestic worker advocacy groups and lawmakers urged the government to establish a platform to process enquiries and complaints from workers and employers, as they criticised the current system for failing to encourage abused workers to make complaints and for providing insufficient support to complainants.
Portugal has officially ratified C189
— by IDWFED — last modified Aug 11, 2015 10:02 PMPortugal has officially ratified C189! We now have 22 countries on the list!
Shooting for the Stars: Hong Kong domestic workers discover their hidden talent for photography
— by IDWFED — last modified Apr 05, 2017 05:14 PM"Every holiday [day off], I always bring my camera. Even on weekdays [when] I cannot go out, or sick days stay when I stay at home, I take indoor photos," says Sinna, an Indonesian domestic worker in Hong Kong. Her photos will be exhibited. See SCMP reports
Statement in support of POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac by International Domestic Workers Federation
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 23, 2015 03:54 PMIDWF affirms its strong support of Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac in upholding and protecting the rights of Filipino migrant workers through effective regulation and monitoring of recruitment agencies and deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers.
Sri Lanka: Domestic workers lack legal protection DWU Joint Secy. Ananthi Sivasubramaniam
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 14, 2015 02:07 PMJoint Secretary of the Domestic Workers Union (DWU) Ananthi Sivasubramaniam spoke to Ceylon Today about the plight faced by the domestic workers, the lack of legal protection for domestics, the government's ignorance of the ground realities faced by them and most importantly the need for a legal framework encompassing a system of contracts involving the employer, the employee and the Labour Department whilst expanding the mandate of the Labour Department along with specifying a minimum wage.
UK: Myrtle Witbooi presenting at the Global Labour Institute on issues surrounding organising informal workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Nov 02, 2015 09:30 PMOrganising Informal Workers – panel debate between organisers of informal workers, led by questions from the floor.
Global: For many domestic workers, co-ops hold the key to decent work
— by IDWFED — last modified Nov 13, 2015 09:19 PMAs domestic workers launch their efforts to establish their cooperatives, it will no doubt be crucial for the workers’ and cooperative movements as well as governments to provide them with the support they need.
Sri Lanka: DWU Protests Agaist Rape by Supreme Court Judge
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 14, 2015 09:47 PMDomestic Workers' Union, Sri Lanka, protested against the rape by Supreme Court Judge Sarath De Abrew. On 2 July 2015, In Solidarity with other unions and organizations, they handed in petition letter to the Chairman of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.
Kuwait: New Law a Breakthrough for Domestic Workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Sep 20, 2017 04:51 PMGuarantees Crucial Rights, but Gaps Remain
USA: Scenes From Domestic Worker Organizing
— by IDWFED — last modified Sep 20, 2017 06:34 PM"I am a home care worker, and I save lives. So why am I paid poverty wages?"
Singapore: A Part Of The Family?
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 07, 2015 06:36 PMHOME argues that ill treatment of domestic workers goes beyond physical, sexual and psychological abuse.
The unstoppable domestic workers' movement: winning labour rights and protections for 15 million domestic workers
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 07, 2015 06:36 PMIn the past few years a political and moral shift has occurred among growing numbers of political leaders which has secured rights and protections for 15 million domestic workers today. Their lives have improved by shifting away from unprotected and exploitative jobs to ones protected by labour laws.
Lebanon: Domestic Workers Need the Protection of a Union
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 07, 2015 06:36 PMWomen migrant domestic workers – who make up the majority of domestic workers – face additional discrimination in the legal system. The Kafala (guardianship) system, enforced in Lebanon and the Gulf monarchies, ties the domestic foreign worker to a specific employer; the worker becomes illegal should she quit her employer, placing the worker in a particularly vulnerable situation.
India: On Domestic Workers Day, millions of Indian women continue to work in the shadows
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 07, 2015 06:36 PM“Dogs and Indians not allowed,” proclaimed a notorious 1930s signboard at the Pahartali European Club in the Chittagong region of India (now in Bangladesh), when the country was under British rule. Today, in the 21st century, in recreational and residential spaces throughout Indian cities, there’s an invisible sign which says: “No domestic workers allowed”.
South Africa: Myrtle Witbooi, President of IDWF on the Importance of C189
— by IDWFED — last modified Nov 13, 2015 09:21 PMWatch Witbooi discuss the importance of C189 and how the Convention can have an impact on the lives of domestic workers.
Thailand: Domestic Workers' Access to Justice and Compensation Exchange
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 31, 2015 04:57 PMOn Sunday 14 June 2015, The Network of Domestic Workers in Thailand, HomeNet and the ILO hosted the Domestic Workers’ Access to Justice and Compensation Exchange event in celebration of Domestic Workers Day (16 June).
In Pakistan, domestic workers rally for rights
— by IDWFED — last modified Jul 13, 2015 05:22 PMIn urban slums and shanty settlements, particularly in Pakistan, women face a range of difficulties, such as insecure housing, informal jobs, plus the double burden of household chores and access to resources. The interrelationship between culture, gender and urbanization is a complex one, where women are the poorest of the poor, because of the non-conducive urban environment.
Chile ratifies the Domestic Workers Convention
— by IDWFED — last modified Jun 17, 2015 05:06 PMChile is the nineteenth ILO member State and the tenth member State from the Latin and Central American region to ratify this instrument.
Belgium ratifies the C189
— by IDWFED — last modified Sep 11, 2015 04:42 PMThe CSC, the FGTB and CGSLB welcomed the June 10 filing today by the Minister Kris Peeters of Belgium's ratification instruments for Conventions 189 and 159 of the ILO on decent work for domestic workers and rehabilitation professional and employment of disabled people.