GENEVA, 14 March 2016 (ILO): Sixty million of the world’s 67 million domestic workers – 80 per cent of whom are women – lack access to any kind of social security coverage, according to a new report prepared by the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO).
“Most of their work is undervalued and unprotected, when domestic workers become old or injured, they are fired, without a pension or adequate income support. This can and must be redressed (kompenseret – få bedre vilkår),” explained Isabel Ortiz, Director of the ILO Social Protection Department.
She spoke launching the report, “Social protection for domestic workers: Key policy trends and statistics”.
Domestic work is considered a sector that is difficult to cover, partly because work is performed in private households and frequently for more than one employer. The occupation is also characterized by high job turnover, frequent in-kind payments (udbetaling i naturalier), irregular wages and a lack of formal work contracts.
“Given that it is predominantly a female workforce highly subject to discrimination as well as social and economic vulnerability, policies to extend social protection to domestic workers are key elements in the fight against poverty and the promotion of gender equality,” said Philippe Marcadent, Chief of the ILO’s Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch.
While the largest gaps in social security coverage for domestic work are concentrated in developing countries – with Asia and Latin America representing 68 per cent of domestic workers worldwide – the study finds that social protection deficits for domestic workers also persist in some industrialized countries.
In Italy, for example, some 60 per cent of domestic workers are not registered with, or contributing to, social security systems. In Spain and France, 30 per cent of domestic workers are excluded from social security coverage.
Social security is a human right for all
Sådan definerer ILO husligt arbejde
Domestic work is defined as work performed in a private household in the framework of a work relationship through which the employed person receives remuneration (godtgørelse /vederlag).
A domestic worker may work on a full-time or part-time basis; may be employed by a single household or by multiple employers; may reside in the household of the employer (live-in) or may live in his or her own residence (live-out) or work in a foreign country.
A key characteristic of this employment relationship is that the employer has no economic gain or commercial interest associated with the tasks the worker performs.
Domestic work entails tasks such as cleaning the house, cooking, washing and ironing clothes, taking care of children, elderly or sick members of a family, gardening, guarding the house, driving for the family, and even taking care of household pets (ILO, 2011b).
In general, domestic workers perform more than one of these activities in their workplace. Domestic work has traditionally been characterized by poor working conditions, long hours, low wages, forced labour and little or no social protection (ILO, 2012c).
In other words, domestic workers are exposed to conditions that are far from the concept of decent work promoted by the ILO. This situation largely reflects the low social and economic value societies usually place on this activity. This is often reflected by the absence of adequate laws and the lack of effective enforcement of those that do exist.
