Update No. 3 - 100th ILC - Geneva, Switzerland

EU, INDIA AND EMPLOYERS' ATTEMPTS TO WATER DOWN CONVENTION ALL FAILED

June 4 & 6, 2011

As the tripartite sessions of the Committee on Domestic Workers continue to deliberate on the proposed amendments on the draft text of the convention, several attempts were made by governments and employers to weaken the convention but all failed.

The first attempt was initiated by the European Union last Saturday, the 4th day of the 100th Session of the International Labour Conference and the 3rd day of the tripartite deliberation by the committee on domestic workers.

The EU submitted a proposal to delete the whole Article 6 including its sub-paragraphs which refer to the information that are to be given to the domestic workers preferably in a written contract.

Instead, the EU proposed to replace it with three sub-paragraphs which (1) gave blanket “flexibility” to employers by inserting the words “reasonable time” for notification of workers on the provisions of employment, (2) inserted an exclusion clause on the basis of very vague terms like “certain limited cases of employment relations” and “when it is justified on objective grounds”, and (3) removed all the clearly identified information that are required in notifying the workers (i.e. name and address of employer and worker, type of worked to be performed, remuneration, hours of work, period of contract, provisions of food and accommodation, terms of repatriation and terms concerning employment termination).

Except for India, this proposal failed to get the support of the governments and even the employers’ group.

After intense and lengthy debate, the EU was forced to withdraw the proposal. Along the way, the workers’ group even managed to insert another item to Article No. 6 on the “address of workplace or workplaces”.

The committee ended the day’s session by adopting articles 5 to 8 of the draft convention.

Today, June 6, the deliberations went terribly slow after the employers proposed to delete the Article No. 9 (1)(a) that refers to a provision allowing the domestic workers to freely negotiate whether to reside or not in the household of the employer.

Deliberation on this particular proposal almost took the whole morning session. Finally, a compromise was reached with minor reformulations that are acceptable to all parties but with the sense and intent of the sub-paragraph intact.

When the session resumed, it was again bogged down by an amendment again by the EU, this time suggesting replacing the whole text of Article No. 10 (1) with a reformulated version but inserted the words “shall promote, as far as possible” replacing “shall take measures to ensure” referring to normal hours of work, overtime compensation, periods of daily and weekly rest and paid annual leave which weakened the whole sub paragraph and making it essentially useless.

The proposal also added the terms “taking into account the special characteristics of domestic work” in the end of the paragraph making it open to unwarranted “flexibility” by governments at the expense of the workers’ rights.

To make the matter worst, the employer proposed to sub-amend the EU’s amendment by deleting “overtime compensation” triggering strong oppositions from the workers’ group and other sympathetic regional government blocks like the Africa group and the GRULAC (Latin America and Caribbean).

The committee chairman was forced to call for a recess and requested the vice chairs of workers and employers to approache his bench for a caucus. Meanwhile, government groupings used the time to hold their own caucuses while the workers’ approached their respective governments to lobby support for the workers’ group position.

When the session resumed, the EU agreed to remove the terms “shall promote, as far as possible” and replaced it with “take measures towards ensuring” which made the workers and other governments comfortable.

Before the session ended, India and the employers’ group again attempted to bring down the other two important provisions of Article No. 10 by proposing to delete sub-paragraphs nos. 2 (weekly rest of not less than 24 consecutive hours) and 3 (periods on which domestic workers are on standby be regarded as working hours).

Both proposals were rejected by the workers and failed to get the support of other governments. Article No. 10 was finally adopted with minor amendments.

Finally, the session for the day ended with the record-breaking adoption of Article No. 11 in just one minute after the workers’ group withdrew its amendment, the only one for this article.

The session was adjourned at 9:30 in the evening.#

Report by Eman C. Villanueva, Vice Chairperson of the Filipino Migrant Workers' Union (FMWU) in Hong Kong and the representative of the UFDWR and the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body (AMCB) to the 100th ILC in Geneva.

Update No. 2 - 100th ILC - Geneva, Switzerland

COMMITTEE DELIBERATION AND ADOPTION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS - ILC 2011, DAY 3

June 3, 2011

The day started with the all workers meeting of the committee on domestic workers. This is the usual practice of the workers – to meet and consolidate the group’s position on each propose amendment so that the group’s spokesperson can articulate this during the tripartite deliberations.

Day 3 is particularly crucial as this is where the title and the preamble of the draft convention were discussed and subsequently adopted by the tripartite committee on domestic workers. Meanwhile, the committee has also adopted articles 1 to 4 with no major departure from the text of the “Blue Report”.

In so far as the title, preamble and articles that were agreed upon, we can say that the workers’ position has been getting relatively good support from the governments and in several instances, even from the employers’ group.

The fact that the tripartite deliberation generally speaking is a consensus building process where compromises on the part of all three parties are sometimes or oftentimes necessary, it is important to note that the workers’ group has yet to give any major compromise.

In fact, one major achievement of the workers’ group was the adoption by the tripartite committee of a workers’ group proposed amendment on Article No. 3 by adding another paragraph that further strengthens the clause on the rights of domestic workers (and employers of domestic workers) to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

While the exact proposal of the workers’ group did not get through, it successfully convinced the employers and the governments to accept the addition of the full text of the Article 2.b (combined into one paragraph) of the draft Recommendations as an additional paragraph under Article 3 of the draft Convention after a lengthy discussion.

The Chairman of the committee adjourned the tripartite session by 9:30 PM.

Tomorrow, June 4, the Committee on Domestic Workers will resume its session by 11:00 AM starting with the proposed amendments on Article 5 of the draft convention.

We hope that the workers’ initial gains will continue.

Report by Eman C. Villanueva, Vice Chairperson of the Filipino Migrant Workers' Union (FMWU) in Hong Kong and the representative of the UFDWR and the Asian Migrants' Coordinating Body (AMCB) to the 100th ILC in Geneva.

Update No. 1 - 100th ILC - Geneva, Switzerland

OPENING CEREMONY/DAY 1 AND DAY 2
June 1-2, 2011

The 100th International Labour Conference with the theme “Building a future with decent work” officially opened on Wednesday, 1 June 2011. Addressing some 3000 government, employer and worker delegates,ILO DG Juan Somavia emphasised on the new era of social justice.

Special guest, Finnish President Tarja Halonen cited the “absence of social justice” in the world, and said the ILO’s “values and policies are needed more than ever to create “a world with fewer tensions, greater fairness and strengthened security.”

In the afternoon, before the meeting on the Committee on Domestic Workers, the Workers’ Group met to discuss Art 1-9 of the Convention on Domestic Workers.

The Committee on Domestic Workers met at 3.30pm. Hans Cacdac, Deputy Minister of Labour, Philippines was elected unopposed as the Chairperson of the Domestic Workers Committee. Halimah Yaacob was elected as the Vice Chairperson of the Workers' Group and Paul Mackay was elected as the Vice Chairperson for the Employers’ Group.

Twenty-three Governments presented their preliminary statements where some expressed concerns of the descriptiveness and rigidity of the wordings of the Convention which would be difficult to implement in the national levels. (Malaysia was not amongst these governments)

It was most welcoming to hear Indonesia and Morocco who had not supported the Convention last year, change their positions to support the Convention.

On Thursday, 2 June 2011, the Workers’ Group met at 10-11 am to discuss Art 10-15 with emphasis on discrimination, young domestic workers and payment of wages in kind.

At the 11am session of the Committee on Domestic Workers, 5 Civil Society Groups (including 2 domestic workers) were given 20 minutes to present their statements on better protection for domestic workers. The employers made a positive statement favouring the Convention supported by a Recommendation. However, the employers were concerned that the Convention would not be meaningful if it is too flexible. This may result in major provisions for domestic workers being excluded from the international labour standards.

The Workers’ Group Chairperson concluded the session by stating that many governments have been motivated to establish/amend national legislations for the better protection of domestic workers. For example the UAE which has developed a model contract.

More updates tomorrow!!


Malaysian workers' representatives at the ILC 2011

Parimala N
Mohammad Harun Al Rashid
Glorene Das
Sumitha Shaanthinni Kishna

Photo courtesy of Eman C. Villanueva, UFDWR delegate to the ILC.

(2 June 2011, 3.45pm - Geneva, Switzerland)

ILO Director General Juan Somavia in his report to the opening of the 100th Session of the International Labor Conference (ILC) in Geneva

Thank you for supporting domestic workers!

APWLD would like to thank all those organisations and individuals who signed up or endorsed our letter to ministers of the Indonesian and Malaysian governments. We have a total of 259 individual and 112 organisational endorsements. Fingers crossed that the governments vote for the adoption of the Convention and Recommendation on decent work for domestic workers at the International Labour Convention next month. Updates will be posted on this site.

Colombo Process on Mirgrant Workers focuses on domestic work

The 4th Colombo Process Ministerial Meeting concluded in Dhaka on Thursday, this year it had a focus on domestic workers. A 'Dhaka Declaration' was unanimously adopted containing an eight-point recommendation to promote rights, welfare and dignity of migrant workers. The things it calls for are standard and rather general such as "ensuring promotion and protection of the rights of all migrant workers and their families including their social and economic rights as well as improving the welfare and dignity of the workers, especially women," and "effectively addressing the specific concerns of vulnerable groups of migrant workers especially women, domestic workers, low-skill and low-wage workers". It is also non-binding. 

It was attended by 11 nations, but Burma was absent. Jackie Pollock of the Thailand-based Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) a member of UFDWR, said that “it has been deliberate policy [from the Burmese government] because they haven’t acknowledged the vast majority who left the country. As far as the Burmese are concerned, they didn’t exist”. She said the government was afraid “because if they really start talking to migrants and providing services then they have to talk about people’s rights and protecting them, and if they do that overseas then they have to do that at home”. For more see DVB article.

 

Urgent Appeal for Decent Work for Domestic Workers

Dear friends, DW organizations/unions/network, trade unions/network, women, human rights, labour,  organizations/networks

Greetings of solidarity from Jala PRT Indonesia,

Sisters and brothers, on 15th February 2011, we in Indonesia will commemorate the 5th Indonesian Domestic Workers Day since the day was launched in 2007. The background to this Domestic Workers Day surrounds the case of 14 year-old domestic worker Sunarsih, who was assaulted by her employer leading to her death in 2001, in the city of Surabaya.

Every year fellow domestic workers, domestic workers organizations and unions and the domestic workers network - JALA PRT - together with organizations and trade unions: KSBSI, KSPI, KSPSI, FSPMI, women's organizations that are concerned with the issue of domestic workers, commemorate DOMESTIC WORKERS DAY and remind the state, especially the Government and Parliament, about their continued failure to provide protection and to fulfil the rights of domestic workers. The momentum of this day is also used to campaign publicly on the importance of household work and domestic workers. In Indonesia, where the community is extremely dependent on the role and work of domestic workers, many employers and their families would be unable to work and do other activities if there were no domestic workers, for example during Eid el Fitri holidays when domestic workers usually return home to their village.

This 5th anniversary means that 10 years has passed since the death of Sunarsih, yet there has been no change with regards to the protection of domestic workers in Indonesia. As we know, Indonesia is a   country with one of largest numbers of domestic workers, including 10 million local domestic workers and six million migrant domestic workers. Ten years has passed but may other “Sunarsih” incidents still continue to occur and have even increased.

At the end of 2010, the Indonesian Parliament had planned to discuss the draft law on the Protection of Domestic Workers in 2010. However the plan was then abandoned. Similar to the Indonesian Parliament, the Government also does not seem to have the political will to pass a domestic workers law, and does not support an ILO Convention for the protection of domestic workers that was discussed during the 99th Session of the ILC (International Labour Conference) from 3 to 18 June 2010 in Geneva. The Government of Indonesia, as the country with the largest number of domestic workers in Asia and well as in the world, should be very concerned about the protection of domestic workers, yet it did not support the Convention. This attitude of the Indonesian Government and Parliament has allowed for the systematic violation of the rights of domestic workers.

Therefore we need to continue to advocate and collectively urge the Government and Parliament to take responsibility for the protection of domestic workers by deliberating and implementing a Domestic Workers Protection Act and support the establishment of the ILO Convention and Recommendations concerning decent work for domestic workers and ratify it.

Considering the situation of domestic workers, and the opportunities and momentum this Domestic Workers Day brings in Indonesia, we would like to invite our fellow friends, brothers and sisters, domestic workes organization/union, trade unions, women's organizations and various human rights, and workers organizations, networks to join together and urge the Government and Parliament, by writing and sending a Letter of Appeal, in support and in solidarity with Indonesian domestic workers to encourage the Government and the Parliament to immediately pass the Domestic Workers Bill and support the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers at the 100th Session of the ILC in June 2011.

Please send your letter of solidarity via email to jala_prt@yahoo.com.

We conclude by conveying our gratitude for your spirit and solidarity.

In Solidarity:

-     JALA PRT (National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy)

-     Serikat PRT Tunas Mulia (Tunas Mulia Domestic Workers Union)

-     Kongres Operata Yogyakarta

-     Organisasi Pekerja Rumah Tangga Teratai Medan (Teratai Domestic Workers Organization from Medan)

-     Organisasi Pekerja Rumah Tangga Merdeka Semarang (Merdeka Domestic Workers Organization  from Semarang)

-     Persatuan Pekerja Rumah Tangga Jakarta (Domestic Workers Unity from Jakarta)

-     Komite Aksi Pekerja Rumah Tangga (Domestic Workers Action Committee): KSBSI, KSPI, KSPSI, FSPMI, SBMI

-     Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development