Almost all of us are familiar with the plight of domestic workers. In our own houses, we see them working relentlessly; cleaning, washing, shopping, cooking, fetching water, and caring for the sick, the elderly, and our children. Sometimes, they even look after our domestic animals.
Though they are decent workers and make a significant contribution to the GDP, as well as to the global economy, they are excluded from the formal workforce. Unfortunately, domestic work is yet to be recognised as a formal sector. And thus, they are denied labour rights. This exclusion is, indubitably, a severe breach of their human rights.
According to an ILO study: “Domestic work is one of the oldest and most important occupations for millions of women around the world. It is rooted in the global history of slavery, colonialism, and other forms of servitude ... in contemporary society, care work at home is vital for the economy outside the household to function. In the past two decades, demand for care work has been on the rise everywhere ... domestic work, nonetheless, is undervalued and poorly regulated, and many domestic workers remain overworked, underpaid, and unprotected. Accounts of maltreatment and abuse, especially of live-in and migrant domestic workers, are regularly denounced in the media.”
In many countries, including Bangladesh, domestic work is, to a great extent, performed by child labourers. Domestic work does not take place in a factory or in an office, but in the home. They do not work together with others, but in isolation, behind closed doors. This puts them in a very vulnerable position. They may be subjected to different forms of harassment or violence. Sometimes they are locked inside, beaten, and sexually abused, caught in the nightmare of modern slavery.
Historically, domestic work has been perceived as something other than regular employment, as not fitting the general framework of existing labour laws, resulting in a “master-servant” relationship. Traditionally, it has been considered “women’s work” and its outcome is invisible, as it mostly involves minding the household and caring for children. As a result, domestic work is not specifically addressed in many legislative enactments, and thus, is undervalued in monetary terms and is often informal and un-documented.
Currently, there are at least 63 million domestic workers worldwide, including 10 million children, and this number is increasing steadily in developing countries. Most of these children are unde-raged. According to a study by UNICEF and ILO, there are around 2 million domestic workers, including more than 450,000 child servants, in Bangladesh. Among them, around 150,000 workers are employed in different households in Dhaka.
Deplorable working conditions, labour exploitation, and human right abuses of the domestic workers are only some of the major problems that plague the average household staff. Here, domestic workers are treated as slaves.
They are rebuked, beaten severely for trivial matters, sometimes to death, burned with red-hot rods or spoons; some have been known to have boiled water poured over them, even children. The abuse suffered by the city’s domestic workers make headlines in the media, and sometimes, the employers are arrested, but they are rarely punished, as existing laws are far from sufficient.
On the other hand, domestic workers are reluctant to report abuse for fear of being thrown out. They are trapped in a cycle of exploitation. Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) reports that, this year, from January to March, 7 domestic workers have died due to physical torture by employers, of whom four workers were aged 18 or below. One of them was a minor, aged between 7-12.
They are treated as animals by employers and households. The live-in workers have to work up to 19 hours a day. Some are under-paid and some not paid at all. They are given low quality or rotten food and have to sleep in the kitchen or on the floor, with no basic amenities such as mattresses and mosquito nets.
In Bangladesh, the existing laws do not do justice to the migrant domestic workers. They are ignored by the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006. Bangladesh has not yet ratified ILO’s Convention 189.
On June 16, 2011, Convention 189 was adopted by ILO concerning decent work for domestic workers. This day has since then been observed as International Domestic Workers’ Day. The convention recognised the significant contribution of domestic workers to the global economy, which includes increasing paid job opportunities for women and men workers with family responsibilities, greater scope for caring for aging population, children and persons with a disabilities, and substantial income transfers within and between countries.
It also considered that domestic workers constitute a significant proportion of the national workforce and remain among the most marginalised. This convention was the first international legal standard that protected their rights and recognised domestic workers as part of the official labour force.
Since the convention’s adoption, several countries have passed new laws with a view to improving domestic workers' labour and social rights. In Bangladesh, a draft policy titled “Domestic Workers’ Protection and Welfare Policy, 2010” was prepared by the Labour Ministry in association with civil society members after consulting with labour right groups.
The draft law includes protection of domestic workers from physical, mental, and sexual harassment; limitation of working hours; stopping the employment of children under 12; registration of the workers; identity cards; fixed wages; leave and rest period; education and training; medical allowance; and compensation for any kind of accidents. But the draft law is yet to be finalised by the concerned authorities.
Domestic workers are workers and should be treated like all other workers. Today, awareness has brought change in people’s perspectives on domestic helpers. Now, in the cities of developed countries, domestic help is an important source of paid employment for both men and women. In Latin America and Europe, domestic workers enjoy greater protection under the law than those in Asia and the Middle East.
Proper application of laws can protect their rights. We call upon the government to pass the law and ratify the ILO Convention 189, so that these people are treated with respect, and are endowed with as much as right as any other worker in Bangladesh.
