La Strada Documentation Center

Domestic Workers: From Modern-Day Slavery to equal rights

Document number
2767
Date
2011
Title
Domestic Workers: From Modern-Day Slavery to equal rights
Author/publisher
SOLIDAR
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
Research/Study/Analysis,
Keywords
Domestic slavery
Summary
The examples in this briefing from the different global regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the European Union, show that there is an urgent need for global action to formalise domestic work by creating a binding international framework with minimum standards through an International Labour Organisation Convention on Domestic Work. Improving the employment conditions, skills training and recognition of domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers, will benefit both the workers and recipients of domestic and care services. Both the care giver and care taker have the right to a life lived in dignity where they can reconcile private and professional life. Migrant domestic workers are not merely economic units but human beings and only a rights-based and gender-sensitive approach can truly ensure the social cohesion and well-being of our societies.
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