Domestic Workers Around the World Look to Expand Rights on International Women's Day
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA -- International Women's Day was celebrated Sunday in South Africa's western cape under the banner of the International Domestic Workers Network. 140 women in domestic and farm labor, including migrants, made their voices heard in favor of decent work for domestic workers.
"We are still at the back and we still have a lot of hard work to do," stated Myrtle Witbooi, general secretary of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) and International Domestic Workers Network (IDWN) steering committee chair. "So once again we must put women's issues back on the agendas of all countries." For more information go to www.sadsawu.org.
USA -- Domestic worker organizations around the country are organizing activities to advance domestic worker rights, kicking off on Monday March 8th (International Women’s Day), and ending on May 1st (International Worker’s Day). Local events taking place throughout the United States include press conferences, marches, workshops, panel discussions, and a national pledge drive for employers to commit to respecting and upholding domestic worker rights.
Dozen Asia-Pacific Countries Say "Yes" to International Labour Standard for Domestic Workers
Bangkok (ILO News) -- In time for International Women's Day, a dozen countries in Asia-Pacific say 'yes' in principle to international labour standard for domestic workers. Global discussion to follow at the International Labour Conference in June.
An ILO report, Decent Work for Domestic Workers, carries the responses of 75 member States to a Questionnaire on the idea of an international labour standard for domestic workers. It includes the replies from 13 Governments of member States from the Asia and Pacific region. Responses were received from 32 worker and employer organizations across the region. See link to ILO report at right.
Call To Hire Maids From Papua, Timor Leste
From Joyo, The New Straits Times, Malaysia, 23 Feb 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Maid agencies want the government to consider hiring maids from Papua New Guinea, Myanmar and Timor Leste.
They believe this will reduce the country's dependence on maids from Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia.
"We are submitting the proposal to the Human Resources Ministry due to the high demand for maids," Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (Papa) president Alwi Bavutty told Bernama yesterday.
He said although local maid agencies had been allowed to recruit maids from Cambodia and the Philippines following the freeze on maid intake by the Indonesian government since the middle of last year, Muslims
were barred from employing non-Muslim maids from the two countries.
There are 216,000 foreign maids working in Malaysia, with 90 per cent of them from Indonesia and eight per cent from the Philippines.
Malaysia and Indonesia have been involved in talks to find a "middle path" in resolving the outstanding Indonesian maids' salary issue after the previous discussions ended in a deadlock.
The Malaysian government had rejected a demand from Indonesia that its maids be paid a minimum monthly salary of RM800.
"We will allow the market to decide the salary. If we allow one country to set terms, we will have to entertain others," Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said on Sunday.
On Papa's suggestion that maids be brought in from Papua New Guinea, Myanmar and Timor Leste, the minister said any move to bring in maids from new foreign countries would require a policy decision at the cabinet level.
"Such a move must be discussed at the policy level by the cabinet," he told the New Straits Times.
He said such a policy decision would need to look into a variety of issues involved in the hiring of domestic maids.
Saudi and Emirati diplomats accused of trafficking staff into UK
Robert Booth, guardian.co.uk, 22 Feb 2010
Cases of six domestic staff employed in London homes refered to Home Office's UK Human Trafficking Centre
Saudi and Emirati diplomats in London have been responsible for trafficking domestic staff into Britain, according to reports filed with the government's anti-trafficking agency.
The cases of six domestic staff who worked in the London homes of diplomats and senior figures from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have been referred to the Home Office's UK Human Trafficking Centre. According to Kalayaan, a charity which campaigns for justice for migrant domestic workers, the six were moved across borders for exploitation by means of deception or coercion – the international definition of human trafficking.
The alleged involvement of diplomats from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which consists of Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as five other emirates, emerged after Kalayaan passed on details to the agency of 13 trafficked domestic workers involved with diplomatic missions in London, including one who worked for a diplomat at the South African high commission.
Five of the workers were Indonesian and four were Filipino, while others came from Africa, the Middle East and other parts of Asia. Of the 22 cases the charity referred in the nine months to the end of last year, nine involved someone who had come to work for a diplomat. In some cases, the workers were held under virtual house arrest, not paid and physically abused, according to their own testimonies.
"Many have been deceived about their working and living conditions, the salary they will receive and many are confined to the house and have their passports removed," said Jenny Moss, a community advocate for Kalayaan. "Sometimes they are threatened that if they run away, the police will put them in jail."
Indonesia: Guarantee Domestic Workers' Rights in 2010
Published on Human Rights Watch News, 12 Feb 2010
(New York) - The Indonesian government should adopt stronger legal protections for domestic workers in 2010 to address longstanding patterns of labor exploitation and abuse, Human Rights Watch, Jala PRT, Rumpun Gema Perempuan, Migrant Care, and Serikat PRT Tunas Mulia said today in anticipation of Indonesia's Domestic Workers Day on February 14, 2010. Indonesian domestic workers both at home and abroad are often denied the protection of regular labor laws and endure excessively long working hours with no days off, unpaid wages, and physical or sexual abuse.
"Domestic workers work just as hard, if not harder, than many workers in the so-called formal sector," said Lita Anggraini, coordinator of Jala PRT. "It's a simple matter of equality that they are entitled to the same rights,
protections, and benefits as other workers."
The Indonesian government has important opportunities to improve legal protections in 2010, the groups said. A proposed comprehensive national
domestic worker law is being drafted for parliamentary consideration this year. The government also is in ongoing negotiations with Malaysia and Kuwait, where many Indonesians work, to develop Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on migrant domestic workers. Indonesia is planning to participate in efforts to negotiate new international standards for domestic work at the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Lita Anggraini: Never-ending struggle
Published on The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta, Tue 02/16/2010
JP/Sri Wahyuni
Don’t forget Inem, domestic workers
Published on The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta, Tue 02/16/2010
Child domestic workers suffer in silence
Published on The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
Inga Ting, Contributor, Jakarta, Tue 02/16/2010
School helps train domestic workers
Published on The Jakarta Post, Indonesia
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta, Tue 02/16/2010
Government urged to protect child domestic workers
No child worker: An employee takes down notes at a domestic worker agency in Jakarta. Activists have been urging the government to address the issue of child domestic workers. JP/Nurhayati
