COMMITTEE ON MIGRANT WORKERS HOLDS GENERAL DISCUSSION ON THE RIGHTS OF MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS

The Committee on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families today held a day of general discussion on the rights of migrant domestic workers. During the morning meeting, the Committee listened to a number of panellists who discussed the issues linked to the protection of the rights of migrant domestic workers, the existing instruments related to migrant domestic workers and efforts to draft a new international instrument on domestic workers. In the afternoon, the Committee split into two Working Groups to discuss the recruitment and employment of migrant domestic workers and the effective protection of migrant domestic workers.

Abdelhamid El Jamri, Chairman of the Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers, in an opening statement, said that the goal for today’s discussion was to start working on a General Comment on the issue and on a definition of migrant domestic workers. There was currently no definition of what a domestic migrant worker was, but the International Labour Organization had already done some work on the issue and had found out common points. There were few specific statistics available on this category of workers. With regards to international instruments protecting these workers, there was none.

In the panel discussion, speakers said that today’s discussion was very timely; too little attention had been focused on migrant domestic workers although they constituted a large portion of today’s migrant worker population. Women, who constituted the majority of migrant domestic workers, often suffered a further vulnerability to abuse. Domestic work was not perceived as real work. Very often domestic workers were portrayed as a member of the family in which they worked in. It created the idea that there was an amicable relationship between the employer and the employee. The work mirrored unpaid work which had been traditionally done by women in the household. Excessive long hours of work was also a common occurrence. It was extremely difficult to measure the hours actually worked by the domestic worker. Domestic workers filled a gap, a demand in societies, which had not yet been filled by the so-called “work-life-balance” approach. It was unacceptable that the freedom of women and men in some countries was based on the exploitation of other human beings.

Today’s discussion was also very relevant given the fact that next year’s International Labour Organization Conference in Geneva would address the development of an international instrument dealing with domestic workers. An International Labour Organization representative said that possible scenarios included a convention or a recommendation, a convention supplemented by a recommendation or a convention with binding and non-binding parts. Speakers also highlighted the fact that the Committee on Migrant Workers was of immediate relevance for migrant domestic workers but that several International Labour Organization conventions, as well as the Universal Periodic Review, Human Rights Council Special Procedures and UN treaty bodies also touched upon the issue in their work.

After splitting up into two Working Groups for the afternoon meeting, the Rapporteurs for the Working Groups reported back to the plenary.

John Bingham, Rapporteur of the Working Group on the recruitment and employment of migrant domestic workers, said in their discussions they had focused on pre-departure of domestic migrant workers through the point of arrival. Among the points they had identified were the need for awareness-raising of departure candidates and the need for a change in public mentality; the need for deeper training for workers that prepared to leave and proper medical checks; regulation and licensing of job agencies and the responsibilities of the receiving and sending countries; the need for standard work contracts; and the role of consulates in receiving countries.

Martina Liebsch, Rapporteur of the Working Group on effective protection of migrant domestic workers, said that among the points they had identified was the need to link the discussion on domestic migrant workers with gender issues; the need for a specific definition of domestic migrant workers; the need to recognize domestic work as work; and the need for domestic migrant workers to have a clear working relationship. The need to have an Ombudsman for domestic workers was also highlighted. On the issue of training and education for migrant domestic workers, they had identified the importance for domestic migrant workers to know more about their rights and to learn where to address themselves when they encountered problems.

Speaking in the panel discussion were Bacre Ndiaye, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaties Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Manuela Tomei, International Labour Organization; Martina Liebsch, Advocacy Coordinator, Migration, Trafficking and Gender, Caritas Internationalis; Lucie Detsi, of ACLIColf Italy; Ana Elizabeth Cubias Medina, Member of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; Ibrahim Salama, Chief of the Human Rights Treaties Branch, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights; Violet Awori, Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; and Katherine Landuyt, International Labour Organization.

When the Committee reconvenes 10 a.m. on Thursday, 15 October, it will discuss the outcome of today’s general discussion on the rights of domestic migrant workers and discuss recommendations for the International Labour Organization and a possible drafting of a General Comment on this issue.

Statements by Panellists

ABDELHAMID EL JAMRI, Chairman of the Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers, in an opening statement, said that since the establishment of the Committee they had been trying to organize a day of general discussion at every session. The goal for today’s discussion was to start working on a General Comment on and a definition of migrant domestic workers.

There was currently no definition of what a domestic migrant worker was, but the International Labour Organization had already done some work on the issue and had found out common points. Domestic workers usually worked in a private house, the employer was usually the boss or the head of the house and the work was generally regular and continuous, noted Mr. El Jamri.

There were no specific statistics available on this category of workers. In the Gulf States, the majority of domestic workers were immigrants and women. In the United States the majority of the domestic workforce originated from Southern America and was composed of young women, said Mr. El Jamri.

Usually domestic workers were undeclared, and thus it was difficult to have figures on them. One could however extrapolate from more general figures on migration, said Mr. El Jarmi.

As regards international instruments protecting these workers, there was none, said Mr. El Jamri.

Referring to the different State reports the Committee had analyzed, Mr. El-Jamri said that they had found a whole range of different problems in different countries: domestic workers had different problems from the recruitment stage on to the return stage; they often had to engage in work that was illegal; were often very vulnerable to abuse from their employers; did not have contracts and if they did the contracts were often not in-line with the law; their identity documents were confiscated by their employers; they had restriction on their freedom of movement; their salaries were sometimes withheld; and they were threatened with imprisonment and were not protected by national legislation.

BACRE NDIAYE, Director, Human Rights Council and Treaties Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that today’s discussion was very timely; too little attention had been focused on migrant domestic workers although they constituted a large portion of today’s migrant worker population, whether in regular documented status or not. A number of factors made migrant domestic workers a very vulnerable group. They were in a job which, by its nature, offered them very little contact with the outside world. As non-nationals in the countries where they worked, they were unfamiliar with the laws and practices, sometimes unable to speak the language, and often without any social network to which they could resort in case of need.

Women, who constituted the majority of migrant domestic workers, often suffered a further vulnerability to abuse, said Mr. Ndiaye. This vulnerability was even greater for undocumented women, as they had often no recourse to justice and other forms of assistance in case of abuse or violations of their rights.

Today’s discussion was also very relevant given the fact that next year’s International Labour Organization Conference in Geneva would address the development of an international instrument dealing with domestic workers. But even without a specific International Labour Organization instrument, migrant domestic workers were not left out of the international protection framework; general labour and human rights norms and standards did apply to them and States were under the obligation to ensure that migrant domestic workers could enjoy these rights, said Mr. Ndiaye.

Mr. Ndiaye also mentioned a project that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights supported in Lebanon together with the International Labour Organization. Domestic work was the single most important category of employment among women migrants in the Gulf States, Lebanon and Jordan. In order to alleviate the hardship of women domestic workers in Lebanon, the Government, International Labour Organization and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had joined hands to draft a unified contract.

The current economic crisis had also shown how important international standards were in the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable, said Mr. Ndiaye. Especially in the context of migration, where migrants were being blamed for taking away jobs from national workers, one saw the rights of migrants being undermined.

MANUELA TOMEI, International Labour Organization, introducing the issue and the process of drafting a new international instrument on domestic workers, said that the governing body of the International Labour Organization had decided to start a standard setting exercise for decent work for domestic workers. It would cover all domestic workers living in a Member State, irrespective of their nationality. Domestic workers constituted an old International Labour Organization concern. In 1965 the International Labour Organization Conference had adopted a resolution calling for normative action for this sector of migrants.

Ms. Tomei also highlighted the high incidence of discrimination affecting domestic workers, saying that they were often part of low status groups and comprised a majority of women workers.

In Latin American, domestic work comprised nine per cent of total employment, men and women altogether. However, if one looked only at the figures of female employment in the region, one saw that 90 per cent of employed women worked as domestic workers, underscored Ms. Tomei.

Domestic work was not perceived as real work. Very often they were portrayed as a member of the family in which they worked in. It created the idea that there was an amicable relationship between the employer and the employee. This could be the case in certain cases, but should not be considered as a rule, said Ms. Tomei. The workplace also differed from the conventional workplaces. It escaped from the traditional institutions that were carrying work inspections.

The work domestic workers were doing was considered as a non-productive activity, attributing to it a low-value status. The work also mirrored unpaid work which had been traditionally done by women in the household, said Ms. Tomei. Excessive long hours of work was also a common occurrence. It was very difficult for labour legislators to address this issue, since the work was intermittent; it was extremely difficult to measure the hours actually worked by the domestic worker.

In 2010, the ILO Conference would discuss for the first time the possibility to adopt a draft instrument. Possible scenarios included a convention or a recommendation, a convention supplemented by a recommendation or a convention with binding and non-binding parts. For the ILO Secretariat, the instrument should cover as many domestic workers as possible, such as full-time, part-time, and engaged with a single or multiple employers. The instrument was aimed at ensuring better protection to domestic workers, said Ms. Tomei.

MARTINA LIEBSCH, Advocacy Coordinator, Migration, Trafficking and Gender, Caritas Internationalis, highlighted some of their concerns and recommendations with regard to migrant domestic workers. Domestic workers worked hard and managed to support their family in their country of origin. However they were exploited, their rights not protected in spite of existing human rights instruments and their children back home were often without proper care. They were discriminated against as migrants, as women and as workers.

Ms. Liebsch noted that domestic workers filled a gap, a demand in societies, which had not yet been filled by the so-called “work-life-balance” approach. Nowadays it might be easier to hire a foreign domestic worker who often had no choice but to work at almost any condition. It was unacceptable that the freedom of women and men in some countries was based on the exploitation of other human beings.

Domestic workers had a big share in what nowadays was called feminization of migration. In many countries of the world, domestic workers were mainly irregular migrants, some of them were trafficked. Women migrated to find work and better opportunities, but ended up without freedom and exploited, said Ms. Liebsch.

Migrants, and among them domestic workers, had been hit hard by the economic crisis. Researchers had already pointed out that with the current crisis, remittances were likely to diminish, said Ms. Liebsh.

Caritas Internationalis believed that there should be a common framework which outlined the basic elements for the improvement of the protection of migrant workers. First and foremost, a mentality shift was needed, which would recognize domestic work as work, said Ms. Liebsch.

Among the key elements which should be reflected in the common framework were safe and affordable recruitment and channels for legal migration of domestic workers. The work should also be regulated by a legal contract which determined duties and rights of the employees and the employer. Professional development should also be made accessible to domestic workers, said Ms. Liebsch.

There should also be an independent function in each country where domestic workers could file complaints, independently of their legal status, a sort of Ombudsman for domestic workers. Further, domestic work was for children but should not be performed by children, said Ms. Liebsch.

LUCIE DETSI, ACLIColf Italy, said that she was from Cameroon, lived in Italy and had come to Europe to study 15 years ago. She currently worked for an organization which dealt with migrant permits.

Ms. Detsi said that between 1994 and 1998, in order for her to pursue her university studies in Italy, she had found herself working for four different families as a domestic worker.

For one family, she had to be present only at night and for this she received lodging. One of her employers was an 80 years old woman who had fallen ill. She had had no other choice than to take care of her; she had been like a grandmother for her. But she also realized that she had suddenly taken the role of a caregiver, said Ms. Detsi.

While this older women offered her lodging and as she still needed money to pay for her studies she thus had had to work between 10 to 12 hours per week for three different additional families. None of these families had thought of regularizing her work. All the families had had the same attitude towards her and saw themselves as a sort of savior for her; bringing her out of poverty, said Ms. Detsi.

In 1998 the Italian Government had given her a study grant which had allowed her to stop her domestic work. However, she continued to take care of the older woman in the evenings when coming back from university, in order to keep her lodging.

Ms. Detsi said that nowadays she recognized that she had worked for four years and had missed her benefits and rights during this period. It had also been difficult to renew her student permit as she had had to prove her income. She was now also aware that domestic labour was a genuine profession.

ANA ELIZABETH CUBIAS MEDINA, Member of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, speaking about the application of the Migrant Workers Convention to migrant domestic workers, said that there were a large number of migrant workers that were involved in domestic work around the world. Some were documented, others undocumented, legal and illegal.

There was no definition applicable to domestic workers, noted Ms. Cubas Medina. There was currently no existing international instrument which applied solely to domestic migrant workers. Domestic workers were however covered by general labour laws, International Labour Organization conventions and international law. Many of the instruments contained provisions covering and mentioning domestic workers.

The various committees of the United Nations system had issued some general comments and recommendations on this issue, said Ms. Cubas Median. The Migrant Workers Convention applied to the whole migration process, from departure to return, to migrants and to the families of migrants. Human rights were applicable to all migrant workers, irrespective of their legal status.

Ms. Cubas Medina also went over the different Articles of the Convention which applied to domestic migrant workers, namely: Articles 8, 11, 14, 16, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 44 and 51. The Committee had also dealt with issues of migrant workers engaged in domestic work in several of its considerations of state reports.

Among the issues of concern the Committee had found were: irregularities in the contracts; false or non-existent contracts; vulnerability of the employee; abuse by the employer; dependency on the employer; the withholding of papers by the employer; retained or late-paid salaries; and the fact that there was also no payment for overtime hours, said Ms. Cubas Medina.

In certain countries, around 10 per cent of the total employment was made up of domestic workers. Ms. Cubas Medina said the Committee strongly supported the International Labour Organization’s recommendation which would be tabled at its next conference to develop a new instrument which would deal with domestic workers and migrant domestic workers and which would take into account their special needs.

Finally, Ms. Cubas Medina said that temporary visas should be administered by State authorities and the local labour office, and not by the employer to avoid situations where the employee was being exploited.

IBRAHIM SALAMA, Chief, Human Rights Treaties Branch, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, said that in addition to the Committee on Migrant Workers, three main international mechanisms were focusing on migrant domestic workers: the Universal Periodic Review, the UN Special Procedures and the UN human rights treaty bodies.

The Special Rapporteur on violence against women was, among other Special Procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council, working on the human rights of migrants. Also of relevance to the issue of migrant workers were the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said Mr. Salama.

Mr. Salama noted that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also stipulated the right to security of a person; freedom of movement; the right to free choice of employment; and the right to rest and leisure. All these were applicable to migrant workers and members of their families.

The Committee on Migrant Workers was of immediate relevance for migrant domestic workers, said Mr. Salama. Expanding upon how other existing human rights treaties and related bodies addressed the protection of the right of migrant domestic workers and members of their families, he said that concerns related to migration had clearly increased in number and scope in recent years throughout treaty body conclusions and recommendations.

Mr. Salama then shared some treaty provisions and treaty bodies observations which were of particular relevance to domestic migrant workers.

The Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stipulated the right of everyone to equality before the law. It also listed migrants as part of vulnerable groups. In its concluding observations, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had also focused on the serious problems often faced by women domestic workers and had repeatedly noted with concern the working conditions of women migrant workers and the lack of protection from national legislation.

The Human Rights Committee had noted issues such as ill-treatment of non-nationals and difficulties to access adequate legal protection for domestic workers, said Mr. Salama. It had expressed concern at the particular situation and vulnerability of domestic workers.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recognized the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favorable conditions of work and the right of everyone to social security. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had noted the unfair terms of employment and discrimination against migrant workers and had recommended States parties to ensure equality before the law for domestic workers, said Mr. Salama.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognized the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and the Committee on the Rights of the Child referred regularly to the status of migrant children, child labour and economic exploitation, said Mr. Salama. It expressed its strong concern at the particular conditions and vulnerability of children of migrant domestic workers.

The Committee Against Torture had noted the difficulties faced by foreign workers, in particular women domestic workers, to obtain redress and adequate compensation, said Mr. Salama.

The plight of migrant domestic workers merited special attention as, in practice, their human rights were least protected, said Mr. Salama. The exclusion of domestic work from national labour laws was a major factor rendering migrant domestic workers vulnerable.

Although treaty bodies had not encompassed all issues related to the rights of migrant workers, the span of issues that had been covered in this regard was wide, noted Mr. Salama. They had repeatedly highlighted the vulnerable situation of migrant workers and their families.

When States did not ratify the Migrant Workers Convention, they were excluding specific guidance it offered them on the application of international standards to migrant workers. It was clear that much remained to be done to ensure that the provisions of international human rights standards applied to protect the human rights of domestic migrant workers and migrants in general, said Mr. Salama.

VIOLET AWORI, Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, speaking on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s jurisprudence on migrant domestic workers, said that the Committee had decided in 2005 to issue a general recommendation regarding those categories of women migrant workers who might be at risk of abuse or discrimination. The recommendation was later adopted in 2008.

This General Recommendation contributed to the fulfillment of obligations of States parties to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of women migrant workers. While the Convention on Migrant Workers protected individuals, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women protected all women, including migrant workers. The General Recommendation aimed to elaborate on the circumstances that contributed to the specific vulnerability of many migrant workers and experiences of sex and gender based discrimination as a cause and consequence of the violations of their human rights, said Ms. Awori.

The scope of the General Recommendation was limited to addressing the situations of women migrant workers who migrated independently; women migrant workers who joined their spouses or other members of their families who were also workers; and undocumented women migrant workers who might fall into any of the above categories, said Ms. Awori.

To understand the specific ways in which women were impacted, female migration should be studied from the perspective of gender inequality, traditional female roles, a gendered labour market, the universal prevalence of gender-based violence and the worldwide feminization of poverty and labour migration. The integration of a gender perspective was therefore essential to the analysis of the positions of female migrants, said Ms. Awori.

Even before they left home, women migrant workers faced human rights concerns. They sometimes needed to have a written permission from their male relatives to obtain a passport to travel or migrate. Women might also suffer the consequences of restricted access to education, training and reliable information on migration, noted Ms. Awori.

Once they reached their destinations, women migrant workers might encounter multiple forms of de jure and de facto discrimination and faced additional hazards compared to men. Gendered notions of appropriate work for women resulted in opportunities that reflected familial and service functions, said Ms. Awori. Discrimination might also be especially acute in relation to pregnancy. Women migrant workers were more vulnerable to sexual abuse and physical violence. Access to justice might also be limited for women migrant workers. Undocumented women migrant workers were particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse because of their irregular status and might face harassment by the police.

Countries of origin and destination had common responsibilities, noted Ms. Awori. States parties should seek the active involvement of women migrant workers and relevant non-governmental organizations in policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Countries of origin had to respect and protect the human rights of their female nationals who migrated for purposes of work. They should provide a list of authentic, reliable recruitment agencies and create a unified information system on available jobs abroad, said Ms. Awori.

Countries of destination should take all appropriate measures to ensure non-discrimination and the equal rights of women migrant workers, said Ms. Awori. For example, they should provide shelters for women migrant workers who wished to leave abusive employers, husbands or other relatives and ensure that employers and recruiters did not confiscate or destroy travel or identity documents belonging to women migrants.

The situation of undocumented women also needed specific attention, said Ms. Awori. States parties had an obligation to protect the basic human rights of migrant women workers, regardless of their immigration status and lack of documents.

KATHERINE LANDUYT, International Labour Organization, presenting International Labour Organization instruments related to migrant domestic workers, said that last night she had spent the night in her son’s room until 6 a.m. before leaving for work, because he had bronchitis, and that this experience had made her wonder how many domestic workers around the world were in such a situation.

Ms. Landuyt noted that there were no specific International Labour Organization standards of regulation specifically covering domestic migrant workers. However, other regulations and standards were applicable to them. Also, there were International Labour Organization conventions that did include provisions that excluded domestic workers.

The existing international legal standards that were applicable to migrant workers included freedom of association and collective bargaining; forced labour; non-discrimination and child labour. These standards applied to both documented and undocumented migrant workers and thus also applied to domestic migrant workers, said Ms. Landuyt.

The International Labour Organization had two Conventions with respect to migrant workers: Convention 97 on equality of treatment and Convention 143 on irregular migration and basic rights, noted Ms. Landuyt. Basic human rights existed for both regular and irregular migrants, and applied to them irrespective of the fact whether they were migrant workers or not.

Issues linked to domestic migrant workers that needed to be addressed were wages, working time, employment and termination of employment, abuses by employment agencies, social security and how to conduct labour inspections, said Ms. Landuyt.

Some common principles of the international legal standards were the protection of fundamental rights; equal opportunity and treatment; coverage by labour and social security law and adequate monitoring and complaints mechanisms, said Ms. Landuyt.

Among the major concerns that needed to be addressed were forced labour; the lack of freedom of association; abusive permit status; poor working conditions; the fact that a migrant found himself in irregular status if he lost his job; and the lack of complaint mechanisms, said Ms. Landuyt.

Ms. Landuyt said that what was lacking was the application of decent work principles to the special employment relationship of domestic migrant workers and the availability of clear and comprehensive guidance for guaranteeing them access to decent employment conditions.

ABDELHAMID EL JAMRI, Chairman of the Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers, in a closing statement, said that they had heard a lot of recommendations and advice in the statements. Among important issues he noted the issue of children migrant workers and the issue of whole families that were employed by another family.

Interactive Discussion

In the ensuing discussion between the panellists, Committee Experts, representatives from other international organizations and representatives from civil society mentioned the problems faced by children of migrant workers and asked how this issue could be resolved and regulated. How could the new International Labour Organization Convention be implemented and be made enforceable when other instruments were already being ignored by many countries? One speaker noted that the process of getting an International Labour Organization convention was very hard and lengthy. A lot of countries were also afraid to join the conventions because they had very strict supervisory systems.

One speaker wondered whether today’s discussion also included the migrant workers employed by diplomatic missions. Another speaker addressed the issue of undocumented cross-border migration in the South-Eastern Asian countries and how these migrant workers could be protected.

Reacting to these points, panellists said that the question of how to ensure a wider participation in the drafting of a tool applying to domestic migrant workers was an important point. On the situation in south-eastern Asia, a panellist said that it all boiled down to States parties which had to look at the treaties they had acceded to and to ensure that these were being respected. Another speaker said that there was also need for a culture change and a change in stereotypes; as long as domestic work was being undervalued because of gender stereotypes, it would be hard to change the situation.

Reports of the Working Groups

JOHN BINGHAM, Rapporteur of the Working Group on the recruitment and employment of migrant domestic workers, said that in their discussions they had focused on pre-departure of migrant domestic workers through the point of arrival. They had come out with a number of recommendations that touched more on the point of arrival. They had had quite an engagement from States representatives and representatives from civil society.

They had come out with four batches of recommendations, said Mr. Bingham. The first one was the need for awareness-raising and the need for a change in public mentality. It was important to raise the awareness of migrant workers themselves and of those who had decided to leave. They should be provided with information about the country of destination, employment conditions there, as well as on fees and debts.

The second point they had identified was the need for deeper training for workers that prepared to leave, such as language courses, courses in laws and cultures of the countries of destination, skills training, and “Know Your Rights” training. The need for proper medical checks was also emphasized, said Mr. Bingham. The issue of training designed for agencies on basic laws and limits and training for employers was also touched upon.

The third point the Working Group had come out with was on regulation and licensing. Mr. Bingham said both the country of origin and of destination had responsibilities. Also both countries had responsibilities in the other country, through their diplomatic missions. Speakers had come up with the idea of a licensing system for job agencies, and the possibility to distribute merits and sanctions and possible revocations of agencies. The use of standard work contracts with unified binding standards was also touched upon. Reference had also been made to the Kafala or sponsorship system with regard to migration law. On regulation it was also mentioned that the whole recruitment process should be a Government affair.

The fourth point they had identified was the role of consulates in receiving countries; they should be recording and reporting back home and feeding the database of the pre-departure training and preparation processes. They should provide information about the good and bad sides of what was happening in the receiving country, said Mr. Bingham.

Mr. Bingham said that their overall impression was that there was a need for a broad global effort to increase respect for domestic workers. The importance to consider cultural differences was also highlighted. One had to look at the importance of the right to organize in labour unions.

Among the challenges they had identified were the tension between workers who moved in irregular ways and those who worked through Government programmes and/or through agencies. A second challenge was the specific exclusion of domestic workers and even more so migrants from labour rights in working countries.

MARTINA LIEBSCH, Rapporteur of the Working Group on effective protection of migrant domestic workers, said that they had looked at what kind of instrument was needed and would be best suited to the protection of the rights of domestic migrant workers; whether a convention or another instrument was best suited. Their group had been mainly made up of representatives from international organizations and civil society.

Among the points they had identified was that they had to link the discussion on domestic migrant workers with gender issues, as had been highlighted in the panel discussion by the Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Other issues they identified were freedom of movement and the right to travel, mandatory medical controls, and questions about pregnancy. It was necessary to look deeper into these issues, said Ms. Liebsch.

Another point which needed to be looked at was a definition of domestic migrant workers. There was a difference between people who worked in a household and people caring for the elderly or the disabled, said Ms. Liebsch.

A further issue they had identified and on which they had had broad consensus was that domestic work had to be recognized as work. Domestic migrant workers also needed to have a clear working relationship and contracts defining their working relationship. This was identified as a difficult task, due to the different legal systems among the different countries, noted Ms. Liebsch.

Among the challenges they had identified, the biggest one was the issue of irregular domestic migrant workers. They often did not have contracts. The solution they had come up with was to have regularisation schemes. The need to have an Ombudsman for domestic workers was also highlighted, said Ms. Liebsch.

Turning to agencies and labour brokers, the Working Group was of the opinion that they were not bad as such. The strength of a country would be to control these labour brokers, said Ms. Liebsch.

On the issue of training and education for migrant domestic workers, they had identified the importance for domestic migrant workers to know more about their rights and to learn where to address themselves when they encountered problems. Training for law enforcement officials and border police was also needed, said Ms. Liebsch.

The issue of children of domestic migrant workers and their status had also been mentioned in their discussion. Many of the participants had highlighted the need to promote the self-organization of domestic migrant workers, said Ms. Liebsch.

On what tool would be best suited, some in the Working Group had said that even a convention that was not ratified could offer guidance to adapt legislation. Others said that the process of drafting a convention would be long and not every country would ratify it and one should rather look at existing tools.

Discussion

In the ensuing discussion on the results of the Working Groups, members of the Committee and representatives of civil society said, on the issue of what sort of instrument would be best suited for the protection of domestic migrant workers, that migrant domestic workers that had organized themselves into trade unions wanted a convention and had been lobbying for such an instrument for several years. A speaker highlighted the fact that countries that had ratified International Labour Organization conventions did not always fully respect them, thus a convention would not ensure full protection. The need to insist on the criminalization of child migrant domestic workers was also mentioned. It would be a pity to lose the momentum and today’s recommendations should be sent to the International Labour Organization for its consideration.

ABDELHAMID EL JAMRI, Chairman of the Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers, said that many problems were raised during the Working Groups’ discussions which touched the category of domestic migrant workers. What should they do about the material they had accumulated today in order to protect this category of workers? Tomorrow the Committee would continue by taking up the recommendations and see what they could do with them. In the meantime they would have to look at all existing material and existing best practices.


For use of information media; not an official record

CMW09018E