Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)
Source: ILO
Context: The International Labour Organization (ILO) has issued a new policy brief urging governments, workers’ organizations, and employers to ensure that domestic workers have access to labour rights and social protection.
Who are domestic workers?
Domestic workers are individuals (women in particular) hired to perform various household tasks within private residences, such as cleaning, cooking, childcare, and other domestic duties. They play a crucial role in supporting families and often work without formal contracts or labour protections. There are about 5 million domestic workers in India (of which 3 million are women)
Recommendations:
- Recognize domestic workers as care workers and integrate them into national care policies and social security systems.
- Ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189, known as the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011, to protect the rights of domestic workers.
- Implement skills recognition and training initiatives to formally value the work of domestic workers.
- Raise awareness about the critical role of domestic workers in society.
Steps taken by India:
- Implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, to protect female domestic workers from sexual exploitation.
- Inclusion of provisions for domestic workers in the Code on Wages, 2019.
- Provision of social security for all unorganized workers, including domestic workers, under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
