In commemoration of World Domestic Workers Day which is set on June 16 every year, the Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions in Hong Kong (FADWU) urges Asian countries to ratify ILO Convention 189, on the protection of domestic workers from violence and harassment in the world of work.
Although the ratification of the convention on decent work standards for domestic workers by the United Nations (UN) has been ratified since 2011, according to research conducted by WHO globally, one in three women have experienced some form of physical or sexual abuse while working as domestic workers.
Because the majority of domestic workers are women, they are vulnerable to violence, harassment and exploitation at various types and levels. The most common exploitation faced by migrant domestic workers is excessive agency fees, and other violations that have a negative impact and harm the domestic workers physically and psychologically.
As experienced by Adelina Sao, an Indonesian migrant domestic worker who died in Malaysia due to being tortured by her employer. Or Sabina Khatun, a domestic worker in India who was found dead, after being raped by her employer’s child and driver. The perpetrators of both cases are still at large.
According to IDWF’s statement at the May Day action, the situation of domestic workers who experienced violence had an additional financial and psychological burden, but they were not given adequate support. The cases experienced by domestic workers are widely perpetuated and normalized, because domestic work is not recognized and underestimated, despite their great contribution to the economy and social reproduction. Domestic workers are systematically discriminated against and excluded from basic labor rights.
”It is currently being discussed in Geneva at the International Labor Conference, and globally we are campaigning for the convention to be adopted, because there are still many countries that have not been able to protect domestic workers and include them in legally protected labor laws” explained Niken Anjar Wulan, program officer at the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) who attended the meeting with FADWU, 16 June 2019 at HKCTU 1/F Fourseas building, 208 Nathan road, Jordan.
