How far are we in ensuring decent working conditions for domestic workers?

The ILO Convention 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers is a historic achievement that acknowledges domestic workers as equal to any other workers with the right to an acceptable minimum standard of working conditions. The Convention was adopted on 16 June 2011 at the 100th International Labour Conference in Geneva. 

It was the hard work done by domestic workers' organisations that made it possible to get an overwhelming vote for the Convention. Bangladesh is one of the countries that supported the adoption of the Convention as a result of the continuous advocacy of trade unions and civil society. 

The government also formulated the Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy, 2015 (DWPWP, 2015) to ensure the rights and dignity of domestic workers. 

According to the policy, a Central Monitoring Cell was also formed under the Ministry of Labour and Employment for better coordination among stakeholders. 

Despite that, if we look back and analyse the situation in the last 12 years, how much Bangladesh has been able to advance in ensuring the rights and dignity of domestic workers remains unclear.

Statistical data and legal protection

According to the ILO, there are currently at least 67 million domestic workers worldwide, excluding child domestic workers and this number is increasing steadily. As per the information from the International Domestic Workers Federation, there are some 7.4 million children domestic workers under the age of 15 years. In contrast, there are no updated statistics on domestic workers in Bangladesh. It is believed that this number is more than 2.5 million. Their contribution is not calculated separately in the GDP. 

No significant reflection of DWPWP, 2015 is found in this sector, although it is a unique policy with a number of salient features that include the provisions of appointment letter, working hours, rest, leave, maternity leave, education and training, action against abuse, monitoring and inspection etc. 

Again, no strong enforcement of this policy is evident in the workplace as there is no obligation. Therefore, a demand was sent to the government from the Domestic Workers Rights Network (DWRN) to include domestic workers in the Labour Law-2006 and bring them under the coverage of legal protection. 

Existing challenges in accessing justice against torture

A newspaper survey from the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies-BILS reveals that in 2022 a total of 33 domestic workers were victims of humiliation, sexual torture and abuse, leaving 15 killed and 18 injured. Shockingly, most of them were under the age of 18. It was also found that over the last 11 years (from 2011 to 2021) a total of 629 domestic workers were subjected to torture. 

Let's look back at the challenges in accessing justice. The causes range from not filing cases at the right time, delaying the submission of evidence, compromising in lawsuits for money, being unable to handle the case due to lack of money, taking advantage of the helplessness of the domestic workers to save the offenders, lack of specific evidence against the criminals etc. Due to all these reasons, the cases are weakened and the criminals also escape justice.

Ratification of necessary Conventions

Apart from Convention 189, the International Labour Conference, in June 2019, adopted Convention 190 concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. The Convention covers all sectors in the public and private, rural and urban, formal and informal, and it protects all workers irrespective of their contractual status. Ratification of these conventions is currently needed as 35 countries of the world have already ratified Convention 189 and 27 countries have ratified Convention 190.

It can be assumed that the government is willing to ratify, but it also requires prior preparation to do so. The government has to come forward to implement that goodwill, for which there is a need to sit together with ILO, trade unions and civil society. 

Slow functioning of the Central Monitoring Cell

The Central Monitoring Cell has a vital role in addressing all issues regarding domestic workers because relevant ministries, administrative bodies, trade unions, employers' federations and civil society representatives are involved in this structure to propose direction as per reports and feedback derived from different cells. 

However, since the formation of the Central Monitoring Cell in 2016, only seven meetings have been called so far, which is not enough in terms of progress. The last meeting was held on 31 March 2022. It is certain that if the monitoring cell is not activated properly then full implementation of the DWPWP, 2015 will not be possible. 

Decent working conditions for domestic workers

A recent study on decent work for domestic workers, conducted by Dnet for BILS, has revealed that 84% of domestic workers are below the poverty line based on current purchasing power parity (PPP). It was also found that most of the live-out domestic workers live in slum areas and 75% of their households only have one room. 

The average monthly income of domestic workers is BDT 5311, while 31% of them can eat three meals sufficiently around the year. None of them have received any appointment letter from their employer. Approximately 60% of them do not receive any leave and 76% have no access to social security support from their employers.  

Way forward to a better tomorrow

Despite many setbacks, the government is committed to the development of domestic workers. DWPWP, 2015 is a good example of this. There is also a matter of hope that the monitoring cell will continue its activities despite various limitations.

Domestic workers believe occupational training can increase their productivity. A number of development partners have been providing livelihood and technical training to them to empower them socially and economically. Securing Rights of Women Domestic Workers in Bangladesh is a project that has been working towards this for the last couple of years. 

To embrace the opportunity of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a number of development partners are working for the better livelihood of domestic workers. For example, Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) is implementing a pilot project named Shuchona, to introduce a digital finance system aimed at empowering domestic workers. 

Apart from this, HelloTask, a private company, has already introduced an app-based domestic worker service similar to Uber. Although it is running on a limited scale, it is hoped that further research and development will enable this service to be expanded. 

A previous decent work study conducted by Change Initiative recommended that there should be an e-database for domestic workers where all the information regarding their status and employers' details would be available. If the government does this successfully, then domestic workers will be able to adapt to the Smart Bangladesh system. 

In conclusion, there is a huge demand for domestic workers from city dwellers. In this regard, a number of business initiatives are essential to formalise the sector. However, to ensure professional status, domestic workers must be brought under the protection of labour laws. Finally, if awareness can be created at all levels, it will be possible to ensure decent work for domestic workers.

Md. Yousuf Al-Mamun is a columnist and deputy director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies-BILS. Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.