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Resolution 2167 (2017)
The employment rights of domestic workers, especially women, in Europe
1. Domestic workers represent a significant
part of the European workforce and are essential to the smooth running
of national economies. Nevertheless, the domestic work sector, known
for its informality and stereotypes, is wrongly perceived as having
low economic and social value. Domestic workers find themselves among
the most vulnerable groups of workers: they perform activities in
the privacy of households, often have only a precarious status,
and are thus often invisible, underpaid and/or undeclared – and
therefore not covered by labour legislation. There is an urgent
need to recognise domestic work as “real work”, and agree on a clear and
common definition to be adopted across Europe.
2. Thousands of domestic workers, most of whom are migrant women,
come to Europe every year in search of a better life for themselves
and their families, but some of them find themselves trapped in
exploitative or abusive work situations. It is high time for Europe
to step up its efforts to protect this vulnerable category of workers
by promoting social justice and combating the discrimination, social
exclusion and mistreatment which can give rise to modern slavery
and forced labour. All domestic workers should be treated equally
and fairly, regardless of their origin, nationality, race, sex,
religion or migrant status.
3. With regard to the legal framework, the Parliamentary Assembly
thus calls on member States to:
3.1. put
a stop to all forms of abuse of domestic workers and guarantee their
social protection and labour rights, including by promptly ratifying
and implementing, if they have not yet done so, the International
Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189),
and applying its Domestic Workers Recommendation, 2011 (No. 201);
3.2. extend the scope of social and labour protection to domestic
workers in accordance with the European Social Charter (revised)
(ETS No. 163) and, by reviewing the legal frameworks, guarantee, inter alia, the right to dignity
at work, normal working hours, periods of daily and weekly rest
and annual leave, a minimum wage, social security protection, occupational
safety and health and decent working and living conditions;
3.3. establish a platform for international exchange and co-operation
on the basis of ILO and Council of Europe expertise, with a view
to sharing best practices to ensure decent working conditions for domestic
workers, and to undertaking further studies on the effects of legislative
reforms in order to assess constraints encountered by domestic workers,
as well as to comprehend the socio-economic behaviour and the decision-making
processes of both employers and workers;
3.4. set up mechanisms to enforce the law, including:
3.4.1. multilingual labour inspectorate teams trained in the
specificity of domestic work, collection of data and investigation
techniques;
3.4.2. an affordable and easily accessible complaint mechanism,
set up with careful consideration of domestic workers’ needs;
3.4.3. legal assistance for domestic workers, including via diplomatic
missions, as appropriate;
3.4.4. general awareness-raising campaigns on the importance
of domestic work in order to stimulate formal arrangements, inform
workers about their rights and the ways in which they can effectively
assert their rights, and disseminate good practices among employers;
3.4.5. incentives and simplified procedures for households to
formalise the employment of domestic workers, taking into account
good practices already in place (for example, service employment
cheques).
4. With regard to the high proportion of women in the domestic
work sector, the Assembly calls on member States to:
4.1. take concrete measures to advance
gender equality in the world of work and ensure women’s equal rights
and protection in national labour legislation;
4.2. guarantee the protection of female domestic workers against
all forms of abuse, violence and harassment, by taking appropriate
measures bearing in mind the specificity of their workplace and
the challenges the labour inspectorates face while performing their
supervisory duties;
4.3. extend maternity protection and work–family balance to
the domestic work sphere, including paid maternity and parental
leave, adequate rest periods, time for breastfeeding, childcare
facilities and freedom from maternity-based discrimination and ensure
that pregnant working women receive practical support during their
pregnancies to safeguard their health and well-being and that of
their unborn children; and that in no circumstances are pregnant
working women put under pressure by their employers to terminate
their pregnancies;
4.4. establish referral and support centres, with a view to
disseminating information on domestic workers’ rights and work safety
and providing counselling, legal aid, psychological help, integration
and family reunion services;
4.5. put in place accessible and affordable high-quality services
at home or in reception facilities for children and elderly people
in need of care, with a view to deterring households from turning
to informal care service arrangements for lack of access to affordable
alternatives.
5. Having regard to the considerable increase in demand for domestic
services in Europe, the member States should recognise the considerable
importance of the sector and its contribution to the socio-economic well-being
of the host societies. The growing demand in this specific field
is the result of the transformation from single to dual wage-earning
families, together with a rapid increase of the ageing population
and an increase in the cost of living in the home countries that
pushes people to seek work abroad. Having acknowledged that highly
qualified workers deliver better quality services, the member States
should facilitate the integration of domestic workers by:
5.1. putting in place professionalisation
policies for domestic workers, while ensuring their equal access
to flexible vocational and professional training programmes and
language courses;
5.2. establishing comprehensive and rapid procedures for recognition
of foreign diplomas and acquired skills;
5.3. reconsidering “tied-visa” policies, with a view to regularising
the situation of migrant workers who hold temporary residence permits
and granting them freedom to change employers;
5.4. raising awareness among employers that keeping the identity
and travel documents of their employees is an unacceptable practice
that goes against the basic legal principles regulating any employment
relationship.
6. Furthermore, member States should ensure the adequate participation
of domestic workers in the social dialogue and uphold their right
to create and join organisations of their own choosing. Trade unions
should help domestic workers overcome social isolation and make
their collective voice heard. Domestic workers’ organisations should
be encouraged to promote practical tools, which are available for
workers and employers (model contracts, schedules of tasks, tools
to record working time and breaks, etc.), facilitate employment negotiations
and assist in the process of filing complaints.