Decent Work for Domestic Workers the State of Labour Rights, Social

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Decent Work for Domestic Workers the State of Labour Rights, Social Decent Work for Domestic Workers The state of labour rights, social protection and trade union initiatives in Europe An ACTRAV/ITC-ILO report realized in cooperation with ETUC and EFFAT www.itcilo.org Author Kristin Carls is labour sociologist. She studied international economics and sociology in Hamburg (Germany) and Orléans (France) and pursued her PhD at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (Germany) and the State University of Milan (Italy). She has been collaborating with ACTRAV-ITCILO on different European projects on sectoral social dialogue as well as precarious and domestic work. Currently she is working as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Hamburg. Disclaimer The views expressed in this report are the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of either the European Commission or the European Union. Decent work for domestic workers The state of labour rights, social protection and trade union initiatives in Europe This document is a part of the EU-funded project Decent Work for Domestic Workers. This capacity- building project for workers’ organizations, implemented in 2012, was managed by the Programme for Workers’ Activities of International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ACTRAV- ITC-ILO), in partnership with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) and in close collaboration with the ILO and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 2 Content Acknowledgements 1 Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 1. Domestic work and its regulation in Europe 7 1.1 The scope of domestic work 7 1.2 Regulatory patterns 8 1.3 Rights and protections 11 2. Case Studies 12 2.1 Domestic work in Italy: A long collective bargaining tradition but still reduced social rights 12 2.2 Domestic work in Spain: A new law brings nearly same rights but still no dismissal protections 14 2.3 Domestic work in Germany: The challenges of bargaining coverage and minor employment 16 2.4 Domestic work in Ireland: Successful social dialogue but limited enforcement 18 3. Enhancing decent work for domestic workers 20 3.1 Trade unions’ activities 21 3.2 Lobbying for the ratification of ILO Convention 189 23 3.3 Best practices in supporting and organising domestic workers 25 4. Conclusions 30 Bibliography 31 3 Acknowledgements The project Decent Work for Domestic Workers would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following international and national organisations in the implementation of its activities: EFFAT European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions ETUC European Trade Union Confederation ETUI European Trade Union Institute ILO International Labour Organization ITUC International Trade Union Confederation Austria [ÖGB] ÖSTERREICHISCHER GEWERKSCHAFTSBUND Belgium [ACV-CSC] CONFEDERATION DES SYNDICATS CHRETIENS DE BELGIQUE, [FGTB] FEDERATION GENERALE DU TRAVAIL DE BELGIQUE Bulgaria [KNSB] CONFEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT TRADE UNIONS IN BULGARIA, CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR [PODKREPA] Denmark [LO] DANISH CONFEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS Estonia [EAKL] CONFEDERATION OF ESTONIAN TRADE UNIONS Finland [SAK] CENTRAL ORGANIZATION OF FINNISH TRADE UNIONS France [CFDT] CONFEDERATION FRANCAISE DEMOCRATIQUE DU TRAVAIL, [CGT]CONFEDERATION GENERAL DU TRAVAIL, [CGT-FO] CONFEDERATION GENERALE DU TRAVAIL, FORCE OUVRIERE Germany [DGB] DEUTSCHER GEWERKSCHAFTSBUND, [NGG] GEWERKSCHFAT NAHRUNG GENUSS GASTSTÄTTEN, [Ver.di] VEREINETE DIENSTLEISTUNGSGEWERKSCHAFT, [Respect Berlin] MIGRANT DOMESTIC WORKERS‘ SUPPORT NETWORK Ireland [ICTU] IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS, [SIPTU] SERVICES INDUSTRIAL PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL UNION, [MRCI] MIGRANT RIGHTS CENTRE IRELAND 1 Italy [CGIL] CONFEDERAZIONE GENERALE ITALIANA DEL LAVORO, [CISL] CONFEDERAZIONE ITALIANA DEI SINDACATI LAVORATORI, [UIL] UNIONE ITALIANA DEL LAVORO, [CGIL-FILCAMS] Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Commercio, Turismo e Servizi, [CISL-FISASCAT] Federazione Italiana Sindacati Addetti Servizi Commerciali Affini Turismo, [UILTUCS] Unione Italiana Lavoratori Turismo Commercio e Servizi Latvia [LBAS] LATVIA FREE TRADE UNIONS FEDERATION Lithuania [LPSS/K] LITHUANIAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION, [LWU] LITHUANIAN UNION TRADE UNION SOLIDARUMAS The Netherlands [FNV] FEDERATIE NEDERLANDSE VAKBEWEGING, [IMWU NL] INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKERS UNION NETHERLANDS Poland [NSZZ SOLIDARNOSC] NATIONAL COMMISSION OF INDEPENDENT SELF-GOVERNING TRADE UNIONS, [OPZZ] ALL POLAND ALLIANCE OF TRADE UNIONS Portugal [CGTP-IN] CONFEDERACAO GERAL DOS TRABALHADORES PORTUGUESES, INTERSINDICAL NACIONAL, [UGT] UNIAO GERAL DE TRABALHADORES Romania [CARTEL-ALFA] NATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION, [CNSLR-FRATIA] NATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS OF ROMANIA Spain [CCOO] CONFEDERACION SINDICAL DE COMISIONES OBRERAS, [UGT] UNIÓN GENERAL DE TRABAJADORES, [USO] UNION SINDICAL OBRERA Sweden [LO] LANDSORGANISATIONEN I SVERIGE United Kingdom [TUC] Trades Union Congress, [Unite] UNITE THE UNION, [Justice for domestic Workers] NGO SUPPORTING DOMESTIC WORKERS’ SEL-FORGANISATION The project would like to thank Ms. Cinzia Sechi and Mr. Marco Cilento, ETUC advisors, Ms. Kerstin Howald, EFFAT Tourism Sector Secretary, Ms. Marieke Koning, ITUC equality officer, Ms. Karin Pape, IDWN and Wiego European Regional Advisor, Mr. Luc Demaret, senior specialist in the Bureau for Workers’ Activities at the ILO, Mr. Giacomo Barbieri, manager of the Programme for Workers’ Activities at the ITC-ILO Turin and Ms. Evelin Toth Mucciacciaro, activity manager at ACTRAV ITC-ILO Turin for their contributions to the design of the on-line survey on domestic work and the review of this report. 2 Executive summary Domestic work has come to the fore of international attention with the adoption of ILO Convention 189 and Recommendation 201 concerning Decent work for domestic workers by the International Labour Conference in 2011. It has also been the topic of a 2012 European training program of the Programme for Workers Activities of the International Training Centre of the ILO, organised in cooperation with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) and funded by the EU. As part of this program, this report investigates the patterns of regulation of domestic work as well as trade unions’ activities to promote decent work in this sector across 18 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the UK). In the Central and Southern Western EU countries in the sample, domestic work is most frequently regulated by specific laws and/or collective bargaining. In the observed Central Eastern Member States, in contrast, regulation by means of general labour law prevails. Further important areas of regulation for this sector are the regularisation of informal employment as well as migration policies. Domestic workers across Europe experience important discrimination with regard to labour rights and social protection. Apart from the generally very low wages, they are often only covered to a limited extent by social security (if at all), they are frequently excluded from dismissal protections and regulations of working times are more flexible in this sector. The main problem, however, is the lacking effective enforcement of existing rules. Given the high share of informal work, including that of undocumented migrant domestic workers, there is a particularly high vulnerability which makes it difficult for workers to claim their rights, but also for trade unions to act in this sector. Major strategies of trade unions to push for the advancement of decent work for domestic workers that result from the survey are the following: (a) lobbying for a better regulation of domestic work through legislative reform and collective bargaining, the regularisation of informal domestic work, and in particularly the ratification of ILO Convention 189, (b) public awareness raising campaigns, and (c) efforts to organise domestic workers. Among these, especially organising appears as a challenge for trade unions. As on the one hand, it is a crucial tool for building trade union strength in this sector, but, on the other, also presupposes important internal restructuring in order to respond to the specific situation of (migrant) domestic workers, to fully recognise them as equal trade union members, and to realise new strategies of conflict resolution, networking and democratic participation. 3 Introduction In June 2011 the International Labour Conference (ILC), the central policy making organ of the International Labour Organization (ILO), adopted the Convention 189 and the Recommendation 201 concerning decent work for domestic workers.1 Domestic work is defined in the Convention as work performed in or for a household or households. It may comprise various tasks such as cooking, cleaning, washing and other housework, gardening, car services and guarding a house as well as care work dealing with children, elderly or disabled persons. This report asks for how such work in private households is regulated throughout the European Union and what its particularly problematic aspects are in terms of employment and working conditions. Moreover, it takes a look at activities of trade unions to bring forward better working and employment conditions for domestic workers. The countries covered by this research
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