Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic Workers Research to Inform Public Education Cecilia Babb for IMPACT Justice 2017
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Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic Workers Research to Inform Public Education Cecilia Babb For IMPACT Justice 2017 REVISED FEBRUARY, 2018 Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic 2017 Workers © Government of Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the IMPACT Justice Project, CARICOM Research Building, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. Such written permission must be obtained before any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any nature. ii Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic 2017 Workers PREFACE IMPACT Justice (Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean) is a project funded by the Government of Canada under an agreement with the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. The project is being implemented from within the Caribbean Law Institute Centre, Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus. The beneficiary countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The Project’s primary partners are governments and civil society institutions including the CARICOM Secretariat; the OECS Commission; bar associations; the Universities of Guyana, Suriname, UWI and the University of Technology, Jamaica; private sector and legal information service providers. The Project is also expected to work closely with the JURIST, JUST and other Canadian-funded projects in the region and to cooperate and collaborate with other donor-funded projects which have similar objectives. The ultimate outcome of the project is “enhanced access to justice benefitting men, women, youth and businesses in the CARICOM region.” Domestic workers have been identified by IMPACT Justice as a group that may be economically vulnerable because their legal employment rights are not well known, and may not be adequately protected. In 2016, Cecilia Babb, a gender specialist, was selected to report on this topic after looking at applicable international standards, employment laws and other relevant legislative provisions, as well as any actions taken by CARICOM Member States to give effect to the 2009 provision under Articles 45 and 46 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, for domestic workers to move freely within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The research was undertaken and the report prepared by Ms. Babb with characteristic thoroughness. It is with great satisfaction that IMPACT Justice shares this document, which is one in a series being produced on aspects of the law which affect vulnerable groups in the CARICOM region. Velma Newton Regional Project Director IMPACT Justice February 2017 iii Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic 2017 Workers TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF STATUTES ..................................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF TABLES AND FIGURES ................................................................................................................ viii ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................................. ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. x 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 CSME Free Movement Rights of Household Domestics ............................................................... 1 1.2 Domestic Workers are not benefiting from CSME Free Movement ............................................. 3 1.3 Patterns of Domestic Work in CARICOM ...................................................................................... 4 1.4 Domestic Workers Employment Rights Laws in CARICOM ........................................................... 7 1.5 Main Provisions of Domestic Workers Legislation...................................................................... 11 1.6 Other Employment Legislation Applicable to Domestic Workers .............................................. 17 1.7 Compliance with Domestic Workers Legislation in Force ........................................................... 20 1.8 Origins of Legislation Pertaining to Domestic Workers in the Commonwealth Caribbean ........ 23 1.9 Other Sources of CARICOM Legislation for Domestic Workers .................................................. 26 2. GENDER, COMMONWEALTH and C189 GAP ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 28 2.1 Gender Analysis of Domestic Workers Employment Rights Laws .............................................. 30 2.2 Mapping CARICOM and Other Commonwealth Laws ................................................................ 41 2.2.1 Provisions not contained in CARICOM Domestic Workers Laws ........................................ 44 2.2.2 Zimbabwe Labour (Domestic Worker) Employment Regulations ...................................... 46 2.3 Gap Analysis of CARICOM Domestic Worker Laws and ILO C189 ............................................... 47 2.4 Ratification of C189 in CARICOM ................................................................................................ 55 iv Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic 2017 Workers 3. CIVIL SOCIETY MOBILISATION ON CSME and C189 ............................................................................. 58 3.1 Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) ........................................................................... 58 3.2 Red Thread .................................................................................................................................. 59 3.3 National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE) of Trinidad and Tobago .................................. 61 3.4 Jamaica Household Workers Union (JHWU) ............................................................................... 63 3.5 Barbados Workers Union (BWU) ................................................................................................ 65 4. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND STAKEHOLDER PROPOSALS ................................................................ 68 4.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 68 4.2 Stakeholder Proposals ................................................................................................................ 71 5. RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................................... 75 ANNEX A. Text of the Four Laws Examined ............................................................................................ 79 ANNEX B. List of Employment Laws ...................................................................................................... 101 ANNEX C. Schedule of Persons Interviewed .......................................................................................... 105 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 107 v Employment Law Focusing on the Rights of Domestic 2017 Workers TABLE OF STATUTES Caribbean Community Skilled National Act (Skills Act) xii, 1, Chap. 28:01 Labour (Domestic Worker) Employment Regulations 1992 32, 35 (Zimbabwe) Children Act Chapter 46:01 (Act 12 of 2012) clause 105 (T & T) 38 Code of Practice for Protecting Persons Employed in Other People’s Homes 32 (2007) (Ireland) Domestic Employee (Rate of Pay and Hours of Duty) Order 1982 (Barbados) x, 6, 10 Domestic Employees Act (Cap.344) 1961 (Barbados) x, 6, 10,12 Domestic Workers Bill of Rights 2010 (New York State) 32 Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Cap. 346) (B’dos) 38 Employment Act 1999 (Grenada) 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 39 Employment of Women (Maternity Leave) Act (CAP. 345A) (Barbados) 9 Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act (Cap. 209) 1990 revision incorporates of Employment of Children (Prohibition) Act 1940 (St. V 38 & G) Employment of Young Persons and Children Act (CAP. 99:01) Schedule: 38 Minimum Age for Employment of Children (Guyana) Employment Rights Act 2012 (Barbados) 40, 41 Equality of Opportunity and Treatment in Employment Act (Cap. 16.14) (St. 38 Lucia) Holidays With Pay Act Sec 3. Domestic Servants Order (1959) (Guyana) 10 Holidays With Pay Act (CAP. 348) (Barbados) 9, 12 Household Service Workers (Hours of Work) Act 1980 (Guyana) x, 6, 10 Industrial Relations Act 1972 (T & T) 14, 41, 48 Industrial Stabilization Act 1965 (T & T) 39, 41 Labour Act (CAP. 297) Sec. 177: Labour (Application to Domestic Servants) 10 Reg. (3/1963) (Belize) Labour Act Chap. 98:01 in Part IV (Guyana) 40, 41 Labour Act Chapter 297 (Belize) 7, 8, 13 Labour Code Cap. 27 (Antigua and Barbuda) 14, 18 Labour Code (Amendment) Act 2011(No. 6 of 2011) (St. L) 8, 10 Labour Code 2012 (Montserrat) 15, 18 Labour Code No 37 of 2006 (St. Lucia) 8, 9, 10, 15 Labour Department Act (CAP 23) (Barbados) 15 Labour (Minimum Wage) Act (Cap. 18.19) Sec. 3. Domestic Workers Orders 8,