IYCW Bringing Young Domestic Workers Demands to the 99th Session of the ILC 2010

“My name is Rebecca and I am 23 years old. I come from Arequipa, a rural town in Peru. I have been working for almost 10 years as a domestic worker in different places in Lima without any contract. I am a single mother; I have a 7-year old child. I earn a very low salary; it is just enough to cover my personal expenses. It is very difficult to save any money with that salary. I have to work long hours without getting paid for my overtime hours. Over my 10 years’ work I have had very bad experiences, like most domestic workers. I was sexually abused by my employers.”- Peru YCW

The International Young Christian Workers will bring the demands of young domestic workers around the world to the 99th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC), 2010.

The ILO will hold its annual conference in Geneva on 2-18 June 2010. The conference is a tripartite meeting gathering representatives of the employers, the governments and the workers. The items placed on the agenda of the conference are of particular importance to the IYCW:

• Decent work for domestic workers (standard setting, with a view to the possible adoption of a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation)
• Elaboration of an autonomous Recommendation on HIV/AIDS in the world of work (standard setting, second discussion)
• A discussion on the strategic objective of employment (first in the cycle of recurrent discussions to follow up on the 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization)
• Review of the follow-up to the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The discussions of this 99th session, in particular the items related to domestic workers and social justice for a fair globalization, are all the more important for the IYCW since many YCW national movements are taking action to improve the working and living conditions of young domestic workers.

IYCW representatives, Geethani Peries (IYCW president, from Sri Lanka), Marcos Rondon (international team member, from Venezuela), Christian Doumingou (national president, Gabon YCW), Noelia Samudio (activist and leader of Paraguay YCW), will bring the demands of the IYCW to the 99th session of the ILC, in collaboration with Social Alert.

We recommend that the ILO convention on domestic work should include the rights guaranteed in the ILO conventions

1. Freedom of association and collective bargaining;
2. Working hours;
3. Minimum wage and equal wage;
4. Occupational health and safety;
5. Social security;

as well as a specific provision on migrant workers (guaranteeing the rights and protection in the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families).

In solidarity,

Geethani Peries

IYCW President