Implementation of International Labour Standards for Domestic Workers

Organization(s): ILO
Year: 2017
PDF of Resource

There are approximately 67 million domestic workers worldwide, the clear majority of whom (80 per cent) are women. Many domestic workers, if not most, come from disadvantaged social groups, making them particularly vulnerable to discrimination and abuse at work.1 In 2011, to address these concerns, the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and Recommendation, 2011 (No. 201). These instruments seek to ensure that the fundamental protections afforded to other workers are also extended to domestic workers.

This brief examines how ILO member States have been improving the protection of domestic workers through the implementation of Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201.