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The 2009 report on gender issues to the ILC states the current economic and jobs crisis will probably worsen the situation for the most vulnerable.



In many countries around the world, domestic work is not considered a formal form of employment and therefore is not covered in many cases by national labour protection laws. Domestic workers very often have no choice but to run away from their employers if he/she physically or sexually abuses them, withholds their salary or does not treat them with respect. This is aggravated by the fact that many of them are migrants working without proper visas, which makes them even more vulnerable. “If caught by the authorities they could be immediately deported or face further abuse”, the ILO reports.



During the ILC discussions this year, it was noted that formalising the “informal” nature of some occupations (including domestic work) would possibly improve the security of women in these occupations. According to the ILO “the idea is to make sure that working out of sight does not mean working beyond the pale of equal access to labour rights – or exclusion to the pursuit of decent work – a basic human right”.



As a step forward to better protect domestic workers, the ILO has committed to begin the process of developing a legal instrument (e.g. Convention) on Domestic Work during next year’s International Labour Conference.



To acces ILO's article please click on: http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stories/lang--en/WCMS_108335/index.htm