ILO convention to promote decent work

Story: Fauziatu Adam

THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) is working on a convention to promote decent work for domestic workers.
The Head of the Organisation Department of the Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC), Togbe Adom Drayi II, who made this known at the advocacy workshop on the social protection for domestic workers, said the convention was to address the numerous decent work deficit associated with domestic work.
He said the initiative was the best way to ensure that domestic workers throughout the country operated in a decent environment.
A number of the ILO Conventions adopted in the past have excluded domestic workers from their coverage and the national labour laws of many member states also exclude domestic workers.
Although domestic workers fulfil an important need in virtually every country, they are not fully recognised as workers who are entitled to respect and the protection of the law. They are also among the most vulnerable, abused and lowest paid workers in many countries.
Togbe Drayi classified domestic workers as trained or untrained workers, including caregivers, gardeners, drivers who work within the households, cooks and cleaners, and indicated that over the years domestic workers had been subjected to abuse and some negative treatment.
He noted that institutions such as Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) and some trade unions in the country had, over the years, directed their attention towards the plight of this category of workers through legislative advocacy programmes.
He consequently called on the government to partner the social partners to utilise the opportunity to contribute towards the development of an international standard for the regulation of domestic work.
Togbe Drayi expressed his appreciation to the TUC and Global Network Africa for their support and initiative in advocating for social protection for domestic workers.