Research Network For Domestic Worker Rights Research Network For Domestic Worker Rights

Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Newsletter No. 11
March 2014
Photo by Mauro Buffa, The departure from Padua
Dear colleagues, :P11300_INSTRUMENT_ID:2551460

Content
http://www.ituc-csi.org/argentina-
You are reading the eleventh newsletter ratified-c189-on-27?lang=en
of the Research Network for Domestic 1. Updates on the Conven-
Portugal
Worker Rights, including information on tion and Campaign News
the implementation process of the ILO The NGO ComuniDria, based in
Lisbon, published and began distribut-
Publications
Convention, campaigns, and news from
the world of research. Contributions for ing Guia da Trabalhadora Domstica
(Domestic Workers Handbook), chiefly 2. Publications
the next newsletter are welcome.
intended to inform workers about their The Newsletter includes contribu-
tions from Manuel Abrantes, Had-
1. Updates on the rights. Available online (in Portuguese
elzein M.E.S. Elobeid, Elizabeth
Convention and Cam- online)
Frantz, Katie Kuschminder, Sab-
paign News http://pelotrabalhodomesticodigno. rina Marchetti, Karin pape, Helen
files.wordpress.com/2014/01/guia- Schwenken, Sonal Sharma, Demetria
Tsoutouras, Sebastian Walter
So far, ten countries have ratified the trabalhadora-domc3a9stica-_color_im-
ILO C189. At least five other are about primir.pdf Photos: Mauro Buffa, Karin Pape
to do so, according to the ITUC (Colom-
bia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa News from IDWF
Rica and Argentina).
US / India:
See countries and more details here: In early January, the IDWF, the IUF,
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/ the National Domestic Workers Alli-
en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:11300:0::NO: ance (NDWA) and the United Workers
1

Congress in the US, jointly with domes- signatures in less than a weeks time. At and the Hong Kong Federation of Asian
tic workers unions and organizations the end, the Indian diplomat was trans- Domestic Workers to launch an online
in India, launched a series of actions to ferred to the United Nation and the petition. The petition calls on Matthew
demand from the Indian government local police in USA dropped the charge. Cheung, the Secretary for Labour &
not to give diplomatic immunity to the Nevertheless, this case made the Indian Welfare of the Hong Kong government,
Indian diplomat in the USA, Ms. Khobra- government consider formulating a to no longer tolerate the abuses and to
gade. Ms. Khobragade made it to the policy under which India will accept the put in place a system which will punish
first page of the international media, prevalence of the host countrys wage agencies and employers who violate
because the US police mistreated her. laws for its migrant domestic workers. human and labour rights. To find out
Largely unreported was the fact that http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ more and to sign the petition, follow
she underpaid her domestic worker, politics/domestic-help-abroad-to-be- this link:
made her work overtime without pay paid-as-per-that-countrys-laws-draft- http://www.change.org/
and did not pay taxes and social protec- policy/ . en-GB/petitions/to-hong-kong-
tion coverage according to US legisla- government-stop-all-abuses-of-
tion. For details, please go to http:// Hong Kong: migrant-domestic-workers-in-
www.idwn.info. A recent case of severe physical hong-kong?utm_source=IDWF+e-
abuse of an Indonesian domestic work- News&utm_campaign=e3704d09b6-
One of the actions launched was an er in Hong Kong, led to ajoint action Petition2_22_2014&utm_
online signature campaign at the IUF by IDWF, Amnesty International, Hong medium=email&utm_
website which collected some 5000 Kong Confederation of Trade Unions term=0_90f22dc395-e3704d09b6-
146336885&ct=t%28Petiti
on2_22_2014%29
Europe
The European Federation of Food,
Agriculture and Tourism Trade Un-
ions (EFFAT) launched an invitation to
tenders for a one year research project
on industrial relations in the sector
of domestic work. IDWF will use this
opportunity to increase collaboration
among trade unions to collaborate in
the sector.
Turkey
The newly founded IMECE domestic
workers union in Turkey, organized a
one day domestic workers Conference
on 23 February 2014 in Istanbul to
which IDWF was invited (see pictures in
Conference of the newly founded IMECE this newsletter). About 80 participants
domestic workers union in Turkey attended the conference, among them
domestic workers from Istanbul and
Antalya, representatives from Turkish
trade unions, a representative from the
2

ILO, researchers, activists and others. Karin Pape give account of the mile- workers globally.
Domestic workers are not recognized stone domestic workers reached in
as workers by Turkish law. Occupational forming the International Domestic Elobeid, H. (2013). Re-Act Review and
health and safety issues, in particular to Workers Federation (IDWF) in 2013. Yes Amendment of The Sudan Domestic
prevent fatal accidents by falling out of we did it! captures the jubilant mood Servants Act In Line With the ILO Do-
the window from high buildings when of the domestic workers and also gives mestic Workers Convention, 2011, C189
cleaning them, are high on the agenda an account of how domestic workers In: Governance and Security Policy in
of the domestic workers. IDWF took organised to win the Domestic Workers Africa. Upeace Africa Policy Series, Vol
also the opportunity to link up with the Convention, C189, at the International 1, No. 1 (p. 113). http://www.africa-up-
other Turkish domestic workers union Labour Conference (ILC) of the ILO on eace.org/Publications.aspx#4fd7b84d-
EVID-Sen, with the General Workers 16 June 2011. The IDWF is a fully con- ff89-4f00-a7c4-1ee8bbca8718
Union of DISC and with the Friedrich stituted, democratic federation of 48
Ebert Foundation in Istanbul. Both or- membership-based domestic workers Frantz, E. (2014). Breaking the Isola-
ganizations support organizing efforts organisations representing around 300 tion: Access to Information and Media
of domestic workers in Europe. 000 domestic workers globally. In its Among Migrant Domestic Workers in
role as a democratic federation that rep- Jordan and Lebanon. Open Society
2. Publications resents the interests of domestic work- Foundation. www.opensocietyfounda-
Budin, B.; Pape, K.; Bonner, Chr. (2014). ers and by the domestic workers, the tions.org/reports/breaking-isolation
Yes, we did it! Domestic Workers IDWF serves as an indication that it is Breaking the Isolation: Access to
Launch an International Federation. possible to organise precarious workers Information and Media Among Migrant
Global Labor Column. http://column. globally. Most importantly, this would Domestic Workers in Jordan and Leba-
global-labour-university.org/ not be achieved without the active non is a new report by the Open Society
Chris Bonner, Barbro Budin, and participation and sacrifices of domestic Foundations describing the information
Conference of the newly founded IMECE

domestic workers union in Turkey
3

needs of migrant domestic workers and tion to the Middle East. Migration of everyones tongue but how does
the ways migrants communicate and policy Brief No. 18. Maastricht Graduate the employment of circular migrants
access media and information. It is the School of Governance. exactly work? And how could this apply
first study of its kind to be carried out http://www.merit.unu.edu/publica- to the field of paid domestic work? In
in Jordan and Lebanon examining the tions/uploads/1389627443.pdf order to answer to these questions,
potential for how various forms of me- Anna Triandafyllidou and Sabrina Mar-
diaincluding those associated with Schumacher, Christoph: Die Rechte der chetti have prepared a special issue of
mobile phonescould be used more Migrant Domestic Workers nach dem the Journal for Immigrant and Refugee
widely to reach out to workers on a ILO-bereinkommen 189. Ein Beispiel: Studies which focuses on the perspec-
large scale. Based on interviews, group thiopien, in: Dubler, Wolfgang / tive of circular migrants employed in
discussions, informal observations Zimmer, Reingard (Hrsg.): Arbeitsvlker- domestic service and home-care work,
and a survey of 522 migrants carried recht - Festschrift fr Klaus Lrcher, 1. in several EU countries. In fact, Manuel
out in Jordan and Lebanon, Breaking Auflage, Nomos, Baden-Baden, 2013, S. Abrantes is presenting the case of such
the Isolation provides suggestions for 62-71. workers in Portugal, while Ewa Palenga-
ways NGOs, trade union representa- Sharma, S. (2014). Devyani row: Why Mllenbeck and Sabrina Marchetti are
tives, government agencies, embassies, India invoking Vienna convention is focusing on the circualtion of workers
and other stakeholders can use various hypocritical. Firstpost. between Germany-Poland-Ukraine and
types of media for large-scale outreach http://www.firstpost.com/living/devya- Italy-Ukraine respectiverly.
and information dissemination. It also ni-row-why-india-invoking-vienna-con-
explores how migrants themselves vention-is-hypocritical-1326237.html
can participate in media production as
content providers, telling their stories Special issue on Migrant Domestic
and sharing experiences and opinions and Care Workers in Circularity in the
through community-based media. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee
Studies, Vol. 11, N. 4 (2013). http://www.
Kuschminder, K (2014). Shattered tandfonline.com/toc/wimm20/current#.
Dreams and Return of Vulnerability: Uv5gAc5FCro
Challenges of Ethiopian Female Migra- Circularity seems to be on the tip
Contacts: Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Contact to the interim coordinators: Claire Hobden (ILOACTRAV), Rebeca Pabon (FNV Bondgenoten, The Nether-
lands), Prof. Dr. Helen Schwenken (ICDD/University of Kassel), and LisaMarie Heimeshoff (ICDD/University of Kassel):
dwrn@icdd.unikassel.de
Europe: Dr. Sabrina Marchetti, European University Institute, Florence, sabrinamarchetti@rocketmail.com
Latin America: Prof Dr Mary Rosaria Goldsmith Connelly, Universidad Autnoma MetropolitanaXochimilco, Mexico:
gcmr7503@correo.xoc.uam.mx
North America: Prof Jennifer N. Fish PhD, Old Dominion University, United States: jfish@odu.edu
Editor of the Newsletter: Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff, dw-rn@icdd.uni-kassel.de

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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Photo by Mauro Buffa, The departure from Padua

Dear colleagues, :P11300_INSTRUMENT_ID:2551460

Conference of the newly founded IMECE

Contacts: Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Europe: Dr. Sabrina Marchetti, European University Institute, Florence, sabrinamarchetti@rocketmail.com

Editor of the Newsletter: Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff, dw-rn@icdd.uni-kassel.de

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