Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Newsletter No.20
AUG 2016

Content

1. Updates on the
Convention and
Campaign News
2. Research
3. Conferences and
calls
4. Publications

Acli Colf Turin: Training Course on Domestic Work

Dear colleagues,
You are reading the 20th newsletter
of the Research Network for Domestic
Worker Rights, including information
on the implementation process of
the ILO Convention, campaigns, and
news from the world of research.
pean countries, in 2011, the Italian
NGO Anziani e non solo promoted in
cooperation with the Terre DArgine
District - its first Caregivers Day with a
conference raising awareness for the
first time among the general public
and professionals on the role and the
challenges faced by informal caregivers.
Since then, the event was repeated
annually expanding its scope (the
The Newsletter includes
contributions from Beatriz
Camargo, Berit Gullikstad,
Yee Ting Ma, Raffaella
Maioni, Sabrina Marchetti,
Karin Pape, Sonal Sharma,
Eva Cech Valentov, Myrtle
Witbooi
Pictures: Raffaella Maioni
Acli Colf

1. Updates on the 2016 edition actually covers the whole

Convention and
Campaign News
IDWF
The latest news from IDWF you
can find in their July newsletter:
http://idwfed.org/en/resources/
idwf-e-newsletter-13-july-2016
Italy: Caregivers Day in
Emilia Romagna
Cargivers Day is an annual campaign
to raise awareness of caring, highlight
the challenges that caregivers face,
and recognize the contribution they
make to families and communities.
Inspired by consolidated experiences
carried out annually in other Euro-
month of May through 11 events),
including conferences and workshops
for professionals and events targeting
caregivers themselves and the general
population. Through the years, and
now that it has reached its sixth edi-
tion, the Caregivers Day has proven to
be an important opportunity to raise
awareness on the needs and problems
faced by informal caregivers includ-
ing those belonging to minorities such
as young, migrant, and LGBT caregiv-
ers but also to acknowledge and
celebrate the essential contribution
they provide to society as a whole.
To learn more: www.caregiverday.it

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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Ecuador 2. Research 3.Conferences

In June, the first domestic worker
union was founded in Ecuador,
Women on the sidelines (?) - Quali-
and calls
the National Union of Remuner-
tative research on intersectionality
ated Domestic Workers. Global Carework Summit,
of gender, migration and aging
SIMI, an NGO working with migrants June 1-3, 2017, University
Kuwait of Massachusetts Lowell
in the Czech Republic, and its fellow
Kuwait has become the first Gulf The Carework Network is organizing a
antropologists Petra Ezzeddine and
Arab country to regulate working three-day conference to bring together
Hana Havelkov from the Faculty of
conditions for domestic workers by carework researchers from across
Humanities at the Charles University in
legislation. Kuwait sets a minimum disciplines and across the globe.
Prague executed a qualitative research
wage (60 Kuwaiti dinars, i.e. US$198 The Carework Network addresses
on intersectionality of gender, migra-
per month) and writes down work critical issues related to carework,
tion, and aging issues with a group of
time and paid leave. However, the such as how identities influence
women with refugee experience from
kafala (sponsorship) system remains carework; how inequal-
the former Yugoslavia, aged 50+. The
untouched and keeps migrant domes- ity structures carework; how
research questions raised were as fol-
tic workers tied to their employers. caring work is recognized
lows: how women with a refugee past
reflect on their personal migration life and compensated; how state policies
Morocco influence the distribution of care;
trajectory, how they reflect their gender
On July 26, 2016, Morocco adopted a working conditions of care; and wheth-
role and their gender identity and its
law including domestic workers into er and to what extent, citizens have a
changes during the migration process,
the labor law. Nevertheless, many right to receive, and a right to pro-
and how they give relevance to their
provisions still put domestic work- vide, care. Authors and organizers
refugee experience at an older age.
ers at a disadvantage compared to should submit a proposal of their
Findings include that the women
other workers. The newly introduced paper, panel, or workshop to care-
face an undignified level of old age
minimum wage is lower than in other work.network@gmail.com (by e-
pension, because they have not worked
sectors of work and the weekly work- mail only) no later than December
for enough years in either country in
time is higher than for other workers. 1, 2016. More information: https://
order to qualify for a decent pension.
The law also tries to impede the hiring www.uml.edu/docs/CALLFORPAPERS-
They have to stay active on the labour
of children as domestic workers. Draft3_Global%20Carework%20
market at a time when other people
are already drawing a pension, and yet Summit_2017_tcm18-243894.pdf
Zimbabwe
their real chances on the labour market
UN WOMEN, the International Domestic In conjunction with this conference
are highly problematic. They thus often
Workers Federation (IDWF), the Office New Solutions seeks manuscripts for a
find work only in precarious jobs
of the High Commissioner for Human special issue dedicated to understand-
Rights (OHCHR) and the International ing work environment and occupa-
Germany
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) tional health in relationship to paid
A study by the Cologne Institute of Eco-
have greated a guide for Zimbabwe carework. In practice, this conceptual-
nomic Research finds that in Germany
Migrant Domestic Workers in South ization of paid care generally includes
9% of private households employ a
Africa with information on domestic those who work in the industries of
domestic worker. While less domestic
workers rights and contacts to civil health care, education and child care,
workers work informally than 10 years
society organizations. Online: http:// mental health, and social services.
ago, around 3 million domestic workers
www.idwfed.org/en/resources/infor- Deadlines for proposals is November
still work informally. In this way, they
mation-guide-for-zimbabwemigrant- 1, 2016. See their website for details.
are not covered by labor law protec-
domestic-workers-in-south-africa
tion. The study is online (in German):
http://www.iwkoeln.de/studien/iw-
kurzberichte/beitrag/dominik-enste-
arbeitsplatz-privathaushalt-295664

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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

CfP, Servants Pasts, 16th 4.Publications Camargo Magalhes, B. (2016):

to 20th Centuries Case study report addressing de-
The history of domestic servants and mand for trafficking in human-
Baranano Cid, M. & Marchetti, S.
service in South Asia is an under- beings in the domestic work
(2016): Special Issue Investiga-
researched field. In spite of the ubiquity sector in Belgium. DemandAT Coun-
ciones Feministas. https://revis-
in both historical and contemporary try Study No.1. ICMPD: Vienna.
tas.ucm.es/index.php/INFE
periods, various strands of history The studies examine the demand-
Margarita Baraano Cid and Sab-
writing - labour, family, socio-cultural side of trafficking in domestic work in
rina Marchetti have recently edited a
- have largely kept servant an invisible its multiple facets (diplomatic house-
volume of the journal Investigaciones
subject. This conference, which is part hold, domestic worker visa regime,
Feministas on the issue of migration,
of the European Research Commis- au pair, child fostering, etc.). Looking
social reproduction, and paid domes-
sion (ERC) funded project on Domestic at the demand-side of trafficking in
tic work, with a focus on Italy, Spain
Servants in colonial South Asia invites domestic work brings back the core of
and South America. Articles are open-
papers to fill in this historiographi- the discussion: the private nature of the
access and written both in English and
cal gap. A brief project overview can employer/employee relationship which
Spanish. Authors include: Eleonore
be found here https://www.zmo. often escapes regulation, monitor-
Kofman, Angeles Escriv, Gioconda
de/forschung/projekte_2014_2019/ ing and sanctioning. In the Belgian
Herrera, Francesca Scrinzi, Anna Di
domestic_servants_d.html case, there in an important protec-
Bartolomeo, Francesca Alice Vianello,
Our major thrust in this conference tion gap between workers who are
Fulvia Staiano, Elena Desdentado, Vera
is to address the history of servants in recognized as trafficking victims and
Pavlou, Sara Picchi, Ninna Sorensen,
two broad ways: one, in the relational others, showing the loopholes of the
Laura Oso, Claudia Pedone, Sandra Gil
way that covers the range of forms of migration and labour policies when it
Araujo, Cristina Vega Sols, and Raquel
relationships instituted and produced comes to domestic workers protection.
Martnez-Bujn. Presentations of the
between masters and servants and The national study is part of a
volume are scheduled for 19 October at
between employers and employees. research project coordinated by the
the Complutense University in Madrid,
These include legal and regulatory EUI (European University Institute) and
and 27 October at the European Univer-
frameworks, ties of (fictive and con- the ICMPD (International Centre for
sity Institute in Florence. For more info
structed) kinship, slavery-servitude Migration Policy Development). The
write to sabrina.marchetti[at]unive.it.
continuum, and gender, caste and research report as well as the policy
religious norms and practices. Of
course, the major site of locating the
changing historical meanings and
practices of all the above is the house- International Day of Domestic
hold. We are keen to explore servants Workers 2016 with Acli Colf, Italy
pasts in a range of households which
for heuristic purposes could be classi-
fied as: native urban elites, European,
rural elites, mercantile households
and households of lesser means.
The conference will be held at
CSDS, New Delhi on 16-18 February
2017. We invite abstracts in not more
than 400 words, emailed to erc.serv-
ants@googlemail.com Please send in
the abstracts by 30 September 2016.
Organisers: Charu Gupta (Delhi
University, Delhi), Nitin Varma (Hum-
boldt University, Berlin), Ravikant
(CSDS), Nitin Sinha (ZMO, Berlin)

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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

briefs concerning Belgium and other ILO (2016): Polticas de formalizacin

six European countries (Cyprus, France,
Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the
United Kingdom) can be fully ac-
cessed at the projects website: http://
www.demandat.eu/publicationsnew
del trabajo domstico remunerado en
Amrica Latina y El Caribe (in Span-
ish). http://www.ilo.org/americas/
temas/econom%C3%ADa-informal/
WCMS_480352/lang--en/index.htm

Gullikstad, B.; Kristensen, G. K.; Ringrose,

P. (eds., 2016): Paid Migrant Domes-
tic Labour in a Changing Europe.
Questions of Gender Equality and
Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
This book analyses the changing
face of work, gender equality and citi-
zenship in Europe. Drawing on in-depth
research conducted in nine different
countries, it focuses on the discourses,
social relations and political processes
that surround paid domestic labour. In
doing so, it rethinks the vital relation-
ship between this kind of employment,
the formal and informal citizenship of
migrant workers and their employers,
and the cultural and political value of
gender equality. Approaching these as
fluid, complex and interrelated phe-
nomena that change according to local
context, it will appeal to sociologists,
political scientists, geographers, anthro-
pologists and gender studies scholars.
More information: http://
link.springer.com/book/10.10
57%2F978-1-137-51742-5

Contacts: Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Contact to the coordinators: Claire Hobden (ILO), Prof. Dr. Helen Schwenken and LisaMarie Heimeshoff (Universi-
ties of Osnabrck, IMIS and Kassel, ICDD), Raffaella Maioni (Acli Colf ): coordinator@domestic-work-research.org
Asia: Sonal Sharma, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, India (for South Asia):
southasia@domestic-work-research.org
Europe: Prof. Dr. Sabrina Marchetti, Ca Foscari University of Venice, Italy: europe@domestic-work-research.org
Latin America: Prof Dr Mary Rosaria Goldsmith Connelly, Universidad Autnoma MetropolitanaXochimilco, Mexico:
latinamerica@domestic-work-research.org
North America: Prof Jennifer N. Fish PhD, Old Dominion University, United States:
northamerica@domestic-work-research.org
Editor of the Newsletter: Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff, University of Osnabrck, coordinator@domestic-work-research.org