Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Newsletter No.19
Dear colleagues,
You are reading the 19th 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.
1.
Updates on the
Convention and
Campaign News
IDWF: Replacement of IDWF
ExCo members for Europe
Giuliana Mesina has been the titu-
lar member of the IDWF Executive
Committee since the IDWF Founding
Congress in Montevideo in 2013. Due
to other responsibilities she has been
taking on in her Italian union FILCAMS,
she is stepping down from her post.
FILCAMS is suggesting Wendy Paula
Galarza Quinonez as a replacement.
Wendy is currently a union officer
in FILCAMS Perugia and one of her
responsibilities is the migrant work
project. Wendy has performed many
jobs in her life, including: babysitting,
assistance of elderly people, cleaning
services and assistance in hospitals.
May 2016
Content
1. Updates on the
Convention and
Campaign News
2. Research
3. Conferences and
calls
4. Publications
The alternate European IDWF
ExCo member was Coring de los Reyes,
The Newsletter includes
contributions from Eileen
an undocumented migrant domestic
Boris, Beatriz Camargo, Ka-
worker, originally from the Philip-
terina Dederov , Magdalena
pines, who worked in the Netherlands.
Diaz Gorfinkel, Raffaella
Although Coring was not able to travel,
Maioni, Sabrina Marchetti,
the IDWF Congress gave a signal to pay
Fairuz Mullagee, Aishah Na-
special attention to undocumented
mukasa, Karin Pape, Stefan
migrant domestic workers in Europe.
Rother, Helen Schwenken,
She returned to the Philippines and
Karin Schwiter, Sonal Shar-
the replacement was Jonaida Da-
juya. However, also Jonaida Dajuya
ma, Adla Souralov, Eva
returned to the Philippines recently.
Cech Valentov
Our Belgium affiliate ACV-CSC
put forward a nomination: Grace
Illustration: #MakeThem-
Papa. In ACV-CSC she is responsible
Visible Campaign, Euro-
for domestic workers in Brussels. She
pean Parliament, Kostadinka
is a member of the national commit-
Kuneva
tee for the service vouchers (the
Belgium cheque system) and she is
also a member of the federal tripartite
commission for domestic workers.
European Union: Report on
Domestic Workers and Carers
On April 28, 2016, the European Parlia-
ment adopted the Report on Domestic
Workers and Carers in the EU with 279
votes in favour, 204 abstentions and
105 against. The report calls on the EU
to recognise the employment and social
rights of domestic workers and carers.
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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Text of the report: http://www.
europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do
?type=REPORT&mode=XML&refere
nce=A8-2016-0053&language=EN
Press release by Kostadinka Ku-
neva, Rapporteur for the report in the
European Parliaments Womens Rights
and Gender Equality Committee, http://
syriza.eu/index.php/en/eyrwboyleytes/
konstantina-koyneba/148-konstantina-
kuneva-activity/3820-a-step-closer-
to-rights-and-dignity-for-women-
domestic-workers-and-carers-in-the-eu
Interview on DW rights
with Kostadinka Kuneva
http://www.europarl.
europa.eu/news/en/news-
room/20160218STO14860/
Kuneva-Regulating-domestic-workers-
will-reduce-trafficking-and-abuse
South Africa: Domestic Workers
Empowerment Programme (DWEP)
South Africa is widely known for its
progressive Constitution and laws ema-
nating there from, including specific
legislation, Sectoral Determination 7,
for domestic workers, passed nearly
10 years before ILO Convention 189,
ratified in 2011. Despite the progressive
legal dispensation, domestic workers
continue to be confronted by issues
like low wages, poor working condi-
tions, pay inequality, discrimination
and a distinct lack of social protection.
Introduction of the Domestic
Workers Empowerment Programme
(DWEP) with 1-year funding support
from the Services SETA is an attempt
to empower domestic workers to
build their collective self-confidence
by facilitating a process of organiza-
tion building within the sector.
The Social Law Project, a unit
in the Law Faculty, University of
the Western Cape, has engaged
with hundreds of Domestic Work-
ers over a 6-week period of intense
recruitment into the programme.
DWEP Orientation workshops Switzerland
were held in April 2016 with a total of
In the last few weeks, three political
42 emerging domestic worker leaders
initiatives on 24h-care were submit-
in the cities of Cape Town and Johan-
ted in the Swiss cantons of Zurich and
nesburg. The majority of participants
Schwyz. The initiatives demand infor-
applied to be on the programme in
mation on the situation of 24h-care
order to gain knowledge and share with
workers and better protection for the
others, learn about their rights as do-
workers in this field. The three initia-
mestic workers and improve their lives.
tives (in German) can be accessed here:
The biggest problems facing do-
http://www.kantonsrat.
mestic workers were identified as: low
zh.ch/Geschaefte/Geschaefte.
wages, unfair dismissals, working hours,
aspx?GeschaeftID=1b739916-
racism, lack of recognition, lack of trust.
4727-49b8-8171-a1a87b6a25e5
Needless to say, a large proportion
http://www.kantonsrat.
of participants were unfamiliar with the
zh.ch/Geschaefte/Geschaefte.
laws for domestic workers. Many had
aspx?GeschaeftID=ff727388-c5e5-
never attended any form of training.
4922-ae81-01b3b05c3c6a
Joining the DWEP programme and each
www.sz.ch/documents/P_3_16_
participant having to engage with 10
Revision_des_NAV.pdf
domestic workers with whom they will
share their knowledge and information,
has created a great deal of excitement.
With 7 more workshops to go, we will UK: A Victory for Migrant Domes-
continue to share the outcomes widely. tic Workers: Removal of the tie
to employers in the UK in sight
Migrant domestic workers have some
Spain reason to celebrate having finally at-
tained the right to change their em-
Podemos, a Spanish political party,
ployer once in the UK and to remain in
organized on Monday April, 18, 2016,
the country for up to two years after
a working day titled Invisible women:
doing so. Presently, migrant domestic
dignifying domestic and care work
workers are not allowed to change
in order to debate the situation of
employers, but the House of Lords
the sector and the activity of care in
members in favour of the amendment
the society. The event was planned
to the Immigration Bill, argued that rule
to re-introduce the issue to the pub-
often traps individuals in an abusive
lic debate in relation to the Report
workplace, as they fear they will be
Domestic workers and care in the
ordered out of the country if they try
European Union that was prepared
to leave such employers. According to
for the European Parliament.
Lord Hylton, this long due amendment
The event had a very good turnout,
would curb the abuse and exploitation
in affluence and debate, and served
of domestic workers that occurs in even
to encourage the activities related to
the most affluent parts of London.
the ratification of the Convention 189
Passage of the amendments was
in Spain and the preparation of the
not without opposition from members
National Conference on Domestic Work
such as Lord Green who argued that
that will take place next autumn. Video
it would mean someone could leave
of the presentations (in Spanish) avail-
their employer whether they were be-
able at https://youtu.be/GZpJ9_8gnHw
ing ill-treated or not and that it would
provide what will be seen by many as
a wide open door to the UK. Another
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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
member, Lord Bates said the govern-
ment was committed to eradicating
modern-day slavery and abuse, but
argued the amendment could be open
to manipulation by people who had not
been placed in difficult situations. De-
spite those objections, the amendment
was supported by 226 votes to 198.
Online Sources:
BBC. Government suffers two
defeats in Lords on Immigration
Bill. Available at http://www.bbc.
com/news/uk-politics-35767948
(Published 9.3.2016)
Justice for Domestic Work-
ers. https://www.facebook.com/
Justice-for-Domestic-Workers-
456016897839252/?fref=ts
(Last accessed 9.5.2016)
UK Government. Domestic
Workers in a Private Household
visa. https://www.gov.uk/domestic-
workers-in-a-private-household-visa/
overview (Updated 6.4.2016)
2. Research
PhD-Project: Transforming domestic
work? Migrant women and formali-
zation policy in Brussels by Beatriz
Camargo, bcamargo@ulb.ac.be
My PhD research investigated the tran-
sition of the domestic work market in
Brussels towards formalization, through
the implementation of the housework
voucher policy by the Belgian gov-
ernment in 2004 (titres-services in
French). This qualitative research was
based on interviews with migrant do-
mestic workers (30) working whether in
the formal or shadow market; voucher
clients or employers in the shadow
market (28); voucher service agencies
(16), be it with the manager or agency
staff members; and other social actors
such as migrant organizations, trade
unionists, experts and members of the
regional and federal government.
Now existing for more than ten
years, one can say that the voucher
policy has been a success in bringing
from the shadow to the formal market
many domestic work employers and
workers. Concerning the valorization of
paid domestic work, however, changes
were meagre: although the housework
voucher opens to domestic workers the
possibility to access a formal job and its
related social rights, domestic work in
Brussels is still not attractive enough for
nationals and is dominated by mainly
newly arrived migrant women (mostly
European from new EU Member States).
The fact the work is formal does not
change the image of the job as a dirty
work, pointing policymaking difficul-
ties in bringing the domestic work,
historically informal and personalized,
to the formal labor market. For migrant
women acquiring a regular migratory
status in Belgium and entering the
voucher service system at the same
time, perceptions on the voucher ser-
vice policy are much more positive. My
analysis shows the migrant status of do-
mestic workers is a decisive factor that
allows them to experience a change in
their identity as workers and citizens.
The passage towards formal domestic
work falls within the framework of their
new life as regular (documented)
migrants. Finally, the main beneficiaries
of the policy are middle and upper class
households, which can achieve work/
life balance by meeting their demand
of housework services at a much
lower price than they used to pay in the
informal sector. The commodification
of domestic work in Brussels did not
change, though, the fact that domestic
tasks are gendered as womens work
and hence did not bring changes
whereby couples share the tasks.
The PhD thesis, entitled Trans-
former le travail domestique? Femmes
migrantes et politique de formalisa-
tion Bruxelles can be accessed
(French) at: http://difusion.ulb.ac.be/
vufind/Record/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.
ulb.ac.be:2013/228311/Holdings.
For publications in English see:
Camargo Magalhes, B. (2015):
Switching from informal to formal
labor market in Brussels: What changes
for live-out domestic workers?, Work-
ing Paper Series 6/2015 Gender, Di-
versity and Migration, Faculty of Social
Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt;
Camargo, B. Outsourcing House-
work: Clients, Agencies and the Voucher
System in Brussels, in Triandafyllidou,
A. and Marchetti, S. (Eds). Paying for
Care: The Employers Perspective on
Migrant Domestic Work, Ashgate.
The economic and social impact of
the illness of Alzheimer - Synthesis
edited by the ACLI-Colf, Rome
The results of the 3rd survey realized
by the CENSIS with the AIMA (Italian
Association of Alzheimer) was pre-
sented in Rome February 24, 2016 at
the Library of the Senate - the Hall of
Acts of Parliament. The survey ana-
lyzed the condition of the patients and
their families over the last 16 years.
There are 600,000 Alzheimers
patients in Italy and because of the
aging of the population the number
is destined to grow. The care and
monitoring activities is more informal
and private: in half of the cases care
is carried out by the children, 38%
have the support of a care worker. The
research CENSIS-AIMA finds that the
sick, and who assists them, grow old
together. The average age of those
suffering from Alzheimers is 78.8 years
(it was 77.8 years in 2006 and 73.6
years in 1999), while the caregiver is
on average 59.2 years (54.8 years in
2006 and 53.3 years in 1999). The use
of private informal care is widespread
and care work is mainly paid for by us-
ing the money of the patient (58.1%).
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Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Who they are, what they do and how Republic for many years and now are tion of Philippine return migrants.
do the carers who work in the italian approaching retirement? How can Lanham: Lexington Books.
families live. - Research conducted by we mitigate the vulnerability of them This book spearheads a new area
Acli Colf (yet in a process of publication; in the labor market, which derives of researchthe link between migra-
excerpt from a chapter of C. Alemani) from their origin, gender and age? tion and democratization. It argues that
A nonprofit organization SIMI and return migrants can play an important
The issue of sexual harassment emerges
its academic partners from Prague and role in the consolidation process of
especially in focus groups conducted in
Bergen (Norway) were mapping for two young democracies. Based on original
Cosenza, during which the participants
years the situation of these women in quantitative and qualitative data, it
agree in reporting that in the area, it is
joint research and analysis of legisla- analyzes the political attitudes and ex-
common practice to ask sexual pleas-
tion and public policies whose results periences of Philippine labor migrants.
ures from the family assistants. One of
will be presented at the conference.
the participants explains for instance,
The conference will also touch the Schwiter, Karin et al. (2015) Neolib-
that in many houses the sexual avail-
topic of care in the context of migration eral austerity and the marketisation
ability of the worker becomes a base on
and the challenges that are associated of elderly care. In: Social and Cultural
which the employment relationship is
with this area in the Czech Republic, Geography. https://www.researchgate.
based. Refusing implies dismissal. For
Norway and in the global context. net/publication/280088314_Neo-
this reason, the preference is given to
The first panel discussion focuses liberal_austerity_and_the_mar-
young women and singles, rather than
on Migration, gender and ageing ketisation_of_elderly_care
older and married ones. Such experi-
whereas the second panel will fo-
ences of harassment or sexual blackmail
cus on Migration, gender and care, Sharma, Sonal (2016) Housing, Spatial-
leave deep marks on women workers.
which will be partially related also Mobility and Paid Domestic Work in
Safety at work, however, does
to domestic work and care work. Millennial Delhi: Narratives of Women
not only depend on the risk to suffer
Domestic Workers in Surajit Chakravar-
sexual harassment, but also by violent
ty and Rohit Negi (Eds.), Space, Plan-
conduct engaged - unintentionally - by
assisted. Women workers who care for 4.Publications ning and Urban Contestations in
Delhi. Delhi: Delhi: Springer India.
violent people are affected by high
levels of psycho-physical discomfort. Boris, Eileen & Unden, Meg (2016).
Enforcing Domestic Workers Bill of Sharma, Sonal (2016). Rasoi ka
Rights in California. UCLA Institute Kaam/ Bathroom ka Kaam: Perspec-
tive of Women Domestic Workers
3.Conferences for Research on Labor and Employ-
ment, Policy Brief, No. 30. http:// Economic and Political Weekly, 51
and calls www.irle.ucla.edu/publications/ (7), 52-61 http://www.cprindia.
documents/EileenBoris_Brief30.pdf org/sites/default/files/articles/SA_
LI_7_13022016_Sonal_Sharma.pdf
SIMI, Faculty of Humanities at the
Charles University in Prague and the ILO (2015). ILO global estimates on
migrant workers. http://www.ilo. Souralov, Adla. (2015). New Per-
Institute of Sociology at the Univer-
org/global/topics/labour-migration/ spectives on Mutual Dependency
sity of Bergen cordially invite you
publications/WCMS_436343/ in Care-Giving. Farnham: Ashgate.
to the international conference
lang--en/index.htm Many scholars see caregiving
Women at the Sidelines (?) The
relationships as being based on mu-
conference is devoted to the topic of
ILO (2016). Global Mapping of the Provi- tual dependency or interdependency.
aging migrant women, whose num-
sion of Care through Cooperatives: Sur- Extensively cited notions of the global
ber in the Czech Republic is gradu-
vey and Interview Findings. http://www. care chain or international division of
ally increasing, but their position is
ilo.org/empent/units/cooperatives/ reproductive labour have prepared the
still paid very little attention to.
WCMS_457286/lang--en/index.htm ground for analysis of global interde-
When: June 8, 2016, 10am-4pm
pendencies in several domains. This
Where: AKC, Husova 4, Prague 1
Kessler, Christl; Rother, Stefan (2016). book goes further by taking mutual
Are migrant women aged 40+
Democratization through migration? dependency as a starting point for
discriminated in the Czech Republic
Political remittances and participa- analysing all relationships. Using the
and in what respect? How is life for
example of Vietnamese families in the
these women who worked in the Czech

4
Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Czech Republic and the Czech native

nannies, it shows how paid caregiving
is contextualized in terms of various
relationships between three types of
actors: employer-employee, caring for
the child, and mother-child. All of these
ties are based on ontologically different
principles and each of them operates
as a piece of a puzzle, which is mean-
ingful only in relation to each other.
Souralov considers caregiving to be a
formative activity that establishes ties
between the concerned actors, whose
subjectivities are mutually shaped in
the daily practice of caregiving. With its
stress on mutuality in care work, this
ground-breaking book illuminates the
new forms of interpersonal, intereth-
nic, and intergenerational relation-
ships and highlights the mechanisms
and processes in which kinship ties
are negotiated and reproduced.

Triandafyllidou, Anna; Marchetti,

Sabrina (Apr. 27, 2016). Europe needs
low-skilled migrant workers too. http://
www.euractiv.com/section/social-
europe-jobs/opinion/europe-needs-
low-skilled-migrant-workers-too/

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: Dr. Sabrina Marchetti, European University Institute, 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