The International Domestic Workers federation, a WIMN member, has produced this position paper in preparation for the General Discussion on Decent Work and the Care Economy at the 112th International Labour Conference in Geneva in early June 2024. Domestic workers around the globe hope to contribute to these global conversations on care in solidarity and alliance with care workers in other sectors as well as with the disability rights movement.
“…Domestic workers are a key pillar of the care economy, considering only those employed directly by households; they account for 25% of all care workers. Around the world, 75.6 million DWs are aged 15 years and over.
…Domestic workers have a long tradition of organization and mobilization to recognize care work—performed for households—as work and their rights as workers. This legacy informs the current conceptualization of care work as work, which is also ingrained in the ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Promoting decent work for DWs must be at the core of a care economy agenda and policy…”
The position paper is available in English and in Spanish. Click to read and download:
Domestic Workers and the Care Economy (English version)
Las trabajadoras del hogar y la economía del cuidado (Versión española)