Domestic workers want the opportunity to exercise their rights to be treated fairly and humanely by their employers. Their plight was highlighted during the National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE) celebration of World Day for Decent Work at the Arima Town Hall, on October 7. General secretary of Nude, Ida Le Blanc said domestic workers faced several dangers such as abuse, exploitation, sexual harassment and safety hazards on a daily basis. She said domestic workers were not covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and were in danger of contracting highly contagious diseases.
"A domestic worker who looked after an elderly man in a family was not told that he had tuberculosis," Le Blanc said. "When she contracted the disease and she told her employers, they were so inhumane they fired her." She said domestic workers were at risk for injuries being exposed to hazardous chemicals in cleaning, laundry, handling sharp objects, lifting heavy loads and turning the sick and elderly. One of the many challenges domestic workers faced was sexual harassment Le Blanc revealed. "Sexual harassment is a major problem which sometimes leads to unwanted pregnancies," she said."A domestic worker reported to us after she was sexually harassed by a relative in the household.
"When she reported the incident to the mistress she was instantly dismissed." Le Blanc said the domestic worker had no recourse under the law for unfair dismissal because the Industrial Relations Act excluded domestic workers. She said with domestic workers working so many long hours for their employers, they were often to tired to do their own work at home and supervise their children properly. They feared their children may turn to criminal activities. Three women also gave testimonies of their harrowing tales of abuse and exploitation while working as domestic workers. Le Blanc made an impassioned plea and called for the government to ratify Convention No 189 for Domestic Workers, which sets minimum standards for domestic workers and addresses different aspects of their working conditions.
She disclosed that at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in June this year, Labour Minister Errol Mc Leod agreed that it would be ratified, but nothing had been done since. Spokesman for the International Labour organisation (ILO), Pierre-Francois Recoing, said although domestic workers made important contributions for the functioning of households and also the labour market, they have largely remained outside the scope of labour and social protection. "The new ILO standards set out that domestic workers around the world, who care for families and households, must have the same basic labour rights as those that are available to other workers," he said. Le Blanc said with the new convention, Nude will now step up its energy and work even harder to root out all the inequities that domestic workers had to face daily. "We have already begun our work sensitising politicians on the issue and trying to garner support for the convention when it comes to Parliament," she said.
