CRINMAIL 1226: 

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EDITORIAL: Child Domestic Workers - The dawn of a new Convention? (part 2) 

The International Labour Conference is preparing to vote on a new global instrument to ensure decent work for domestic workers next week.

In June 2010, CRIN reported on negotiations for the instrument and what it could mean for children working in domestic service.

 

Now, as the final vote draws near, Audrey Guichon from Anti-Slavery International, which has supported child domestic workers press for special provisions, tells us how their lobbying efforts are faring in this week's guest editorial.


Introduction

At its 100th session starting on June 1st this year, the International Labour Conference will be asked to vote on the adoption of a Convention and a Recommendation on Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

ILO Conventions apply in theory to domestic workers, but the traditional perception that they offer informal help rather than work, their lack of visibility and the unique nature of their workplace in the home have all meant that they have not benefited from international labour regulations. National laws commonly also make exceptions to their inclusion in core labour laws.

Domestic work is one of the oldest occupations in the world and is an important job for millions of people, representing up to 10 per cent of total employment in some countries. Domestic workers perform a range of tasks in private homes including cooking, cleaning, laundry, and taking care of children and the elderly.

Women and girls make up the overwhelming majority of domestic workers worldwide. Some are migrant workers from other countries, whilst others have moved within their own country, often from rural areas to the city.

Child domestic workers are also extremely vulnerable to exploitation. Due to their young age and separation from their family they are inherently easier to coerce and control. In most countries the minimum age for employment is 15 years old but child domestic workers are often younger with some starting work as young as the age of six.

Last year, an important step was taken when the International Labour Conference (ILC) agreed that the international norm under discussion needed to take the form of a Convention and a Recommendation which would include, amongst other important provisions on migrant domestic workers, provisons on working hours and protection against abuse and violence.

Anti-Slavery International and Children Unite consulted with approximately 150 children in 6 countries to ask them their views on what should be included to protect children specifically. Five current and former child domestic workers went to Geneva to present their recommendations during the 2010 ILC. They expressed four key concerns:

1. No one should be a domestic worker below the national legal minimum working age. Young domestic workers above this age (usually 14 or 15 years) can work, but their employment should be subject to special protection.

2. Written employment agreements are the best way of ending exploitation and getting young domestic workers back into education.

3. Young domestic workers need urgent protection from physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Local leaders and law enforcers should look out for and assist young domestic workers in abusive situations.

4. Often isolated, young domestic workers should be locally registered and given opportunities to organise.

Following the 2010 ILC, 2 articles were put forward to address the needs of child domestic workers; they are article 4 and paragraph 4 of the Convention and Recommendation.

Anti-Slavery International and Children Unite welcome these two articles.

This year, we organised the consultation of a total of 252 children in India, Nepal, Philippines, Tanzania, Togo, Peru and Costa Rica through our partner organisations, between February and May 2011. Current and former child domestic workers shared their enthusiasm and expectations about the way the Convention and Recommendation would improve their working conditions and impact their lives and are asking delegates at the ILC to support the adoption of article 4 and paragraph 4 of the Convention and Recommendation. Below are the reasons why child domestic workers think that these two provisions should be supported by ILO delegates and implemented at national level following the ratification of the two instruments. 

Right to Education (article 4 of the Convention) 

The current draft of article 4 recognises the right of young domestic workers to an education. Young domestic workers are often deprived of an education, curtailing their chances for better life and personal development. During the consultation, whether or not they had received any type of training, child domestic workers were unanimous in reaffirming the importance of education and their unconditional support for the recognition of this right in the Convention.

In particular, child domestic workers think:

• Formal education and vocational training are both essential and provide them with complementary skills and knowledge for their future life;
• The right to compulsory primary education is a minimum standard which should in no case be derogated from and should be complemented by vocational training and/or further education depending on the particular choice and need of each young person.

Child domestic workers also warn of the obstacles they commonly face that make it difficult and sometimes impossible for them to receive an education:

• the costs of schooling and training, including uniforms, fees, books and equipment;
• the limited time they have to go to school/training after they have completed their domestic tasks;
• the opposition of employers and parents to their right to education;
• the discriminatory attitude of school children and staff, and the failure of the education system to take into account their special needs.

"For me, going to school helped a lot, because it was a place to play with others. When you work, you can't play" (María, Lima, Peru). 

"Going to school makes it possible to find a good job; our employers have a job because they went to school" (Salomé, Lomé, Togo).

"Schooling gives you better jobs than just being a maid" (Leah, Manila, Philippines). 

Special protection for young domestic workers (paragraph 4) 

The majority of the children who were consulted are 'live-in' domestic workers i.e. living with their employer. In most cases, they have been pushed into this situation because of: a lack of opportunity in the region where they come from; because they have been recruited by an employer to work and live in a house; because they saw it as their only chance to go to school; or because they were lured into thinking that their situation would be better in the city.

The views of child domestic workers are pretty clear: in a majority of cases, and given the choice, they would prefer not to live within the home of their employer. Their reasons for this include:

• living-in increases their vulnerability to abuse because of their increased isolation and a lack of monitoring or supervision of their work situation;
• children who live-in with their employer are given a substantially heavier workload and are often expected to work at night;
• their living conditions can be very bad, including a complete lack of privacy, absence of adequate sleeping arrangements and a lack of appropriate food;
• they suffer an increased sense of loneliness caused by the lack of contact with their family and friends.

Child domestic workers have also made it clear that it is in the power of the employers to change a negative situation into a positive one by providing food instead of depriving them of it; by paying an agreed salary instead of withholding it; by providing guidance and advice rather than humiliating them.

The two most common expectations expressed by young domestic workers who were living-in with their employers are:

• not to be treated differently from other members of the family;
• not to be expected to work more than their agreed hours and for no less than their agreed salary.

"We can be badly treated, abused physically or through work, they can force us to work at night and not give us enough rest" (Luisa, San José, Costa Rica). 

"I prefer to live with my employers because they are good to me. They don't force me to do things that I cannot do. For example, I get enough rest and I can decide when I want to do laundry, etc" (Evelyn, Manila, Philippines). 

In line with paragraph 4 of the Recommendation, young domestic workers identified a number of tasks which they consider to be dangerous by nature:

• carrying heavy loads;
• being given sole responsibility for caring for children or the elderly;
• cooking (especially when using equipment unknown to the child);
• carrying out unhygienic tasks like emptying toilets, sceptic tanks, animal pens or washing underwear. 

Young domestic workers also made suggestions regarding the circumstances that can make some tasks dangerous. They mentioned: 

• working in a household composed of many members, which will mean a considerable increase in workload;
• being asked to perform the same tasks over and over again, which increases the risks of accidents by carelessness and worsens the impact of chemicals and tasks that are ergonomically detrimental;
• performing tasks in potentially private rooms places, like the employers bedroom or bathroom, where they are more vulnerable to sexual abuse.

"Taking care of small children or disabled and elderly people is dangerous because they are vulnerable and we do not know how to take care of them in the way they really need us to" (Eva, Costa Rica). 

"I think that any task, whether easy or hard can be dangerous if we don't pay attention to what we are doing or if we don't do it with a minimum level of safety" (Isabel, San José, Costa Rica). 

Young domestic workers believe that one very important way to minimise the chance of abuse and exploitation occurring is to ensure that they benefit from employment contracts.

Long working days, delays and deduction in payments, lack of rest or days off are all too common and have the potential to make their work hazardous. Young domestic workers have clearly stated the need to see their employment situation regulated through the use of contracts which should cover all items currently included in the draft Convention. But they add that contracts should also clearly state the right of young workers to attend school/vocational training and clearly identify the tasks that young workers should not be expected to do.

"There is no description of the work we have to do when we start; we have to do what the family members need from us" (Meena, Tamil Nadu, India). 

"We have to work for a long time. Often it takes a year before the employer allows you to have a vacation. But this is part of the job" (Mary, Manila, Philippines). 

Monitoring of living and working conditions (paragraph 4)

Young domestic workers want their situation to be monitored. They believe that putting an end to the isolation they commonly suffer will be instrumental to minimising and eventually stopping the abuse they suffer from. It will help ensure that their well-being as children and young workers is protected.

In particular they have stated that:

• home visits must take place on a monthly to three-monthly basis; interviews with young domestic workers must be done without the employer present in order to avoid intimidation;
• monitoring must be done by a state official (local government or labour inspector) accompanied by a social worker, health worker or NGO representative;
• monitoring must cover all aspects of the living and working conditions of the young domestic worker, as per this draft Convention, including: living arrangements, working hours and conditions, days off, rest, schooling, treatment in the household and payment;
• monitoring must assess the living and working conditions of young domestic workers against all of the provisions included in article 6 and paragraph 5 (2) of the Convention and Recommendation. 

For more information, contact Audrey Guichon: [email protected]

Website: www.antislavery.org/homealone

Blog: www.standwithus-youngdomesticworkers.blogspot.com

Further information:

Editorial: Child domestic workers - the dawn of a new Convention?

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CRC Day of General Discussion 2011

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has announced that the 2011 Day of General Discussion will be devoted to children of incarcerated parents, whose rights set out in article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The meeting will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 30 September 2011. To register for the event, participate or make a submission, click here.

NEW advocacy calendar! 

CRIN has launched a new advocacy calendar to highlight important opportunities for global children's rights advocacy.

The calendar aims to assist children's rights advocates to use the full range of opportunities within the UN and regional human rights mechanisms to pursue children's rights advocacy.



It includes information about how and when to submit information to:

- the Committee on the Rights of the Child
- other UN treaty bodies
- the UN Human Rights Council

- the Universal Periodic Review
- Regional human rights mechanisms, including the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the Council of Europe

You can also copy key events to your own calendar.

For all other events, go here. 

LATEST NEWS AND REPORTS 

Call for tougher membership criteria

Elections for the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in May 2011 fell short of the General Assembly's wish that States should compete for membership based on their human rights records, several rights groups have lamented. The problem was evident this year when no country challenged Syria's candidacy within the Asian regional group despite the government’s violent crackdown on civilian demonstrations and a consequently rising death toll.  Eventually, Syria withdrew its candidacy.  Yet also in previous years, Libya, China and Saudi Arabia were all elected in 2009 and faced no opposition.  Rights groups urge that HRC membership should be dependent on competitive elections, and a yearly audit to determine if council members are "uphold[ing] the highest standards" of human rights should be carried out. Full story. 

On a related note, CRIN's Transparency Campaign aims to encourage a more open and transparent appointment process to high-ranking positions in human rights. Our aim? To identify leaders with the appropriate commitment, skills and experience to work effectively for children’s rights. Read more about the campaign here. 

State violence

The brutal government crackdown on protesters in Syria continues unabated, with the death toll reported to have reached 1,100, according to Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah.  Since the protests began in mid-March, more than 7,000 civilians have been arbitrarily detained, mainly young men, but also including children and elderly persons.  In the southern city of Deraa alone, there were reports of some 500 people arrested in one day, with security forces going door to door and seizing any male aged between 15 and 40.  More on the story.

Around 4,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon to escape the violence according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, including four unaccompanied siblings whose father was shot dead. 

Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syrian president Bashar al Assad to cooperate with a UN Human Rights Council enquiry into the clampdown on protests, but a UN team has yet to be allowed entry. Full story. 

Debate on child custody

Japan has revised its laws on returning children taken across borders by one of their parents after a divorce to bring domestic law in line with the Hague Convention, but experts urge caution in cases of domestic violence – a reason that is often cited by Japanese mothers who take their children to Japan without the consent of their non-Japanese fathers. Full story. 

Let the child decide

The proposal to ban the circumcision of male children in San Francisco, United States will be up for vote in the city’s November ballot, meaning that voters will decide on what until now has been a private family matter.  If approved, the measure would restrict males under the age of 18 from being circumcised.  Some Jewish communities practise male circumcision within the first eight days after birth, while in other Muslim communities it is conducted at some stage during boyhood.  The leading sponsor of the initiative, Lloyd Schofield, commented that ‘Parents are really guardians, and guardians have to do what’s in the best interest of the child. It’s his body. It’s his choice.’ The initiative has come under fire from those who view it as an attack on freedom of religion; while others in favour of the measure argue that it is important to balance and prioritise the rights of children over the religious freedoms of parents. Full story.  

Child abuse 

Former Israeli soldiers have broken the silence on the military’s routine abuse of Palestinian civilians, including children. Some of the testimonies of former soldiers posted on Youtube describe the “neigbour procedure”, which refers to the use of Palestinian children as human shields to protect soldiers from suspected booby traps or attacks by militants. The procedure was ruled illegal by Israel’s high court in 2005. Full story. 

Meanwhile in the Holy See, the Pope has issued new guidelines to bishops that aim to protect minors from abuse and help victims find assistance and reconciliation.  Yet critics have described the measures as ‘meaningless’, as bishops are not obligated to report allegations of abuse to the authorities if local law does not require it, and only if it does not prejudice the "sacramental internal forum", which means that cases should be heard in secret under canon law, under which the most serious penalty is defrocking. Full story. 

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has issued its Concluding Observations for Tunisia. CRIN has extracted the references to children's rights, which address issues of the exploitation and abuse of children with disabilities, and their exclusion within mainstream schools. Read them here.

The CRPD has also released a call for papers on implementing different aspects of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Deadline for submissions is 17 June 2011. To participate, click here.

The Committee will review the reports of Spain, China and Peru in its next session (19-23 September 2011). 

The right of discharge

The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has decided to grant army recruits under the age of 18 the right of discharge. This development ‘represents a significant step towards implementing the spirit of the Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict,’ said Michael Bartlet, Parliamentary Liaison Secretary for Quakers in Britain. Full story. 

Right to Play: International Play Association World Conference 2011: ‘Playing into the Future – surviving and thriving’
Date: 4–7 July 2011
Organisation: International Play Association
Location: Cardiff, Wales
More details here. 

Right to Education Project: Project Coordinator

The Right to Education Project is accepting applications for the role of Project Coordinator to be based in London, United Kingdom. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading a team promoting and supporting legal advocacy on the right to education, including by managing and developing the Project’s multi-lingual website, developing fundraising proposals and supporting training workshops, and providing strategic support to research, advocacy and legal action on the right to education. Application deadline: 31 May 2011

For further information, click here. 

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ECPAT – UK: x 2 

ECPAT UK is inviting applications for the following two full-time posts: Project Coordinator and Project Assistant. These are newly created positions to support a European Commission-funded project. The successful candidates will be based in London and the project will run until May 2013. Application deadline: 3 June 2011 (5PM).

For a full job description and application form, click here. 

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World Vision Partnership: Child Protection Advocate   

The World Vision Partnership is inviting applications for the role of Child Protection advocate to be based in Serbia for a minimum of two years. The successful candidate will be responsible for generating and driving World Vision Serbia’s strategic actions to increase the quantity and quality of government sponsored child welfare and protection services. Application deadline: 18 June 2011

To apply, send your resume and a cover letter to Eve Jolly at [email protected].

For further information, click here. 

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Hague Conference on Private International Law: Legal Officer

The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is inviting applications for the role of Legal Officer to work in the area of Inter-country Adoption and International Child Protection Law. Application deadline: 24 June 2011

For further information, click here. 

Jargon of the Week 

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