Today, as we commemorate the first anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention 189 (C189) on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, we call on ILO Member States to immediately ratify and implement C189 as a demonstration of their global commitment made at the 100th Session of the International Labour Conference on 16 June 2011.

Ratifying C189 is important, urgent and a priority! Wide ratifications of C189 would benefit an estimated 100 million domestic workers around the world who for long have been unrecognized, neglected, and forgotten.

We commend Uruguay for being the first country to ratify C189. We are optimistic that this step forward will encourage the rest of the world to follow in particular the Philippines which also committed to be among the first countries to ratify the Convention.

We call on States, employers, recruiters, civil society, religious groups, and the general public to become instruments of change and reinvent their views on domestic work. Specifically, we raise our call to the following:

• Governments to ratify C189 and follow through on their ethical and legal obligations to extend to both local and migrant domestic workers the same rights as those of other workers.


• Governments are urged to provide an enabling environment that will facilitate respect for rights, provide ample protection and promote holistic development of domestic workers.


• Governments to include domestic workers in national labour laws and enact provisions that address the specific needs and concerns of domestic workers especially child domestic workers and migrant domestic workers.


• Governments to repeal policies that disproportionately discriminate and criminalize domestic workers and effectively enforce existing policies that seek to promote the rights and welfare of domestic workers.


• Governments, employers and the general public to recognize the contribution of domestic workers to the development of societies where they work and treat them with respect and dignity.


• Recruiters to stop the exploitation of migrant domestic workers through collection of exorbitant recruitment fees which lead domestic workers into forced labor and debt bondage.


• Trade unions and labour rights advocates to show their concrete support by assisting domestic workers to exercise their right to association and to join or form a trade union.


• For trade unions to expand solidarity with migrant domestic workers across borders.


• Religious groups to take an active role in promoting public consciousness with respect to the culture of inequalities and stereotypes that work against domestic workers particularly women domestic workers.


• Religious groups to continue with their role of providing refuge and comfort for domestic workers who have been exploited and abused.


• Domestic workers to organize, speak for themselves and mobilize support for the ratification and implementation of C189.