Labour law crucial for Decent work in Asia Pacific

Kathmandu, June 16

Exclusion from national labour laws and high levels of informality continue to take a heavy toll on the working conditions of domestic workers in the Asia and the Pacific region, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report launched on Tuesday.

The United Nations Agency said that 10 years after international convention, domestic workers still fight to be recognized as workers and essential service providers.

The report ‘Making Decent Work a Reality for Domestic Workers: Progress and Prospects in Asia and the Pacific - Ten Years after the Adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011’ highlights that the majority (61.5 per cent) of domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific are fully excluded from coverage under national labour laws while 84.3 per cent remain in informal employment, read a statement issued by the ILO.

The Philippines is the only country in Asia and the Pacific to have ratified the Domestic Workers Convention 10 years on from its adoption.

According to the report, there are some 38.3 million domestic workers over the age of 15 employed in Asia and the Pacific of whom 78.4 per cent are women. The region is also the largest employer of male domestic workers, accounting for 46.1 per cent of male domestic workers worldwide.

Available data indicates that the vast majority of domestic workers in the region do not have any legal limits on their working time (71 per cent), nor any legal entitlement to weekly rest (64 per cent) under current labour laws. The report also finds that domestic workers typically earn some of the lowest wages in the labour market, especially when they are informal.

COVID-19 is also estimated to have had an outsized impact on domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific with high levels of informality and lack of legal protection leading to job losses, estimated at 2-3 times higher than other workers.

Likewise, domestic work in the Asia and the Pacific region is performed largely by women (78.4 per cent) however, the region is also the largest employer of male domestic workers, accounting for 46.1 per cent of male domestic workers across the world.

“There is an urgent need to formalize domestic work in the Asia Pacific, starting with the inclusion of domestic work in labour and social security laws, to ensure that these vital workers are offered the protection and respect they deserve,” said Chihoko Asada Miyakawa, Assistant ILO Director General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 17 June 2021.