Dignity and Power for all Domestic Workers around the Globe!

June 16 is International Domestic Workers’ Day, which commemorates the passage of the International Labor Organization Convention (ILO) 189 which sought better working conditions for domestic workers. While the convention declares recognition and respect for domestic workers, these rights are not respected in most of the world. In the US, the domestic worker industry is plagued by structural racism in federal labor law. 

From the dawn of federal labor laws in the 1930s, domestic workers have been excluded from key rights and protections afforded to other workers.  

The landmark Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 excluded domestic workers from the right to earn minimum wage and overtime pay. To this day, live-in housekeepers and nannies are denied these basic worker rights. Domestic workers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which allows other workers to form labor unions and organize for better working conditions. Presently, many domestic workers do not earn a living wage, do not have paid sick days, do not have paid time off, do not get compensation if injured on the job, do not receive unemployment benefits if they are fired and do not have access to work-related healthcare.

This discrimination affects an industry that is primarily women of color and immigrants/migrants. Over half of domestic workers in the US today are Asian American/Pacific Islander, Black or Hispanic women. 

Without basic labor and employment rights, domestic workers bore the brunt of the economic and health crises that unfolded during the Covid-19 pandemic. Domestic workers continue to be excluded from unemployment insurance and federal pandemic relief afforded to other workers.  

These economic and health crises went on top of a crisis that domestic workers were already facing; rampant labor trafficking. Without key labor and employment protections, employers freely exploit and abuse immigrant women of color in the industry. This is a global crisis, causing suffering for all women domestic workers around the world. 

Let us celebrate International Domestic Workers Day by affirming our fight to end the oppression and exploitation of domestic workers anywhere in the globe. Let us honor the domestic workers that make all work possible by continuing our organizing and supporting Damayan’s campaign against labor trafficking and modern-day slavery. To learn more and join Damayan’s anti-trafficking campaign, Baklas, please visit our website. https://www.damayanmigrants.org/baklas-nyc 

Dignity and power for all domestic workers around the globe!

Mabuhay ang mga domestic workers sa buong daigdig!