The International Labour Organisation, ILO in its latest report estimates that nearly three-quarters of domestic workers around the world, which is more than 55 million people are at significant risk of losing their jobs and income due to lockdown and lack of effective social security coverage.
The report made available by the communications expert of ILO Abuja Office, Pius Udoh, says the vast majority of 37 million out of the 55 million domestic workers are women.
The ILO assessment conducted at the beginning of June, 2020 shows that the most affected region was Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with 76 percent of domestic workers at risk, followed by the Americas with 74 percent, Africa with 72 percent and Europe with 45 percent.
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The report says while domestic workers in both formal and informal employment have been affected, those in informal employment accounted for 76 percent of those at risk of losing their jobs or working hours.
The UN labour body says in countries with strict levels of lockdown, domestic workers, whether formally or informally employed, have been unable to go to work. But while some of those formally employed still had access to unemployment insurance, for domestic workers in informal employment staying home has meant losing their livelihoods with no safety net to fall back on, making it difficult for them to put food on the table.
The ILO worries that in other cases employers have stopped paying their live-in domestic workers, due to their own financial circumstances or a belief that domestic workers do not need their salaries since they cannot go out.
It also worries that in some countries, where migrant domestic workers are required to live with their employers, some have been found on the streets after their employers dismissed them for fear of contracting the virus. This puts them at risk of human trafficking.
The ILO added that it is working with domestic workers’ organisations and employers’ organisations to ensure the health and livelihoods of domestic workers.
It says it is also undertaking rapid assessments of the level and nature of the risks facing them, so that governments can devise policies that guarantee at least basic social security coverage, including access to essential healthcare and basic income security.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
