ILO: FDHs Should Have ‘Right to Rest’
MORE than half of domestic workers worldwide still do not have any legal right to weekly limits on working hours, the International Labour Organization (ILO) News Report said.
The report said the ILO was advocating the right to sufficient rest for domestic workers, noting that live-in domestic workers in some countries work more than 60 hours per week with no law to help them.
“ILO experts stress the negative impacts on health for domestic workers working excessively long hours with little or no rest, sometimes combined with insufficient and interrupted sleep,” the news report said.
“They note research showing it can lead to the increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression, to mention only a few,” it added.
The report also pointed out that physical and mental fatigue resulting from working excessive hours not only affects workers’ ability to perform their tasks but can also lead to increased risks of workplace accidents.
It added that the authors of a 2015 ILO fact sheet on domestic workers noted that working long hours makes it difficult for domestic workers “to maintain proper work-life balance.”
The fact sheet highlighted the difficult situations experienced by live-in domestic workers, “who are often expected to be available 24 hours a day to respond to various needs of their employers.”
“Not even an uninterrupted nightly rest is guaranteed for live-in domestic workers, especially those with care responsibilities for children, elders, sick or disabled family members, whose sleep is often interrupted to provide unscheduled care in addition to their daily tasks,” it said.
“Domestic workers are a prominent example of groups of workers who still lack this essential human right which is the right to rest,” said Philippe Marcadent, Chief of the ILO’s Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch.
“Regulating working time for domestic workers can be complex due the fact their workplace is often a private home,” he added.
The ILO said a minimum of 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest should be guaranteed to them.
One basis for improvement could be to use the guidance provided by the European Union Directive on working time that has set a minimum standard of 11 consecutive hours of daily rest.
Introducing this “11/24 rule” at the national level could be a first step towards effective protection of domestic workers’ right to rest, the news report said.
It also noted that in Chile, live-in domestic workers now have a right to 12 hours daily rest, of which 9 need to be consecutive, and both Saturday and Sunday off.
(Source: HongKongNews.com.hk)