CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Cabanawan, Whelma Fajardo |
|---|---|
| Title | Deliver the Dream: The Impact of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention on Advancing Human Rights An analysis of the impact of the Domestic Workers Convention in three jurisdictions: Philippines, Germany, and the United States |
| Summary | This thesis observes and assesses the impact of the ILO’s Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention on the global domestic worker rights movement through the experiences of domestic workers in Germany, United States, and Philippines. This thesis analyzes the role of national regulatory frameworks and various international instruments – with greater focus on the ILO Domestic Workers Convention – in advancing the rights of domestic workers around the globe. The first chapter sheds light on the historical exclusion of domestic rights from international and domestic policy-making, and the group’s classification to an informal, “invisible” economic sector has resulted in gross violations of human rights because of the lack of regulation and official labor protections. Chapter 1 also delves into the intersectionality of race, gender, and migrant status and how it critically impacts the experiences of domestic workers, with a special emphasis on female migrant domestic workers – often impaired with discrimination from all three fronts. The last section of Chapter 1 illustrates the exploitation and abuse that occurs in the domestic worker industry, which has been generally accepted as an “invisible sector”. Long, unregulated working hours, stolen wages, poor and unhealthy working and living conditions, and confinement and forced labor, some of the most severe abuses captured by researchers in the field, are examined to stress that the prolonged exclusion of domestic workers from national labor laws and international conventions has led to systematic abuse and exploitation. Chapter 2 introduces the phenomenon of the domestic workers rights movement, with an emphasis on national grassroots movement that have led to both national and international legislative accomplishments for domestic workers. This chapter provides an observation and comparison of three jurisdictions: Germany, United States, and Philippines. It discusses the extent of existing legal protections for the domestic workforce, and illustrates the possibilities and limitations within the jurisdictions. Furthermore, it observes current regional and international instruments and the creation of the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers. Various ILO Conventions are scrutinized and compared to determine its breadth in relation to domestic workers rights. The third chapter demonstrate the impact of the ILO Convention by highlighting the crucial reforms which were spurred by the efforts of the global domestic worker rights movement. The creation of new laws and amendments in current labor laws in the national regulatory frameworks in the three countries researched are provided in this section, characterizing an optimistic development in the advancement of domestic workers rights. While the varying degrees of protection for domestic workers that has transpired due to the adoption of the Convention are discussed in the previous chapter, Chapter 4 observes its shortcomings in providing full realization of domestic workers rights on an international level – pointing out the challenges in collective bargaining and effective enforcement of the Convention. In addition, Chapter 4 highlights the lessons learned from decades of organizing and mobilizing domestic workers, from both a national perspective, as well as on a worldwide level. While recalling the successful campaigns employed by worker organizations and trade union alliances, the chapter draws on their experiences in coalition-building and advocacy strategies to serve as point of reference for future efforts in advancing domestic workers rights. The concluding section draws attention to the possibilities in the growing social movement of domestic workers and the progress made since the adoption of the Convention, and provides potential avenues and instruments that can be implemented for achieving real and lasting justice and meaningful equality for all domestic workers. The thesis concludes with a discussion of research limitations and possibilities, as well as recommendations for those interested in the analysis of domestic workers rights and the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers. |
| Supervisor | Csilla Kollonay-Lehoczky |
| Department | Legal Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/cabanawan_whelma.pdf |
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