Labor Minister Francisco Dominguez Brito believes the government should absorb the cost of providing social security benefits to an estimated 300,000 domestic workers in the Dominican Republic. A bill, which also includes wage improvements and a state pension upon retirement, was drafted by Elias Pina senator Adriano Sanchez Roa. The bill establishes the right for domestic employees to receive severance payments and creates a national registry of domestic workers. Domestic workers in the DR enjoy benefits of vacation time and Christmas double wage, but depend on their employers for health benefits.
Dominguez met with representatives of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and its three affiliates in the Dominican Republic, CASC, CNUS and CNTD yesterday, Sunday 1 July. The ITUC and the Labor Minister announced plans to work together on drafting of a new law aimed at increasing benefits for home workers and for the country to ratify the International Labor Organization Convention 189 on domestic workers. International lobbyists have picked up the pace now that a large number of domestic workers in the DR are Haitian. Sharan Burrow of ITUC said: “The ITUC is eagerly waiting for the Dominican Congress to ratify the ILO Convention and for public authorities to implement it. This will make a huge difference to the lives of both migrant and Dominican women working hard from dawn to dusk without any rights and protection.”
The ITUC says that a formal request presented to Dominican senators by organized domestic workers is the latest in a series of moves to ensure the country ratifies the ILO Convention. It is estimated that a third of domestic workers in the Dominican Republic come from neighboring Haiti. Fear of deportation makes Haitian domestic workers particularly vulnerable to abuses from their employers.
“The unions will be able to step up their push to organize and represent the huge domestic workforce when the domestic workers are covered by labor legislation, so that they can negotiate decent wages and working conditions. We urge other countries to follow the lead of the Dominican Government, to end the widespread denial of basic rights to the millions of domestic workers around the world”, said Burrow.
The Dominican unions started organizing domestic workers several years ago together with other workers from the informal economy lacking rights and protection. Trade union innovations include capacity-building activities, the setting-up of a school to increase technical skills and awareness on workers’ rights, a negotiated agreement with social security bodies for the registration of informally employed workers, as well as successful public awareness and advocacy work.
“This is a big step towards reaching the goal of the ITUC’s ’12 by 12′ campaign to get 12 countries to ratify ILO Convention 189 by the end of 2012. This momentum will then help campaigning to get all countries to ratify the Convention and bring all domestic workers under the scope of decent labor legislation. The union movement will continue to do its part to support and empower these workers just as in any other sector,” said Burrow.
The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 308 national affiliates.