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John Manzongo Herald Reporter
Parliament is expected to ratify the Domestic Workers Convention 189, after its official opening by President Mugabe set for next Tuesday, Secretary for Labour and Social Services Mr Lancaster Museka has said. His remarks came after the International Labour Organisation announced that the convention was now an international labour law effective last Thursday, in the countries that ratified it.

Once the convention is ratified, domestic workers in Zimbabwe will start enjoying full international labour rights and protection.
According to ILO statistics, there are at least 53 million domestic workers worldwide and the number is increasing steadily in developed and developing countries.

ILO director for Working Conditions and Equality Ms Manuela Tomei said in a press statement last week, that there are an estimated 10,5 million children worldwide, most of them under age, who are working as domestic workers.

“The new convention becomes binding international law as of September 5,” she said. “It needed ratification by two ILO member States. To date, eight ILO member States namely Bolivia, Italy, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa and Uruguay have ratified the Convention.

“All this shows that the momentum sparked by the ILO convention on domestic workers is growing. The convention and recommendation have effectively started to play their role as catalysts for change. They now serve as a starting point for devising new polices in a growing number of countries — recognising the dignity and value of domestic work.

“Today’s entry into force of Convention 189 sends a powerful signal to more than 50 million domestic workers worldwide. I hope that it will also send a signal to ILO member States and that we will soon see more and more countries committing to protect the rights of domestic workers.”

Since the Convention’s adoption, several countries including Zimbabwe passed new laws or regulations improving domestic workers’ labour and social rights.

According to an ILO study in January, domestic workers work for private households, often without clear terms of employment and excluded from the scope of labour legislation.

At the time of the research, only 10 percent of th domestic workers were covered by general labour legislation to the same extent as other workers.
Zimbabwe recently set wages and conditions of service for domestic workers at US$100 per month for the highest paid grade which included child minders, cooks and gardeners.

Workers not residing with their employers are entitled to accommodation, transport, electricity and fuel or cooking allowances.
A yard worker or gardener is supposed to be getting US$85 per month or a weekly wage of US$19,60 while a cook or housekeeper is entitled to US$90 per month or US$20,79 per week.

Those domestic workers looking after people with disabilities had their wages pegged at US$95 per month or US$21,94 per week.
Some domestic workers with Red Cross certificates or similar qualifications who take care of people with disabilities and the aged are paid US$100 or US$23,10 per week. Those who do not stay with their employers are entitled to monthly allowances of US$50 accommodation, US$26 for transport, US$5 for lights, US$5 for fuel or cooking and US$5 for water.

Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers was adopted at the ILO 100th session in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2011.