Domestic Workers in Bangladesh

Total Domestic Workers : 331,000 (Labour Force Survey-2006)

Child Domestic Worker: 420,000 (ILO-UNICEF Baseline Survey 2007)

Among them 83 percent are female, who are mostly child and young in age.

Estimated domestic workers: about 2 million (calculation based on household of the Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporation)

Situation and Legal Protection

Domestic workers are excluded from the Bangladesh LabourAct-2006;

Domestic Servant Registration Ordinance-1961 is negative to labour rights protection;

Domestic workers’ income is not included in Gross Domestic Product;

There is no monitoring system in domestic worker protection system;

Domestic workers have no scope for complain.

Domestic Workers’ Rights Network, Bangladesh

Trade unions, human rights organisation and NGOs whoare working for the rights of workers came together toformulate the Network.

Domestic Workers' Rights Network (DWRN) formed inDecember 2006 for Protection of Domestic WorkersRights.

32 organisations comprising trade unions, human rightsorganisations and NGOs are member of the Network.

BILS works as the secretariat of the Network.

The Sleeping Place of domestic workerPlace for Sleeping Percentage

Drawing Room 20.00%

Kitchen 33.33%

Varanda 16.67%

Store Room 03.33%

Floor of bedrooms 20.67%

Separate Rooms 06.67%

Working Hour & wage

Average Working Hour : 10.73 Hour

Domestic worker’s agerage wage: BDT 509.60(below US $ 7)

Injustice and Torture towards domestic worker Lack of education opportunity : 66.67% Lack of recreation : 53.33% Use of bad word : 83.33% Physical Torture : 46.67% Threat of Unemployed : 46.67% Work pressure behind capacity : 63.33% Sexual harassments : 16.67% Lack of Security : 40.00% Mental Frustration : 67.67%

Picture of Domestic worker torture-2001-2010 (Ref: BILS)

Dead by torture

Wounded by torture

Sexually Harassed & Others

Total

398 299 100 798

Year Dead Wounded Total

2009 37 34 71

2010 56 30 83

2011 38 20 58

Network Activities

Network submitted memorandum to the ministry of labour and employment to account domestic worker in the labor act 2006 on 9 January 2008.

Ministry Decided to formulate Domestic workers’ Protection and Welfare policy and invited network to contribute in drafting the Domestic workers’ Protection and Welfare policy 2010.

Network organised series of meeting, workshop, seminar, rally, human chain, letter campaign on raising demand for approval of the policy and ratify the ILC 189.

Members of Parliament expressed their Solidarity to the demands of Domestic Workers on December 10,

2009

Hon' able Minister for Labour and Employment assured about approval of Code of Conduct on January 20, 2010

“Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2010” Proposed responsibilities of the employers:

Contract with domestic workers/guardians; Appointment letter & Identity Card for the domestic

workers; Payment of monthly wage within 7 days and festival

allowance; Segregation of working hours with sufficient leisure; One day leave per week and 14 days leave as Annual

Holidays; Safe and hygiene of sleeping place, Maternity benefits; Education and skill training, Treatment facilities; Compensation to the injured/dead workers.

“Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2010”

Proposed responsibilities of the government:

Registration of the domestic workers Fixation of wages Punishment for illegal action against domestic workers. Regular inspection and develop monitoring mechanism by

involving non govt. organisations & civil society members for protecting rights of domestic workers.

Proposed responsibilities of the workers:

Giving one month prior notice to the employer for dissolving the work.

Submit complains to the authority.

“Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy 2010” Prohibition:

No appointment of domestic worker under 14 years of age.

Never locked the home when the domestic worker is inside.

Never engage the child domestic workers in heavy and dangerous works.

Never appoint any domestic worker without his/her consent.

Parliamentarian Rashed Khan Menon MP supported the demandof ratification of the ILO Convention 189 on InternationalDomestic Workers Day on June 16, 2012

Advocacy on ratification of ILO Convention 189

Sharing with National & Regional Trade Union Federations;

Sharing with Human Rights organizations of Domestic Workers Rights Network;

Facilitating media reporting both print & electronic;

Orientation to the civil society members through publication.

Advocacy on ratification of ILO Convention 189

Memorandum to the Hon'ableMinister, State Minister, Secretary of the Ministry on Labour & Employment;

‘Thanks Letter’to the Bangladesh delegates (govt., employer & workers representative) of 100th ILC;

Press Conference demanding ratification of ILO Convention 189 on July 25, 2011;

Publication of booklet on ILO Convention 189 & ILO Recommendation 201 in Bengali and circulate.

Demands in Media

Demands in Media

Poster campaign on demanding ratification of ILO Convention 189

Come to protest where torture

Thank you

Presented by:

Murshida Akter Nahar

Member, Domestic Workers Rights Network, BangladeshSecretariat: Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies-BILSEmail: bils@citech.net, website: www.bils-bd.org

General Secretary, National Domestic Women Workers Union