Ending child labour in domestic work and protecting young workers from abuse working conditions
ILO
Highlights
Millions of children around the world, mainly girls, are in paid or unpaid domestic work in households other than their own. Of these children around two thirds are estimated to be in unacceptable situations, either because they are below the legal minimum working age, or are working under hazardous conditions or in circumstances that are tantamount to slavery. This report touches upon the seclusion, dependency and lack of rights that make children working in the homes of others highly vulnerable to child labour.
In 2011, in a landmark development, the ILO’s International Labour Conference adopted Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 concerning decent work for domestic workers. The adoption of these instruments is a historic step towards ensuring that all domestic workers enjoy the same fair terms of employment and decent working conditions as other workers and are equally entitled to respect of their rights and dignity. These new standards contain specific provisions requiring ratifying States to protect children from child labour in domestic work, while ensuring that young workers who can legally work are provided with decent work conditions and do so without compromising their education.
This report makes a call to end child labour in domestic work and to provide adequate protection to young workers, of legal working age, against abusive working conditions in domestic work.
