Government may act to protect the rights of domestic workers

The Government may establish a Joint Labour Committee (JLC) to protect domestic workers, Minister for Labour Affairs Tony Killen has said.

Speaking at the publication of a new rights guide for domestic workers who are mainly migrant women, he responded to a number of demands from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu).

Ictu president Peter McLoone called for the establishment of a domestic workers' JLC, more labour inspectors, regulation of recruitment agencies and for labour inspectors to be able to inspect home work settings.

He said some domestic workers were earning as little as €112 a month for an 80-hour week, or 35 cent an hour.

It was not uncommon for them to have their passports withheld by employers and be threatened with deportation if they complained, Mr McLoone said.

"Congress is demanding real rights for domestic workers with proper pay and employment relationships, and the apparatus to ensure this happens.

Mr Killen said an immigrant workforce was a relatively new phenomenon and "a very considerable job of work" was still to be done in ensuring its protection against exploitation.

"There are among employers of domestic workers a small number who do prey on innocent people.

"There are a number of things Government can do," he said.

Referring to Ictu's demands, he said: "I can't say our response to all of them will be positive." But he added: "If there are benefits from creating a new JLC for domestic workers then that's what will be done."

Siobhán O'Donoghue of the Migrant Rights Centre said many employers of domestic workers were unaware of their responsibilities.

She said she hoped the new guide would be a resource for them as well as for domestic workers themselves.

"This is a growth area, with a huge demand for care workers. More and more non-nationals are being employed to care for the elderly as well as children."

She said it was also a lifestyle choice for some families, where the mother might not actually be working outside the home.

"We enthusiastically support the key demands by Ictu. If there was progress on implementing these, the situation of migrant women in the home would improve," Ms O'Donoghue said.

Mike Jennings, immigrant workers' rights officer with Siptu, said it was necessary to recognise that exploitation of domestic women workers had been going on for decades.

The new guide, Homes and Workplaces: The Rights of Domestic Workers, has been published in English and French.

It will be available through Irish Congress of Trade Unions offices and NGOs working in the area.