Uruguay: First to Ratify Domestic Workers Convention
Uruguay: First to Ratify Domestic Workers Convention
Groundbreaking Treaty to Protect Millions of Women and Girls Worldwide
May 1, 2012
(New York) – Uruguay’s move to be the first country to ratify the international Domestic Workers Convention brings long overdue protections closer to reality for millions of women and girls worldwide, Human Rights Watch said today. The treaty, which extends core labor rights to an estimated 50 to 100 million domestic workers, will come into legal force when it is ratified by two countries.
Governments, trade unions, and employers’ organizations that make up the International Labor Organization (ILO) overwhelmingly voted to adopt the Domestic Workers Convention – ILO Convention 189 Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers – on June 16, 2011. The convention requires governments to provide housekeepers, nannies, and other caregivers with labor protections equivalent to those of other workers, protect them against harassment and violence, and ensure effective monitoring and enforcement.
“Uruguay deserves great credit for taking the lead to make these new standards a reality for women and girls,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Other governments should also ratify and implement the convention as quickly as possible to show their commitment to dignity and rights for domestic workers.”
The Uruguayan Senate approved ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention on April 25, 2012, after the House of Representatives approved it on April 11. The president issued an executive decree ratifying the convention on April 30. Uruguay’s ratification process will be complete when the government deposits its instrument of ratification with the ILO.
More:
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/01/uruguay-first-ratify-domestic-workers-convention