Archbishop hails Convention on Domestic Workers' Rights

Maids, nannies, cooks, home helps – domestic workers have been called by many different names in the past, but now, finally, their labour and their key contribution to national economies has been officially recognised through a new convention adopted by the United Nations on Thursday.


The International Convention for Domestic Workers’ Rights was voted on by delegates at the ILO’s International Labour Conference, following two weeks of intense negotiations between governments, employers and workers to thrash out a charter of standards that is acceptable to all sides. Once ratified and implemented by member countries, its goal is to put an end to the exploitation and abuse that men, women and children have suffered – some of them treated as little more than slaves or sex objects by unscrupulous employers.


Catholic and other faith based groups have been a significant part of the struggle for recognition of these workers’ rights. The Holy See’s permanent observer to the UN in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi told Philippa Hitchen that Thursday’s vote marks a crucial step forward on a journey that has been ongoing for many decades…

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