The Middle East has the worst record in terms of violation of women domestic workers’ rights

The International Domestic Workers' Network (IDWN), The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Human Rights Watch issued a joint report documenting the various forms of human rights violation of migrant domestic workers in the Middle East.  The report is entitled “Claiming Rights: Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform” and provides an assessment of progress made since the ratification of the “Domestic Workers Convention”.  The Convention seeks to protect the rights of domestic workers as for all other workers and has not been ratified by any Arab countries the majority of which still excludes migrant domestic workers from the provisions of its local labor laws.  The report noted that ME region is the site of the worst violations of the rights of migrant domestic workers and the reform process on that front is very slow with no serious results.
The report was released during the meeting of the leaders of the labor movements from more than 40 countries, and which was held last month in Montevideo in Uruguay in order to form a new international federation of domestic workers.
Source: Al-Safir 13 November 2013