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Extending rights at work for paid domesticworkersAlongside macroeconomic policies to generatemore and better jobs (explored in Chapter 4),concrete measures are needed to extend socialprotection to informal workers and to regulateinformal work to enhance the enjoyment of basiclabour rights for these workers.Paid domestic work is a very important andexpanding source of wage employment forwomen, but the majority of it is informal andpoor quality. As of 2010, there were 53 milliondomestic workers worldwide, an increase ofalmost 20 million since 1995. The overwhelmingmajority, 83 per cent, are women. 206 According tothe ILO, there are also nearly 12 million girls aged5–17 in paid domestic work. 207 Domestic workerscarry out their duties in the private homes of theiremployer, with whom they are in a subordinateand dependent relationship, and may experiencepsychological and physical abuse by theemployer or family members. 208About 30 per cent of domestic workers arecurrently excluded from national labourlegislation, 43 per cent are not covered byminimum wage legislation and 36 per cent arenot entitled to maternity protection. 209 Migrantdomestic workers are especially marginalized,frequently lacking support and protection underthe law in both sending and receiving countries.For example, labour law does not cover migrantdomestic workers in the majority of countries inthe Middle East and North Africa. These workers,mostly women, make up between one quarterand one third of an estimated 22 million migrantworkers in these countries. 210Migrant domestic workers are particularlyvulnerable to abuse because of their dependenceon recruitment agencies and lack of reliableinformation on migration procedures. Once inthe receiving country, they have limited freedomto change employers, because they oftenwithhold travel and identity documents. In casesof abuse, these workers lack access to effectiveredress mechanisms. 211ILO Convention 189: A victory for domesticworkers worldwideThanks largely to the efforts of domestic workerorganizations, global and national policymakers have begun to focus on how to improvethe quality of this employment. These effortsculminated in 2011, in the adoption of the ILODomestic Workers Convention (No. 189). Theconvention requires States to extend basic labourrights to domestic workers, such as normal hoursof work with regular periods of rest, overtimecompensation, annual paid leave, minimumwages, a safe and healthy working environmentand social security benefits. 212 To date, 17countries have ratified the convention. 213In several countries, policy change was alreadyunderway. In the state of New York in the UnitedStates, the National Domestic Workers Alliancewas successful in campaigning for one of themost progressive bills of rights for these workersin the world (see story: On the books).Implementation of these improved labourstandards for domestic workers remains amajor challenge. Model contracts, effectivelabour inspection and improved accessto justice are priority measures to supportcompliance. For example, in South Africasince 2003, employers are required to registerdomestic workers and make social securitycontributions for them. By 2008, over 633,000domestic workers had been registered with theUnemployed Insurance Fund. 214 Complianceis enforced through regular inspections aswell as sanctions. In the event of a dispute,domestic workers can access the Commissionfor Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. 215In a similar vein, under its Migrant Workers Actof 1995, the Philippines established a fund toenable migrant workers to access legal servicesin cases of violations or disputes, including withemployers. 216