Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-05-11-Speech-3-693-000"
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"en.20110511.38.3-693-000"2
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"Madam President, I think it is important for us to have this discussion in the light of the upcoming adoption of an ILO Convention on Domestic Workers. I believe that we in this House should commend the ILO for its excellent work.
Domestic work – family caring, for example – takes place exclusively in the family home. Traditionally, of course, in the EU, it was women’s work, although that is changing. Migrants and people from more marginalised communities are also more likely to work in a domestic situation. The value of domestic work is not included in our GDP calculations and, for that reason among others, domestic work is very often invisible and is certainly undervalued. Without any doubt, this leaves domestic workers in a precarious position, and very often they have to rely on the goodwill of employers. This is simply not acceptable. As we say in the resolution, it leaves domestic workers more likely to face discrimination and, indeed, multiple forms of discrimination.
The importance of this ILO Convention is that it will provide legal recognition of domestic work as work. Following on from that, domestic workers should be in a stronger position to exercise their rights. I think it is crucial that domestic workers have a right to core labour standards. That, of course, includes access to social security, health and safety protection and maternity protection, as well as provisions on working and rest time.
Because domestic work takes place largely within the family home, there can be issues of privacy involved. We need to find innovative and workable solutions to ensuring the health and safety of domestic workers and, in the overall context, to ensure that their rights are fully respected. One solution might be the use of model contracts. In the canton of Geneva, for example, there is a model contract which is automatically entered into by all employers and employees: it deals
with issues such as the minimum wage, family allowances and holidays. I believe that contracts of a similar type operate in Belgium. They give greater security to domestic workers, simplify matters for employers and eliminate grey areas and ambiguities.
I also want to say that I am very happy to support the amendments from the Green Group where they talk about the inclusion of au pairs and undeclared work, but come forward with practical suggestions to ensure we are proactive in ensuring access to the open labour market for domestic workers.
Finally, I want to support the author of the resolution, Ms Berès, when she says that the European Union should lead the way on improving conditions for domestic workers. Commissioner, I was interested in your words on occupational health and safety and, even though you do not foresee extending the directive, I think your comments leave some scope for flexibility in ensuring better health and safety conditions for domestic workers."@en1
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