Domestic workers

Making decent work a reality for domestic workers: Progress and prospects in Asia and the Pacific, ten years after the adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)

In 2011, the international community adopted the ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), which recognized for the first time that domestic work is work and that domestic workers should enjoy the same labour protections as all other workers.

To mark the tenth anniversary of this historic Convention and to explore the progress made over the last decade, a global report has been produced by the ILO. Recognizing the importance of the domestic work sector in Asia and the Pacific, both for workers in general and migrant workers specifically, the ILO TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme, supported by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Global Affairs Canada, developed this summary of the situation of domestic workers in the region.

This regional summary provides new estimates on the numbers of domestic workers and guidance on the primary sources for the deficit of protection for domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific. The regional summary discusses the legal and implementation gaps and offers policy recommendations on how to address these deficits. Through this stocktaking of the conditions and challenges faced by domestic workers, new approaches and energy can be harnessed to make ever greater progress in the next decade.