Dignity Overdue: Decent Work for Domestic Workers

Governments should mark June 12, the World Day against Child Labor, by strengthening legal protections for the estimated 15.5 million children engaged in domestic work – accounting for nearly one in three of all domestic workers in the world. Many of these children work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, doing laundry, ironing clothes, shopping and caring for children and the elderly. They typically receive very low wages, if they get paid at all. Governments should ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, which has specific provisions for children, including on education and protection from violence.