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Domestic workers, defined at EU level under the term “Personal and Household Services (PHS) workers” amount to approximately 9.5 million in Europe, representing almost 5% of EU-27 total employment. Composed primarily of women, they are an integral part of the care economy. They work every day to give us the opportunity to enjoy a decent work-life balance, come home to a clean environment and meet the care for our beloved ones.

Yet, in most member states, they often lack recognition, they are deprived of fundamental workers’ rights including health and safety standards and collective bargaining and do not benefit from to social security and social protection. With the campaign ‘A House of Dignity for Domestic Workers’, EFFAT (The European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions) has identified what the EU can do in real terms to change their dire reality.

Domestic Workers provide for our well-being yet lack recognition

Millions of European workers leave for work in the morning knowing that by the evening somebody will have picked up their kids at school or cared for an elder or disabled family member. They will just have to enjoy a ready meal, shining floors, tidy kitchens, and clean clothes ready to wear for the next meeting. This is only possible thanks to the daily work of almost 10 million domestic workers in Europe that, by taking care of our households and beloved ones, allow us to enjoy work-life balance, meet care needs and improve our well-being.

That’s not all. The care and indirect care performed by domestic workers carry an essential social role. It allows for increased women's participation in the workforce and for a more equitable distribution of Personal and Household responsibilities between women and men.

In many member states, domestic workers  do not have access to fundamental workers’ rights, they don’t benefit from social security or social protection. In other words, they’re confronted with a worrying mismatch between what they do for our societies and what societies do for them.

Against this backdrop, when Covid-19 hit, domestic workers experienced further hardships: many lost their jobs; many ‘live-in’ domestic workers became homeless due to their precarious conditions and the fear of contagion. With women making up 90% of the domestic labour pool, many were further exposed to sexual harassment and domestic violence, with undocumented migrant domestic workers vulnerable to more violations or other employment-related abuse.

The current cost-of living crisis exacerbates their precarious condition. The lack of protection in a challenging period like the one we are facing, exposes them even more to job insecurity and social exclusion.

Time has come to address their challenging conditions through targeted actions both at the European and national level.

What can the EU do to build a House of Dignity for Domestic Workers?

Domestic workers are often a silent and unrecognised workforce, whose everyday life is characterised by fear, precariousness, fatigue and uncertainty. The EU must stop overlooking this reality and recognise its  responsibility for this this vulnerable group of workers and grant them decent living and working conditions.

EFFAT has identified three demands for EU action which, if backed, would build a solid layer of protection for all domestic workers in Europe, what EFFAT likes to call a ‘House of Dignity for Domestic Workers’.

1. Addressing Health and Safety – Domestic workers run many risks while carrying out their tasks: from walking on wet floors to moving small children or people with disabilities, from working at heights to being exposed to sexual harassment and violence. Hence, it is almost impossible to believe that domestic workers are explicitly excluded from the scope of the EU Directive that protects all other workers. It is urgent that the EU Commission proposes the extension of the EU Framework Directive (Directive 89/391/EEC) on Safety and Health and related individual directives to domestic servants. This would oblige Member States that have not yet extended health and safety protection to domestic workers to do so, and it would represent an additional push towards the recognition of these workers.

Kristjan Bragason (right), EFFAT Secretary General handing over the House of Dignity to Nicolas Schmit (left), European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. Credit: European Union 2022

2. Complying with international standards - Entered into force on 5 September 2013, the ILO (International Labour Organization) Convention 189 (C189) on Decent Work for Domestic Workers is a landmark treaty establishing a global legal framework for domestic workers’ recognition and protection. The Convention requires national governments to extend basic labour rights to domestic workers, including freedom of association and collective bargaining, a safe and healthy work environment, decent working and living conditions, social security coverage and fair remuneration. This means that if all countries ratified and implemented C189, domestic workers would be granted decent working conditions across the globe. Sadly enough, only 8 countries in the EU (Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Malta, and Finland) have ratified the Convention. As this key Convention has not been ratified yet in the vast majority of Member States, domestic work continues to be among the most fundamental yet undervalued, under-compensated, and hyper-vulnerable jobs in Europe. The EU has a crucial role to play by urging non-compliant Member States to ratify and implement ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers. This should be done also through the adoption of a Council Recommendation which put forward clear pathways for the recognition, valorisation and professionalization of domestic workers.

3. Promoting the EU dialogue between Employers and Trade Unions – Improving the recognition of domestic workers in Europe is equally important for trade unions and employers. Earlier this year, EFFAT, UNI Europa and social partners in the PHS sectors, EFFE and EFSI have sealed their commitment to engaging into a social dialogue at the EU level. This platform of cooperation would give a stronger voice to the PHS sectors at the EU level, while facilitating national affiliates’ engagement in collective bargaining at member states level. That said, the support of the European Commission and of the other European institutions would be key in strengthening social dialogue and developing joint actions between partners.

Belgium: A pioneering best practice example

Despite the situation of domestic workers in Europe is quite gloomy, Belgium represents one of the most successful cases of C189 ratification and implementation.

Since 2004, the introduction of a well-functioning voucher system has been achieved thanks to the mobilisation of the Belgian Unions. This system has contributed to tackling undeclared work and to creating decent jobs in the domestic work sector by encouraging a higher demand for a set of domestic services through subsidised tariffs.

Under the Belgian voucher system, domestic workers have access to labour and social security rights (unemployment allowance, invalidity and retirement pension, paid holidays, sick leave, parental leave, etc.). Working conditions and wages are negotiated by unions and employers through collective bargaining agreements. Women at the fringes of the labour market can pursue a stable employment career and, as part of the formal workforce, domestic workers get easier access to trade unions, thus to further protection.

Based on strong trade unions, strong social dialogue, and great political will to implement ILO C189, EFFAT believes the Belgian Voucher System to be a pioneering model, the way to go towards wider recognition of domestic workers in Europe.

Political will is key

Domestic work is one of the oldest and most important occupations for millions of women around the world.  While it is rooted in the global history of slavery, nowadays it simply underlies the inner functioning of our modern societies. With an ageing population, more women entering the labour force and ever busier lives, Europeans are set to rely more on domestic and care workers in the years to come. It is estimated that meeting the current and increasing demand will approximately 2.8 million jobs for personal care workers by 2025.

It is now long past due for the European institutions and Member States to show political will and address the challenges millions of domestic workers face daily in Europe. From its side, EFFAT will keep standing for their recognition, valorisation and professionalisation, still so badly needed.