An urgent call has been made for the Government to amend the Industrial Relations Act to ensure domestic workers are fairly treated under the law.
Making the call was Ida Le Blanc, general secretary of the National Union of Domestic Employees (NUDE), who was speaking at a multi-stakeholder meeting held by the Employers’ Consultative Association (ECA) in Aranguez yesterday.
She said for far too long these workers were being taken advantage of and were also afraid to seek redress for fear of victimisation and job loss.
“We continue to call on Government to amend the Industrial Relations Act to include domestics as workers.
“The many complaints coming from domestic workers are that employers are not paying National Insurance on their behalf and when they complain they are fired and they have no recourse because they are not considered,” Le Blanc said.
She said despite the fact that a lot has been achieved for domestic workers they, however, were not generally respected.
“Our main issue is we want recognition for domestics as workers under the Industrial Relations Act because we want to be brought up in line like any other worker,” Le Blanc added.
Saying domestic workers were the “most difficult” to organise, as there was a stigma attached to this kind of work, Le Blanc added that they continued to be fired at the whim and fancy of employers.
“Most of them are ashamed to admit they are domestic workers.
They are also afraid that their employers would find out they are associated with the union and they could be fired. So being in a union is something they have to hide,” Le Blanc said.
At a meeting with Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus some two months ago, Le Blanc said only 63 people were registered on the domestic workers registry.
“We are calling on the Government to make that mandatory because it is all about getting a decent life for domestic workers,” Le Blanc urged.
Family life of such workers often suffered, especially when they had to go to work and leave their children home alone or unsupervised.
“When they have to leave their children to go to work a lot of the children end up in crime. Nearly in every community has a ‘pusherman’ now,” Le Blanc said.
Althea Coombs Rivas, president of the Service Workers Centre Co-operative Society Ltd, who also spoke said financial constraint was a key challenge facing the organisation.
The main reason the co-operative was formed was to give workers the power to bargain with employers regarding wages and conditions of work.
Other challenges like sexual harassment were also faced by domestic workers, Coombs Rivas said.
“Domestic workers are valuable like any other worker in the country and we deserve the respect and the recognition as any other worker.
“We understand you are scared to bring a stranger in your home but we are scared to go into people 9s homes and these days there is so much sexual harassment going about and we have to face that,” Coombs Rivas said.
She said while most domestic workers could not read and write they were doing a good job in the homes by looking after children and providing meals.
“I would really like for all domestic workers to take one day and stay home...what will happen? Nobody will be able to go to work because there will be no one to look after your home and children,” Coombs Rivas added.