Domestic work a key earner

In many Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, remittances from domestic helpers overseas form a significant part of the economy.

A report by the International Labour Organisation shows that more than 40 per cent of the world’s 52.6 million domestic workers are in the Asia Pacific region, more than anywhere else in the world, and 80 per cent of them are women.

There are an estimated 52.6 million people worldwide employed as domestic workers, which is equivalent to the entire working population of Vietnam.

Some 41 per cent, or 21.5 million, domestic workers are in Asia Pacific and 19.6 million, or 37 per cent, are in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the Asia Pacific region, one in 13 (7.8 per cent) of all women with a waged job were domestic workers in 2010.

The report shows that the number of domestic workers has grown significantly in the past 15 years, from 33.2 million in 1995.

Protection

Within Asia, the greatest numbers of domestic workers are found in India, with 4.2 million, Indonesia with 2.4 million and the Philippines with 1.9 million.

The report excludes an estimated 7.4 million children aged below 15 years engaged in domestic work.

The ILO report found that domestic workers in Asia are the worst off in terms of protections – the region lags other regions in guaranteeing domestic workers basic work-related rights and protections that other workers have, in particular related to working time, minimum wages and maternity protection.

Only domestic workers in the Middle East, many of whom are migrants from Asia, have weaker legal entitlements, the report shows. Just 12 per cent of domestic workers in Asia Pacific are covered by statutory minimum wage legislation.