Four in five domestic workers have no formal job protection, the UN finds

This This makes them twice as likely as other workers to lack effective labor and social protectionmaking them more vulnerable to anti-social working hours for little pay.

Many of those exploited are domestic workers who “make millions of lives possible,” ILO director Sahra Razavi, briefed journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.

Out of sight, underrated

“[They] cleaning our homes, preparing meals, caring for our children, caring for the elderly and supporting those with disabilities. […] And yet these workers are often invisible. Their contributions are undervalued, their work undervaluedhe stressed.

An estimated 80 million domestic workers were employed worldwide by 2025, up from 75.6 million in 2019.

However, the contribution of household work to total employment remains stable, namely around 2.2 percentindicating that the increase largely reflects overall employment growth and not expansion of the sector itself.

Regional variations

About half of domestic workers worldwide are located in Asia and the PacificAnd Africa is experiencing the biggest jump in the number of domestic workers since 2019 with an additional 4.2 million people joining the sector.

Informal work without benefits or protection remains widespread in Africa 93.3 percent of domestic workers work informallyand is “almost universal” in Arab countriesaccording to the ILO.

Europe and Central Asia have the lowest regional levels of informality, yet more than one in three domestic workers remain paid informally – meaning they also do not contribute anything in the form of taxes to wages.

The ILO also emphasizes the gender dimension of the issue: women account for 77.2 percent of domestic workers worldwide and are largely concentrated in cleaning and care work.

Hard working hours and low pay

Salary is the main concern. Domestic workers earned on average more than half (53.3 percent) of other workers’ monthly wagesfell to 48.7 percent among informal workers, and the gap has widened since 2019.

Domestic workers are also particularly vulnerable to extreme working hours.

On the one hand, many have very long days. More than a third of domestic workers work at least 49 hours per week nearly 15 percent worked 60 hours or morethe report was found.

On the other hand, Domestic workers are also more likely to work short hours and for lower wages than other workerswhich can reflect underemployment and having to move between households to earn a living.

Some progress

Despite these grim figures, some progress has been noted. Among countries with similar data, more than half have reduced domestic worker informality since 2019.

40 countries have also ratified it ILO Convention No. 189which sets standards to ensure decent work for domestic workers.

However, Razavi stressed the need to increase ratification rates – a formal commitment based on international law to implement such standards – especially in Asia and Arab countries where ratification rates are very low.

“Domestic work is work, and domestic workers are entitled to the same rights and protections as other workers,” said Razavi, referring to the principles of the convention.