EU rights agency shines light on irregular domestic workers
(VIENNA) - The EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) called Tuesday for broader rights for domestic workers in the 27-member bloc to counteract the frequent abuse of irregular migrants employed in domestic work.
"Domestic work is typically carried out by women -- and often migrant women in an irregular situation -- who are vulnerable to multiple discrimination because of gender-based forms of violence, including sexual assault, as well as racial discrimination," FRA found in a report released Tuesday.
More generally, abuse included low pay, long working hours and a lack of paid holidays and sick leave.
A lack of affordable health care and fear of being sacked also meant many did not seek medical help, resulting at times in serious illness or injury, while the threat of deportation also prevented workers in an irregular situation from contacting the authorities, even in cases of abuse.
"It is up to the governments to decide what labour force to bring into a country from abroad," FRA Director Morten Kjaerum said in a statement.
"But once a person is in the country and employed in spite of being in an irregular situation, core labour law and human rights standards must apply."
The report, based on interviews with 72 irregular migrants, as well as NGOs and trade unions in 10 EU states, called for standards established by the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) -- such as a minimum wage, sick leave and safe working conditions -- to apply to all domestic workers, whether illegal or not.
FRA also called for labour inspections to be extended to domestic workers and for national programmes to recruit migrants: by bringing them into the country legally where there was a demand for cooks, caretakers and cleaners, states would help prevent the creation of an irregular domestic workforce.