Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Newsletter No. 9
Sep. 2013
C 189 Workshop, August 2013, Amsterdam
Dear colleagues,
You are reading the ninth newsletter
of the Research Network for Domestic
Worker Rights, including information on
the implementation process of the ILO
Convention, campaigns, and news from
the world of research. Contributions for
the next newsletter are welcome.
1. Upcoming Confer-
ences and Calls
CfA: The International Center for
Development and Decent Work (ICDD)
at the University of Kassel calls for ap-
plications for a short term (one month)
research stay at the ICDD in November/
December 2013. A research focus on
gender and development is required. If
you are interested, please send a short
CV to the RN-DWR (dw-rn@icdd.uni-
kassel.de).
Call: Members of the RN-DWR who
are participating in the IDWN meet-
ing in Montevideo are asked to contact
Jennifer Fish (jfish@odu.edu) and Mary
Goldsmith (marygoldsmithc@gmail.
com) who are coordinating a research-
ers meeting in Montevideo.
CfP: Nuevas aproximaciones a la
organizacin social del cuidado. De-
bates latinoamericanos en perspec-
tiva transnacional.
Coordinacin: Cristina Vega y Encar-
nacin Gutirrez. Recepcin de artculo
desde: lunes, 4 de noviembre de 2013,
Finalizacin de la convocatoria y de
la recepcin de artculos: lunes, 16 de
diciembre 2013;Publicacin: septiembre
2014. Envo de artculos: revistaiconos@
flacso.edu.ec
Information in Spanish: http://www.
flacsoandes.org/iconos/index.php/conv
ocatorias?layout=edit&id=2290
CfP: A Special Issue of the Internation-
al Labor and Working Class history (IL-
WCH) on Histories of Domestic Labor:
Content
1. Upcoming Conferences
and Calls
2. Publications
3. Updates on the Con-
vention and Campaign
News
4. Conference Report
The Newsletter includes contri-
butions from Manuel Abrantes,
Adelle Blackett, Eileen Boris,
Magdalena Diaz, Hadelzein M. El-
fatih, Dan Gallin, Sabrina Mar-
chetti, Cliodhna Murphy, Nalini
Nayak, Karin Pape, Nicole Piper,
Marina de Regt, Helen Schwenken
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 Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Resistance and Organization
Guest Editors: Eileen Boris and Premilla
Nadasen
This special issue of ILWCH will bring
together historical research and writ-
ing on paid private household labor
and conditions under which domestic
workers in different locations and in dif-
ferent time periods were able to resist
and organize around the conditions of
their work. The issue will explore the
resistance and organizing strategies
of domestic workers in the context of
the history of labor organizing and
the ways in which their organizing has
intersected with, overlapped with, or
contrasted with other models of labor
resistance. We further wish to under-
stand what constructions of domestic
workers reveal about attitudes toward
the worth of workers and the value of
their labor.
Prospective authors should submit a
letter, an abstract of no more than 500
words, and a two-page cv. The deadline
for abstracts is May 15, 2014. Full call
and correspondence:
Eileen Boris, Department of Feminist
Studies, University of California, Santa
Barbara, boris@femst.ucsb.edu, Pre-
milla Nadasen, Department of History,
Barnard College, premillanadasen@
gmail.com
Conference: The 5th European Confer-
ence on personal and household ser-
vices will be held in Brussels on Nov. 11
and 12, 2013. Information can be found
here: http://www.efsi-europe.eu/home/
news/?tx_ttnews[backPid]=17&tx_
ttnews[tt_news]=45&cHash=dc1e8ce27
a9ca5ceb875ba7c419d4824
2. Publications
Blackett, A. (2012). Current Develop-
ments: The Decent Work for Domestic
Workers Convention and Recommenda-
tion, American Journal of International
Law, Volume 106(4), 778 794.
Elfatih, H. (2013) RE- ACT: Proposed
amendment and reform to the Sudan
Domestic Servants Act, in line with the
ILO Convention No. 189 decent work
for domestic workers, a policy brief.
Receive it via email from: hadotaa@
gmail.com
Haidinger, B. (2013). Hausfrau fr
zwei Lnder sein. Zur Reproduktion des
transnationalen Haushalts. Verlag West-
flisches Dampfboot. (in German)
Murphy, C. (2013). The Enduring
Vulnerability of Migrant Domestic Work-
ers in Europe, 62(3) International and
Comparative Law Quarterly 599-623.
UNWOMEN (2013). Contributions of
Migrant Domestic Workers for Sustain-
able Development. http://asiapacific.
unwomen.org/~/media/7148BD87A4F7
412D8CBD10482146276F.ashx
van Holten, K., Jhnke, A. & Bis-
chofberger, I. (2013). Care-Migration
transnationale Sorgearrangements
im Privathaushalt. Obsan Bericht 57.
http://www.obsan.admin.ch/bfs/obsan/
de/index/05/publikationsdatenbank.
html?publicationID=5237 (in German).
3. updates on the
Convention and Cam-
paign news
India
Nalini Nayak from SEWA: The National
Platform for Domestic Workers organ-
ised a national event on July 31st 2013
in the Indian capital, New Delhi. There
were over 3000 domestic workers from
12 states represented. All the states had
done a massive work of mobilisation for
this event which officially commenced
on June 16th when we celebrated
International Domestic Workers Day in
various cities and launched a signature
campaign to get support for the memo-
randum. More than 100,000 signatures
were collected.
Prior to this, in February 2013, a large
representative group of the Platform
members met to agree on the de-
mands. This was basically a set of non
negotiables that we wanted to see in
a Comprehensive Legislation that we
would demand from the Central Gov-
ernment. In May, a group met in Delhi
to personally meet members of Parlia-
ment to give them this memorandum
and explain the need for supporting it
in Parliament.
One of the national convenors also
explained the main contents of the
Comprehensive Legislation that was
demanded. Basically it is for registration
of workers and the employers through
tripartite boards which would regulate
work and deliver social security. The
boards should also have a help line and
mechanism for grievance redressal.
These boards would also regulate the
placement agencies. There was great
energy as the workers also sang their
songs and shouted their slogans and
flouted their organisation banners.
Several parliamentarians also attended
the meeting and promised to take the
memorandum with signatures to the
Parliament. Two representatives also
took the memorandum with signatures
to the Prime Ministers office and the
Ministry of Labour.
The platform will now follow up this
work with the Parliament and keep up
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 Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
the organisational momentum by en-
larging the membership in the platform
and working on the state governments
to move ahead declaring minimum
wages for the domestic workers and
including them on the schemes already
floated for them by the Central Govern-
ment.
Netherlands, IDWN
Domestic Workers in the Netherlands
learn how to use C 189 as a tool to
demand their rights
On 24-25 August 2013, about 20
domestic workers leaders gathered
at the Wereldhuis (world house) in
Amsterdam to learn about the ILO
Domestic Workers Convention 189.
The Wereldhuis is a meeting place
provided by the protestant church,
open to all migrant groups in Amster-
dam. This C 189 training was entirely
self-organized by the domestic worker
leader Coring des los Reyes, who is the
elected domestic worker leader in FNV
Bondngenoten, and also represents one
of the sub-groups of domestic workers,
the United Migrant Domestic Workers
(UMDW) in the Netherlands. Coring
de los Reyes is still a full time domestic
worker and coordinated everything that
was necessary in her free time, includ-
ing the cooking of meals for the course
participants. On her request and that of
the domestic workers leaders of differ-
ent nationalities, the IDWN coordinator
for Europe, Karin Pape, was asked to
jointly prepare a two-day training . The
leaders were from Amsterdam and The
Hague, where they represent groups of
domestic workers, who are all mem-
bers of the union FNV Bondgenoten.
Together they represent about 300 do-
mestic workers. All of them (with very
few exceptions) are undocumented
migrant domestic workers from all over
the world. FNV Bondgenoten and the
Werelhuis supported the event.
The course was, as much as possible,
designed in a participatory way, includ-
ing for an example, an ILO Quiz, a
group play outside and working groups.
The workers were asked what their
demands were, and the presentation
on the content of C 189 was linked to
how it could be used as a tool to enable
workers to fight for their rights.
It became clear that many of their de-
mands were, in fact, laid down as rights
in C 189: for example, access to social
protection, access to a minimum/living
wage, a written contract, a collective
bargaining agreement. However, many
problems and demands of the domestic
workers are related to their status as
undocumented migrants, where con-
flicting laws apply, such as immigration
laws. One demand was the right to
pay taxes, which certainly will surprise
many policy makers in the Netherlands,
if and when domestic workers have the
chance to talk to them.
At the end of day one, the film Con-
ventional Wisdom was shown. This
film documents the struggle of the
domestic workers to achieve their Con-
vention during two years of tripartite
discussions at the International Labour
Conferences 2010 and 2011. The group
was impressed when they learned that
many leaders who attended the ILO
Conferences, and those of them who
are Steering Committee Members of
C 189 Workshop, August 2013, Amsterdam
IDWN, used to be domestic workers
themselves or are even still working as
domestic workers.
On day two, three groups generated
ideas on how they could campaign for
ratification of C189. A working group
was formed and everybody agreed
that it would be necessary for domestic
workers to be included in all actions
and negotiations which are going on,
including the tripartite committee
which the Dutch government has set
up.
In the end every participant received
a certificate in a graduation cer-
emony. These were handed out by Mari
Martens (FNV Bondgenoten), Evelyn
Schwarz (Wereldhuis) and Karin Pape
(IDWN). [see the pictures in this news-
letter].
I am sure that we will soon learn more
about activities from the domestic
workers in the Netherlands!
by Karin Pape, IDWN
Portugal
Manuel Abrantes reports from Portugal:
In Portugal, the immigrant association
ComuniDria has launched a petition
that urges the national government
and the elected deputies at the national
parliament to take action toward ratify-
ing the convention.
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 Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Web link: http://peticaopublica.com/
pview.aspx?pi=P2012N31519
USA
From the National Domestic Workers
Alliance (NDWA) in the US: The White
House released new regulations to
include home care workers in the Fair
Labor Standards Act. This announce-
ment is part of a broad movement to
win dignity, respect, and labor protec-
tions for domestic workers whose labor
makes all other work possible in the
United States. New York and Hawaii
have both passed Domestic Workers
Bills of Rights, the California Domestic
Workers Bill of Rights awaits the Gover-
nors signature, and our members are
organizing to pass similar bills in Illinois,
Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon,
and Connecticut.
The International Domestic Workers
Network received the George Meany
Human Rights Award at the AFL-CIO
National Convention.
Hong Kong
Photo Project: Why we do what we
do?
Photographer Grinne Quinlan asked
Indonesion Domestic Workers in Hong
Kong why they left their home country
to work in another city. The pictures are
available here:
http://hongwrong.com/domestic-help-
er-photos/
4. Conference Re-
port and Research
news
Over three dozen historians and social
scientists from all over the world as-
sembled in Linz, Austria from Septem-
ber 12-15 for a conference, Towards a
Global History of Domestic Workers
and Caregivers. Sponsoring the meet-
ing was the International Conference
of Labour and Social History (ITH),
a network of associations, research
institutes and historians. Following a
keynote address by Shireen Ally from
the University of the Witwatersrand on
the intimate and contested relations
between servants and their masters or
employers in South Africa from the 17th
into the 19th century, there were two
days of papers organized around the
themes of Definitions and Concepts,
Changing Division of Labor, Working
Conditions, and Resistance-Mobili-
zation-Organization. The conference
turned into an opportunity for sev-
eral members of our RN-DW network,
including Sabrina Marchetti, European
University Institute, Italy, to meet in
person and to recruit new members.
At a special evening session, Jennifer
Fish, Old Dominion University, USA, and
Vicky Kanyoka, IDWN Africa Regional
Representative, screened C189: Con-
ventional Wisdom and discussed the
importance of academics and activists
coming together to develop knowledge
that will benefit womens and labor
movements as well as scholarship. Fish
with Eileen Boris, University of Califor-
nia at Santa Barbara, USA, presented a
paper on why domestic workers won
an ILO convention in 2011 and not
previously in the 20th century. Kan-
yoka joined Silke Neunsinger, Arbetar-
rrelsensarkiv och bibliotek, Stockholm,
Sweden, and Yvonne Svanstrm, Stock-
holm University, Sweden, to provide
closing remarks.
For more information about the pro-
gramme of the conference, visit: http://
www.ith.or.at/konf_e/zeitpl_2013_e.
htm

Contacts: Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Contact to the interim coordinators: Claire Hobden (ILOACTRAV), Rebeca Pabon (FNV Bondgenoten, The Netherlands), Prof.
Dr. Helen Schwenken (ICDD/University of Kassel), and LisaMarie Heimeshoff (ICDD/University of Kassel): dwrn@icdd.uni
kassel.de

Europe: Dr. Sabrina Marchetti, European University Institute, Florence, sabrinamarchetti@rocketmail.com

Latin America: Prof Dr Mary Rosaria Goldsmith Connelly, Universidad Autnoma MetropolitanaXochimilco, Mexico:
gcmr7503@correo.xoc.uam.mx

North America: Prof Jennifer N. Fish PhD, Old Dominion University, United States: jfish@odu.edu

Editor of the Newsletter: Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff, dw-rn@icdd.uni-kassel.de