ILO domestic worker rights treaty enters into force

The International Labor Organization [official website] Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) [text] came into force [ILO press release] on Thursday, extending basic labor rights to workers in signatory countries. The convention became binding international law to a number of countries, prompting many to begin implementing legislative reforms aimed at improving domestic workers' labor and social rights. Approximately 53 million workers will be affected by the convention, which gives employees the right to claim basic rights, including days off each week, set hours and a minimum wage.

ILO member states Bolivia, Italy, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa and Uruguay have already ratified the convention. Costa Rica and Germany have begun the ratification process, while a number of other countries, including the US, have begun implementing labor laws and regulations.

According to a January ILO study [JURIST report], entitled Domestic Workers Across the World [text, PDF], domestic workers working for private households are vulnerable due to a lack of clear terms of employment, as well as their exclusion from labor legislation. Rights of domestic workers has been a controversial issue for years. Last September the Domestic Workers Convention was ratified [JURIST report] by enough countries to qualify to go...

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from jurist.org

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Related articles

• Domestic Workers Treaty Goes Into Force (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• ILO domestic worker rights treaty enters into force (jurist.org)
• Domestic workers celebrate treaty (theguardian.com)
• Domestic Workers Around The World To Get Labor Rights, But Not In The U.S. (thinkprogress.org)
• Immigration Reform Can and Should Advance Labor Rights (prweb.com)
• Domestic Workers Treaty Goes Into Force (hrw.org)

Found on

A Labor Day Opportunity

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.whitehouse.gov

Health Reform Ed. note: This is crossposted from Work in Progress, the official blog of the Department of Labor. See the original post here.  Learn more about the history of Labor Day, and the history of the U.S. Department of Labor.  Labor Day 2013 is special. This year marks the centennial of the U.S. Department of Labor – 100 years of working for America’s workers. And this past week, our nation reaffirmed the ideals of the 1963 March on Washington. This transformational event, exactly 50 years ago, was just as much about labor rights as it was about civil rights. For me, just like so many others then and now, these two movements are inextricably intertwined, their interests converging time and time again, their goals united in creating opportunity for all. Watch this video on YouTube For a guy like me who grew up in an immigrant family from Buffalo, the past few days have been pretty heady. At the Lincoln Memorial Wednesday, I couldn’t help but wonder if The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ever imagined that half a century after he stood on these steps, another African-American man would stand there – as president?

Workplace Safety is the Most Important Issue This Labor Day

More than 85% of of the workers polled this Labor Day consider workplace safety as the most important issue. The study, "Public Attitudes Towards and Experiences with Workplace Safety," draws on dozens of surveys and polls conducted by NORC, one of the nation's leading academic survey operations, think tanks and public opinion firms. NORC’s analysis sought to gain a picture of Americans' experiences with workplace safety issues. The study was done for the Public Welfare Foundation, based in Washington, DC, which supports efforts to improve workers' rights.

Click here to read the study.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational exposures,

Related articles:

• Workers rate safety most important workplace issue in new Labor Day study (scienceblog.com)
• Workplace safety records go online this fall (cbc.ca)
• 85% of Americans Say Workplace Safety Regulations are "Very Important" (workinprogress.firedoglake.com)
• Workplace safety website falls short of pledge (newswire.ca)
• Workers rate safety most important workplace issue in new Labor Day study (physorg.com)
• Workplace safety ranked #1 labor standard [The Pump Handle] (scienceblogs.com)