Human Wrongs Watch
Geneva, ILO* – Coring is a 59 year-old domestic worker from the Philippines living in the Netherlands. She recently lost her job because she wanted to take some days off and go on holidays.
**Photo: Iijjccoo | Wikimedia Commons
“My employers said: ‘We already pay you a salary and you do not pay any taxes, why should you go on holiday on top of that?’” she explains*.
Coring’s case is particularly difficult because she is an undocumented worker. But even domestic workers in a regular situation have problems being recognized as such.
While there are many laws covering domestic workers in Europe, there are still some gaps in the legislation and compliance tends to be weak.
Non-compliance has to do with the fact that domestic work is seldom seen as a real form of employment. On top of that, access to private homes is restricted and few domestic workers are willing to openly denounce their employers. As a result, most European labour inspectorates have not focussed on the domestic work sector.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 