Overseas Domestic Workers are prevented from returning to their countries

The Issue

Sometimes it is because they have unpaid debts which hold them in the country of employment, or they still have to continue working to send money home to their families. The case of Italy: undocumented domestic workers have to pay a progressive fine for each month/year that they stay in the country without the proper papers. For some, the fine has grown so large that they cannot afford to leave the country.

For those fortunate enough to have finished their contracts "successfully" and can return home, there is usually nothing to return to, as all their hard-earned money has been used up to maintain their families, send their children to school. Sometimes they have been able to save some money and build houses, where they can retire on return.

It is an open secret that customs and other authorities at airports pose a hindrance, to say the least, to returning migrant workers. They systematically demand a share of the acquired goods and/or dollars of the returning workers.

In countries where law and order has broken down, like in Sri Lanka (see newsreport 2), they are again victimised, both by criminal gangs and with the direct or indirect collusion of officials.

All these situations illustrate the violation of the right of migrant workers to a safe return to their own countries.

The Rights concerned in this issue are as follows:

UDHR: Article 13

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

ICPRMW: Article 8

1. Migrant workers and members of their families shall be free to leave any State, including their State of origin. This right shall not be subject to any restrictions except those that are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present part of the Convention.

2. Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right at any time to enter and remain in their State of origin.

Research and Discussion:

1. Which jobs are available for women in your country? Are there sufficient and suitable jobs for all women?

2. What should be done to improve the job situation for women?

3. Do many women work as domestic workers in your country?

4. Are there many women from other countries working as domestic workers in your country?

5. Do many women from your country leave to work as domestic workers overseas? Why?

6. What do you know about the conditions of work of domestic workers in your own country? When they work overseas?

Action:

o Invite some domestic workers to tell you / your group about their lives and work, and discuss together what they need and what you can do to help.

o Find out if there are any organisations working on the rights of (women) migrant workers in your country, and ask them what they are doing.

o Check out some of the web-sites where you can get more information about the problems faced by migrant workers, as well as suggestions for action.

Some useful web-sites:

Migrant Forum in Asia : www.migrantnet.pair.net

International Labour Organisation: http://webdev.pub.ilo.org:9654/?Ilo+IloHTML (publications on migrant workers)

International Organisation for Migration, Migration web http://www.iom.int/defaultmigrationweb.asp

UN documents: www.UNHCHR.org