I’ve been a professional flamenco dancer for over 20 years. The pandemic was really hard on me and all artists. It cut us off from the public and really reduced our incomes. The help I received saw me through the lockdown, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the crisis, it’s that we need measures that take into   account the specific nature of our occupations. 

I live in Lausanne. I’m 46 years old, I was born in Switzerland, and I’m the son of Spanish immigrants from Malaga. I’m very lucky because they always supported my desire to dance. I’ve always wanted to dance, but also to teach. For a long time, I 've also run a flamenco school in Geneva, in the Eaux-Vives area.

Flamenco en compañía: Sevillanas

When the COVID-19  pandemic struck, the authorities introduced support measures fairly quickly. As a self-employed worker, I’ve been receiving loss-of-earnings benefits from the Compensation Fund of the Canton of Vaud since March 2020. It's allowed me to survive but it doesn't even represent half of my usual income. 

And then there’s all the administrative stuff. Before taking up dance full time, I went to business school, so I’m used to paperwork. But sometimes I felt like I had hit a wall, the red tape was so complicated. I don’t even want to think about what it was like for artists who aren’t used to that kind of thing! 

We need support that is more adapted to our needs. I think that we should be considered essential workers because what we do is essential for life.

France has a social protection system for intermittent workers in the performing arts. It’s a specific system that takes into account the particular nature of theatre, cinema and audiovisual occupations. We need support that is more adapted to our needs. I consider that we’re entitled to this. I think that we should be considered essential workers because what we do is essential for life. 

A lot has been said about the role of culture during the pandemic. During the first lockdown, I really mobilized for my students. With my sister Sylvia, who’s also a flamenco instructor, we gave courses on all kinds of online platforms. On Fridays we even gave a cooking class. We felt that people really needed this. That was our role: to give them moral support.

But all this has taken an emotional and economic toll. Now that things are returning to normal, I’m far from having recovered the number of students I had a year ago. I hope that the social benefit support will last until at least into the autumn and the start of the school year. 

I use lots of castanets for my shows. I have one pair in Plexiglas. They broke during one of my shows. I posted a picture on Facebook at the height of the pandemic to show how I felt. I still feel a bit like that.

Social security is a human right. Yet this right is not a reality for the majority of the world’s population. 

Workers in the cultural and creative sector often lack access to social protection due to their fluctuating employment status, irregular incomes, intermittent nature of work, and geographic mobility. They are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

Many countries have implemented emergency measures to support workers in the cultural and creative sector. Thanks to these measures, Antonio managed to get through the crisis.

States have an opportunity to build on temporary COVID-19 social protection measures, by putting in place long-term entitlements anchored in law and in line with international social security instruments, that people can count on when they need them. 

Social protection schemes should be comprehensive and adapted to the realities facing all workers. They should include innovative design and financing solutions that reach everyone no matter their employment arrangements.

Social protection is a recurrent discussion item at the 2021 International Labour Conference.

Extend social protection to workers in the culture and creative sector (video)

Extending social protection to the cultural and creative sector (publication)

Social Protection in the Cultural and Creative Sector - Country Practices and Innovations

Protection against unemployment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis: Country responses and policy considerations

2021 International Labour Conference - Recurrent Discussion Committee: Social security

The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly hard on performing artists, who feel that they haven’t received adequate support.  Antonio Perujo, a flamenco dancer from Geneva, Switzerland tells how he’s coped over the past year while unable to work.

Artists need social protection benefits adapted to their occupations

The Future of Work Podcast - OSH DAY (English).mp3

To mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021, the International Labour Organization has assessed the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its report calls for sound and resilient occupational safety and health systems that are able to withstand future emergencies. Expert Manal Azzi answers key questions on the report.

Occupational safety and health and COVID-19: what lessons have we learned?

World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021

ILO calls for resilient occupational safety and health systems for future emergencies

Anticipate, prepare and respond to crises – Invest now in resilient occupational safety and health systems

Safety and Health in the workplace has been massively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we mark World Day for Safety and Health and Work, Manal Azzi, Senior Occupational Safety and Health Specialist at the ILO, joins us to discuss the vital role that safe workplaces play for crisis recovery and prevention. Drawing on lessons learned from dealing with the pandemic, she lays out some of the strategies outlined in a new ILO report on how to strengthen national occupational safety and health systems to build resilience, in order to face crises now and in the future.

Safety and Health in the workplace has been massively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we mark World Day for Safety and Health and Work, Manal Azzi, Senior Occupational Safety and Health Specialist at the ILO, joins us to discuss the vital role that safe workplaces play for crisis recovery and prevention. Drawing on lessons learned from dealing with the pandemic, she lays out some of the strategies outlined in a new ILO report on how to strengthen national occupational safety and health systems to build resilience, in order to face crises now and in the future.

Why we need to invest now in resilient occupational safety and health systems

Growing up in Makurdi, in Benue state, in Nigeria, it was a normal phenomenon to see children in child labour. It has always been my dream to combat this worm that has eaten deep into our society.

I got engaged in the fight against child labour because it has menaced children in my environment. I have personally known children who have been raped, physically abused, and deprived of education and childhood. It is a great pain to me.

During my university days, I organized lessons for children living in nearby villages, since most of them did not attend school. My goal was to prove the value of education to their parents and ignite a passion for school in the hearts of the children.

This photo was taken at a government secondary school during my project on the Child Rights Act in Bauchi state.

Children often work with their families on nearby farms or sell goods in the streets, at bus stops, and at gas stations. They hawk things like water, soy milk, and biscuits. If they come from farming families, they might sell their product: groundnut, corn, and so on.

On my university campus, I saw children who would work until 11 p.m. and fall asleep near the student walkway. Some students feel pity for these children; others accept it as the norm. 

After I graduated, I knew that I wanted to make an impact. I went to camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) and educated teenagers on topics including sexual reproductive health. My siblings and father assisted me. 

From there, my passion to help my community only grew stronger.

Promote community education to end child labour   English

During my year of service in the Nigerian Youth Service Corps in Bauchi state in northeast Nigeria, I realized the state has one of the highest rates of child rape, child labour, and child marriage. 

So, I started a campaign around the adoption of the Child Rights Act, which is currently under review.

It wasn’t always easy: Stakeholders were not always accessible to us, and my team really needed their audience. We also encountered financial challenges, since we had to move around a lot.

But I kept going. When I help a child, I feel like I’m living my dream and, at the same time, I feel the need to do more.

My parents always encouraged me to stay focused and achieve my dreams, no matter the challenges in front of me. That drive is why I am able to organize young people against child labour.

Growing up as the third of five children, I experienced what it meant not to have all my needs met. This ignited in me a fire for greatness. My parents always encouraged me to stay focused and achieve my dreams, no matter the challenges in front of me. I also have supportive siblings, especially my elder sister, who has a similar drive.

That drive is why I am able to organize young people against child labour. I engage them through active discussions around our common goal, and together we work to achieve our vision.

I currently work with Beulah Future Leaders Foundation, an NGO based in Kaduna state that works on issues affecting girls and women. Working directly with our target beneficiaries, we empower children, adolescents, and young people through education. We improve their access to information and services about their rights and sexual reproductive health. 

In our practical, community-based approach, we try to meaningfully involve the most marginalized, especially girls and women and people living with HIV. Our goal is to eliminate child labour, gender-based violence, and child abuse through advocacy, shared learning, capacity building, and quality programming. 

Some of the things I do to end child labour include: organize classes for children in rural communities who do not go to school, partner with organizations and individuals on sensitization activities, and organize community development services.

Regular people can take action against child labour by raising awareness, volunteering, and funding projects that seek to end child labour. They could also make posters or write to local newspapers.

Recruiting others into your awareness campaign is important. Establish contacts with young people in schools and advocates in community groups who could work with you in your action against child labour.

This is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. Get involved!

In March 2021, the ILO and the African Union launched the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour in Africa, paving the way for greater collaboration among stakeholders on the continent.

More than half of Nigerian children aged 5 to 17 (50.8%) are involved in child labour

Child labour in Africa occurs mostly in family agriculture. Addressing the factors that lead to family dependence on children’s labour will be critical to progress in the region.

The Africa region has also been among those most affected by situations of conflict and disaster, which heighten the risk of child labour.

Progress has stalled in the region, meaning it has fallen even further behind the rest of the world in the fight against child labour.

Child labour rises to 160 million – first increase in two decades

International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour

Meet Peace Okebugwu, a project manager at the Beulah Future Leaders Foundation.  She is using community education to help end child labour in Nigeria.

It takes a community to end child labour

My name is Olenka Marquina, I am a Peruvian entrepreneur, mother and architect by profession. I am in charge of two businesses: a coffee shop and an architecture firm. We give direct employment to more than 50 people in both companies.

Every day I work day and night to keep my businesses going. I have always been known for being persistent and hard-working, but above all empathetic, and COVID-19 has been the biggest challenge for me.

When the pandemic started, the simplest option would have been to close the businesses, wait for time to pass and see what happened, and then see how we could get back on our feet. The problem we had, well we don't call it a problem, but the reality, was that 50 families depended on us for their livelihoods.

Resilience and empathy, strengths of a female entrepreneur in Peru

So the plan was to keep the whole team working. In the case of the coffee shop, we had to reinvent ourselves and start giving new tasks to waiters, cooks and baristas. Some became packers or were involved in production issues, while others were checking labels or assembling packages for home delivery. 

In the case of the architecture firm, it was a bit more complicated because we had people on site such as electricians, drywallers or painters who could not carry out any work at that time. So we decided to put them in delivery uniforms and they all went out to make deliveries.

One of the employees prepares coffee and wears personal protective equipment and clothing  to avoid contagion.

During the pandemic, the issue of occupational safety and health was crucial. Not only because we had already complied with a COVID plan that had some protocols, but also because it was very important to keep all our staff healthy and to maintain our activities.

One thing we talked a lot about with the workers was that all the precautions that were taken in the workplace, whether it was in the coffee shop or on the construction sites, the same protocols and precautions had to be maintained when they were on their way home so that they always stayed safe.

Olenka Marquina works in her architectural office in compliance with the safety regulations imposed by COVID-19.

With my family the quarantine has not been easy because of the additional care and attention to the children, but I am grateful that with my husband we have worked as a team and we have been able to get all the domestic chores done, each one of us taking turns, since I also work.

Being a woman and an entrepreneur is not easy and there are always obstacles along the way due to gender discrimination.

In Peru, it is widely believed that the man is the only one who should work and the woman should dedicate herself to the children, but in this case, women also work and also move forward and we need the help of our partners to be able to prosper and move forward with all the plans we have together. 

Being a woman and an entrepreneur is not easy for many and there are always obstacles along the way due to gender discrimination. In my case, there are still some remnants of the idea that the architect is the one who sits down to draw and the engineer is the one who goes to the building site. But in reality times have changed now and we are the ones who go out and do everything.

Olenka is optimistic about the future. Despite the resurgence of the pandemic, she is not discouraged.

Also, there is now strong and growing evidence that the presence of women in management positions works for business. Unfortunately, however, this has not yet translated into reality.

From my personal perspective I see the future of work with optimism. Despite the resurgence of the pandemic earlier this year, we have not been discouraged. We know that we will have to be resilient during these months as some activities have been paralysed by the containment measures.

Women who want to grow in this world will always do so.

My expectation for 2022 is that our coffee shop will be overflowing with customers and we will probably open two more locations. 

In the case of the architecture firm, we hope to open a coworking space in April and to continue to grow, as people continue to think about their homes, and keep changing, keep renovating, and keep improving the spaces where they now spend more time than before.

In conclusion, I believe that women who want to grow in this world will always do so. Dreams never end and it’s only those who stop dreaming who do not achieve their dreams.

Peru was one of the worst affected countries in the world in terms of lost working hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest ILO Monitor report on COVID-19 and the world of work, the Andean country recorded a 27 per cent loss of working hours in 2020. 

Low productivity and informality explain to a large extent the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the Peruvian economy and labour market.  

According to the results of an ILO global survey (2019) of nearly 13,000 enterprises, the presence of women in management positions in Latin America and the Caribbean is around 34 per cent compared to 66 per cent for their male counterparts. 

While the Latin American region has seen a significant increase of women in senior management positions in companies over the last thirty years, this progress is still not enough and the impact of the pandemic on the labour market could delay it even further. 

In June 2020, the ILO launched an initiative to unite women entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Through the programme "Win-win: Gender equality means good business" implemented by ILO and UN Women with the support of the European Union, almost 600 Latin American women entrepreneurs have joined this network.

Delegates at the 2021 International Labour Conference are discussing a special outcome document on the ILO response to COVID-19.

Peru: Impact of COVID-19 on employment and labour income (in Spanish)

Women in Business and Management: The business case for change

Win-Win: Gender equality means good business (in Spanish)

ILO launches initiative to unite women entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean (in Spanish)

Five steps to help women entrepreneurs cross the business gender divide

2021 International Labour Conference: COVID-19 Response Committee

Despite the adversities of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Peruvian businesswoman is using her leadership and ingenuity to drive her business forward by prioritising the job stability of her workers and strict compliance with occupational health and safety measures.

A woman entrepreneur in Peru thrives with resilience and empathy

It was mid-2018 and I needed a job. For five years in a row, I waited tables and worked in the food industry. But, like many others, I became unemployed. 

Just then, someone pointed to all those folks cycling around Palermo with colourful boxes attached to their backs.

"You'll be your own boss", they said. "You'll set your own schedule," they said. The perks quickly caught my attention: time flexibility, freedom. So I signed up, did the training and hopped on the bike. Since then, I have been a digital platform worker, delivering food products in Buenos Aires.

Actually, that is what I do for a living. This is who I am: an Argentine woman in my  thirties, living with my parents in their apartment in Almagro neighbourhood. I am a single mother of a 9 year old boy, a medical lab student, and former Deputy Secretary of the "Asociación de Personal de Plataformas" (APP, Spanish for Platform Staff Association), the first workers’ organization that represents digital platform workers in my country, which advocates for better working conditions in our sector. 

María Belén's story is a common one for many digital platform workers around the world.

Time to deliver in Argentina: Decent work in digital labour platforms

This is what my daily routine looks like: I have virtual classes early in the morning until noon. Then work until 4 pm. I go back home. I eat. I help my son with his homework. Spend some time with him. Once again, I go back to work around 8 pm, until midnight. I try to complete eight full hours of work each day. It’s quite stressful and the pandemic has made it more intense.

Like any other job, this one has pros and cons. You can organize your working hours to suit your personal life, although the platform demands that you work at specific times, or else. Penalties will lower your scoring and negatively affect your access to future orders. And that's what gets us paid: the number of delivered orders, regardless of how many hours you are available for the app.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, demand grew considerably. The government said that delivery work was essential, next to key activities such as public health and transportation, among others.

In fact, platform workers have been contributing greatly during this crisis, making it easier for people to avoid being in the streets unless they absolutely have to. It sounds nice to take part in essential work, but having decent work would be much nicer.

María Belén Fierro is inspired by her son in her quest to improve working conditions for everyone.

Treated by the companies as independent contractors, most of us have no social protection benefits, such as pension coverage, health or insurance plans. 

Sick days? Paid leave? Occupational hazard coverage? It is wishful thinking for now, even when our risks are high.

Keeping her equipment disinfected is crucial to keeping herself and her family safe.

Exposed to traffic and compelled to speed up, we pick up and drop off goods, handle cash and follow strict sanitary protocols to secure our own and other people's health. And all without access to public sanitary facilities. We constantly use hand sanitizers and facemasks that companies provide to their workers, yet insufficiently.

Checking the application often is crucial to not missing possible jobs.

The concerns and claims of digital platform workers are gaining more and more visibility. Nowadays, our main priority is protecting our source of income. 

Our organization is making efforts to improve digital platform working conditions. Because of the pandemic, it has been difficult to meet and organize, though we keep connected across social networks, email and messaging apps.

Social networks, email and messaging apps have become a vital tool in organizing and protecting workers rights.

I am certain that digital platform work is here to stay. It will continue growing, and it will reshape labour markets in the near future.

That is precisely its opportunity: to become the catalyst of positive transformation by securing decent work and providing basic labour rights to all employees, like in any other sector. This is our goal and this will be our achievement.

Work on delivery platforms in Argentina: Analysis and policy recommendations

Delivery work during a pandemic: delivery platform workers in Argentina

Legal analysis on labor relations in home delivery services through digital platforms in Argentina

World Employment and Social Outlook 2021: The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work

ILO Topic Portal: Digital labour platforms

InfoStory: Can digital labour platforms create fair competition and decent jobs?

In Argentina, digital platforms are a recent phenomenon. By July 2020 there were four food-delivery companies operating in Buenos Aires, most of them having started their activity after 2017. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Argentine government considered these services to be essential activities.

According to an ILO global survey, workers flexible work schedules, freedom to choose tasks and the choice to work anytime anywhere make platforms popular.

Many workers join platforms to earn additional income or due to lack of other employment opportunities

Platforms offer traditional businesses new ways to outsource a variety of tasks, services and retail activities, which improves their organizational performance. They also help start-ups grow, and allow some enterprises to reorient their businesses and access wider markets.

Solutions to the challenges are cropping up around the world, including a collective bargaining agreement that allows cleaning workers to be recognized as employees in Denmark, a judicial decision extending safety and health legal standards to platform workers in Brazil and the ‘right to disconnect’ and obtain a ‘decent price’ for gig work in France.

In 2020, Buenos Aires included digital delivery platforms in its Transit and Transportation Code by modifying the so-called “delivery law”, which had regulated the activity of urban courier or home delivery of food substances since 2016.

In 2020, the Argentine Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security presented a draft bill which places couriers under the protection of labour and social security law.

2 out of 3 digital platform workers surveyed by the ILO in Argentina say they have received virtual training from companies on hygiene practices, social distancing, safety and risk prevention measures.

Some Chilean platform companies have introduced forms of sickness coverage for riders unable to continue working. Examples include the creation of an "emergency fund" – equivalent to two weeks average pay - to support workers infected with COVID-19 or having been forced to quarantine.

For digital platform workers, considered to be essential in many countries, the COVID-19 outbreak increased their vulnerability and lack of protection. The silver lining: with decent work, the pandemic could drive a positive digital transformation.

Time to deliver: Decent work in digital labour platforms

My name is Padma and I come from Vashi, a small hamlet in Nepal’s far-west Kanchanpur district. All my family was working on a farm as bonded labourers. People call us Haliyas. 

We were working for the landlord to pay off our debt. This debt came from my parents or maybe my grandparents, I don’t know... But it has never been paid so we continued to work without being paid. All we received from the landlord was a sack of rice and a pair of clothes for a whole year of work. We did not have the freedom to leave him or to make our own decisions. 

You know, I never went to school, I was only able to sign my name and do small transactions.

As bonded labourers... all we received from the landlord was a sack of rice and a pair of clothes for a whole year of work.

In 2008 the Nepalese government abolished the Haliya system and said we were free. But my people still struggle to find work and means of subsistence.

My life changed when I was offered intensive skills training to grow off-seasonal vegetables and further trainings on business and life skills. 

My family has always worked on the farm, however I realized that we did not know that many things about farming. The training was very useful to learn about seeds, different types of soils, ways to enrich it and the appropriate amount of fertilizer and water that needs to be applied. As a result of the training, I now understand why direct sunlight should be avoided in vegetable farming. Earlier, we took farming for granted and blamed the seed or weather for poor yields.

It's very rewarding to grow and sell my own vegetables.   

Eventually I leased a small plot of land from my neighbours in order to grow vegetables. 

The first time I went to the bazaar to sell vegetables, I was awfully nervous. My heart swelled with excitement and anxiety. A flurry of questions filled my mind… What if a customer hands me a big bank note and I cannot give them change? It was a very special day for me, the first day of sales after having started my own business of growing and selling vegetables.                                                                                                                                                                                         

It was a very special day for me, the first day of sales after having started my own business of growing and selling vegetables. 

Now I feel I can look at the future with hope. 

Demand for off-seasonal vegetables is high in the market, especially, cucumber and tomatoes. Sometimes, people visit my farm to buy fresh produce directly. Even though I don’t sell vegetables every day, I am still saving some money! 

The ILO Forced Labour Protocol commits governments to take effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide assistance to victims.  Fifty countries have already ratified the Protocol.

Padma Kumari Tamata was one of 25 women, all former Haliyas identified by the Rastriya Haliya Mukta Samaj Federation and trained in vegetable farming by the Human Resources Centre Bajura, Nepal.

The training is supported by the ILO Bridge Project, which is funded by the US Department of Labor.

600 former bonded labourers received training in 14 different trades, including plumbing, tailoring, masonry, house painting, mobile repairing, motorbike repairing, and the beauty trade. 

More than 60 per cent of trainees started their own businesses.

More than half of trainees began earning income for the first time in their lives.

Women trainees were able to break into traditionally male-dominated trades such as motorbike repairing. 

Padma Kumari Tamata was born into a bonded labour family, in which debts are passed from one generation to the other.  Her life has turned around following ILO-supported skills training in Nepal that aims to rehabilitate former victims of forced labour and empower vulnerable groups.

A future with hope, free from bonded labour

Mendy Lerato Lusaba, founder of the Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe and winner of the ILO Skills Innovation Challenge has big plans to improve the life of domestic workers in her country.

In traditional Zimbabwean culture, new mothers are given a domestic worker to help around the house. So, when I had my first child, my in-laws, naturally, brought me a helper. She was only 16 years old. That’s when I became a decent work advocate without even knowing it. 

I was a young professional, I had a background in labour law and human resources management, I knew it was illegal, I knew it was wrong. So I set out to change things. 

It took some time. At first, I wanted to find my own domestic worker, someone I could hire professionally. It turned out to be very difficult, given that the hiring of underage girls is very much ingrained in the culture. So, I decided to create an employment agency and that’s when I realized that the situation was much worse than I thought. 

I discovered that domestic workers were abused and overworked. Zimbabwe had legislation that covered domestic workers but there was little knowledge about it.

Founder, Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe 

It was a dimension of the economy, a whole side of the everyday life of the country,  which I felt was not valued enough. Requests for assistance, from both domestic workers and employers, kept coming back to the employment agency. 

After losing my corporate job in 2018, I decided to make a change and officially established the Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe (DWAZ). I said to myself, “Let me just follow my passion. Even if it does not bring me enough money, at least I’ll be doing what I enjoy.”

Mendy Lerato Lusaba, founder of the Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe

Let me give you some facts and numbers, so you understand what we have to deal with. Domestic work is one of the oldest and most important occupations in many countries. There are an estimated 63 million domestic workers worldwide with over 80 per cent being women. 

A legalised system of labour relations was established in the 1980s together with the formation of a domestic workers' union, the Zimbabwe Domestic and Allied Workers Union (ZDAWU), which since then advocates for the rights of domestic workers, helps with employment contract issues and follow-ups in the event of a fall-out.

Despite these fundamental steps, the situation on the ground remains difficult. For instance, in Zimbabwe, it is common practice to engage underage girls as 'helpers' at home in return for 'care'. When they can’t find work here, many of them move – or are trafficked – to other countries, like South Africa and Botswana, to work as domestic workers. 

In Zimbabwe, it is common practice to engage underage girls as 'helpers' at home in return for 'care'. When they can’t find work here, many of them move – or are trafficked – to other countries.

Founder, Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe

At DWAZ, we believe we can contribute to a better quality of life for domestic workers. We start by addressing the psychological consequences of a challenging working situation, and we help them improve their day-to-day life. We very much feel the need to support and empower these workers, to give them other options in terms of social inclusion and career progression and to make them understand they are not alone.  

I want to build a training centre that, connected with the existing institutions that share the same vision, can contribute to this goal. A space with a dedicated housekeeping class, a childcare room, a swimming pool, a pet care area, a modern kitchen, a garden as well as other aspects related to domestic worker training. After winning the ILO Skills Innovation Challenge, I’m one step closer to making this a reality. 

I want all vocational training centres in Zimbabwe to have domestic work as part of their courses. People need to know that you can go to a school for domestic work. A qualified domestic worker can perform the job better and, at the same time, land jobs that offer better working conditions and wages. 

And if she or he earns more money, that worker will be able to send children to better schools, buy medicine, purchase proper clothes. When we empower domestic workers we are also helping their family and their community.

My vision goes beyond Zimbabwe. African countries rely greatly on domestic workers and share similar challenges. If we run a domestic workers training centre successfully in Zimbabwe, we can also do it in South Africa, Botswana, or Zambia. Wherever it’s needed.

Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe wins the ILO Skills Innovators Challenge

Q & A on Convention No. 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers

ILO Country Office for Zimbabwe and Namibia

One in 25 women workers in the world is a domestic worker

Domestic workers comprise a significant part of the global workforce in informal employment and are among the most vulnerable groups of workers

2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and Recommendation (No. 201)

The Convention aims at protecting and improving the working and living conditions of domestic workers worldwide, and covers areas such as remuneration, hours of work, and social security.

The Convention also provides for special measures to address the vulnerability of particular groups of domestic workers: young domestic workers – those above the minimum age of employment and below 18 years of age – live-in domestic workers, as well as migrant domestic workers. 

Mendy Lerato Lusaba, founder of the Domestic Workers Association of Zimbabwe and winner of the ILO Skills Innovation Challenge, has big plans to improve the life of domestic workers in her country.

A domestic worker at work in a private home in Zimbabwe.

A vision for domestic workers

My name is Viorica Anghel from Andrușul de Jos village. I use honey in many natural health remedies, and was always buying it, so I thought I might as well produce it myself!

With the help of the International Labour Organization I benefited from a beekeeping project where I received instruction and lessons from an older more experienced mentor. 

Bees - a remedy for business success

The training was so interesting and useful, that in those several weeks of the course I didn't miss a lesson. I had the feeling that I had read a library full of books on beekeeping.

My instructor Sergiu Paslaru is very helpful - no matter the time of day, he is always willing to answer any questions. 

I decided to participate in the project because of my disability, but also because of my child, who has health problems. 

In the beginning we were upset when the bees stung us.  But gradually we learned more about them and now we have become attached to them and them to us.

I use honey and bee-derived products to make many natural remedies for colds, bone pain and so on.

I treat my son, Gabriel, with honey vinegar when he gets sick. 

These projects are most welcome. It provides a means to support yourself - and I don’t mean just for me, now, but for any young person. This would be an opportunity for them not to have to go abroad for work, but to develop a small business in their own country.

With the grant I received, I was able to set up a small family business. 

The most valuable thing that I acquired participating in the Local Employment Partnership project, besides knowledge and financial aid, was the confidence that all those involved in this project offered to me and now I am determined to transmit this feeling to other people.

Viorica Anghel transformed her life when she signed up for a beekeeper’s course run by the ILO in Moldova.  She now runs her own business and uses the honey for medicinal purposes to treat her son.

First-person perspectives on the world of work

Artists need social protection benefits adapted to their occupations

Latest stories

It takes a community to end child labour

Peace Okebugwu

A woman entrepreneur in Peru thrives with resilience and empathy

Olenka Marquina

Time to deliver: Decent work in digital labour platforms

María Belén Fierro

A future with hope, free from bonded labour

Padma Kumari Tamata

A vision for domestic workers

Mendy Lerato Lusaba

Bees - a remedy for business success

Viorica Anghel

The Future of Work Podcast

Why we need to invest now in resilient occupational safety and health systems

Latest news and statements from the ILO

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