Kebba Masanneh Ceesay, chairman of the Gambia Trade Union Bureau (GTUB) said ten years after the adoption of the Domestic Worker Convention 189, the pandemic has exposed domestic workers in the labour market to vulnerabilities.
According to him, domestic workers still fight for equality and decent work despite the ILO convention confirming their labour rights, adding that they are still fighting for recognition that domestic work is real.
Ceesay stated that conditions of domestic workers have not improved in decades, saying Covid-19 also resulted in massive job loss among vulnerable workers which affected their households who depend on them.
He said in 2011, the promulgation and adoption of the landmark convention was hailed as a breakthrough for millions of domestic workers around the world, most of whom are women. However, the ratification of the convention has eluded labour in most countries and The Gambia in particular where the interest of the domestic worker is completely ignored in our Labour Laws, Mr Ceesay claimed.
He also said that women in the sub sector are important in the fight for their rights in order to enjoy effective employment and social protection coverage.
“We call on Gambia Government to formalise domestic work and ensure their access to better working conditions and better living social protection by implementing labor and social security laws for all domestic workers,” he said.
