According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are 75.6 million domestic workers. Kenya accounts for over two million with the prospect of the number being higher as no national census to establish the number.

Since 2019, Kenya has trained over 7,000 domestic workers monthly for the global market, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries of Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, where it has bilateral labour agreements (BLAs) for unskilled labour.

Today is International Domestic Workers’ Day, dedicated to celebrating domestic workers. On this day in 2011, Convention 189 (C189), the international labour law for protecting domestic workers, came into effect. That was followed by C190, effected to end violence and harassment at the workplace.

Read: Address plight of Kenyan domestic workers suffering in Saudi Arabia

But Kenya is among the countries yet to ratify C189, on the excuse of enough labour protection for domestic workers. But there is no special law to protect them at home and abroad. Yet they mostly work in very risky environments that do not observe basic human rights, decent work, social protection, safety and occupational health.

Safeguarding vulnerable workers

The twin conventions play a big role in safeguarding a very vulnerable and unique constituency of workers usually excluded from and discriminated against in national development and policy. C189 would see domestic workers enjoy their right to decent work and access to opportunities that promote their full participation in national development.

Failure to ratify such global conventions predisposes workers, especially women and girls who survive through domestic work to abuse and exploitation. For 11 years, little has been done locally to celebrate C189 and its offerings, yet domestic work is one of the biggest employers of women and girls.

Read: Will female domestic workers have anything to celebrate this Labour Day?