Since we decided to eliminate the former stub article on migrant domestic workers, we drafted the entire article on migrant domestic workers and did not have any initial edits to make on the original article. My contribution of 1289 words is in the sandbox (below) and I left 30 messages on the talk page. We are opting for a group grade.


MODIFIED ENTRY FOR THE WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE. PLEASE USE THIS ENTRY FOR GRADING. (please note that the notes and references were duplicated at the bottom because I kept the original and modified versions of my text in the sandbox)

Improving the conditions of migrant domestic workers

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Challenges to collective action

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Migrant domestic workers, due to the nature of their work and to their status as migrants, or irregular migrants,[1] are subject to a number of challenges that prevent collective action and claims for rights. The same factors that make migrant domestic workers vulnerable to abuse [2][3][4][5][6][7] also prevent them from developing social networks [8] and coordinating action.[9] Moreover, domestic workers more generally cannot employ tactics used by other workers in organizations, such as strike action, if they live in their employer’s home.[10]

Beyond these structural issues, states are also partially responsible for preventing collective action, with some countries imposing limitations on movement and organization.[11] In fact domestic migrant workers are prohibited from creating or joining trade unions in a number of countries around the world. [a] [12] Non-governmental organization (NGO) activity has also been constrained by state action, with barriers to registration or prohibition of “political activity.”[13]

Efforts by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations

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International organizations have helped raise awareness about the plight of migrant domestic workers by issuing reports, launching programs and discussing issues surrounding migrant domestic work.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has stressed the importance of legal standards for workers and migrants.[14] It has more specifically addressed states’ lack of protection for migrant domestic workers during its June 2004 Congress[15] and during a High-Level Panel Discussion in 2013.[16] The ILO has also launched the Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers and their Families,[17] undertaken studies in and guidelines for foreign domestic workers in specific countries[b][18] and published a report making note that female migrant workers constituted the main demographics in the sector of domestic work.[19]

Other United Nations agencies have addressed migrant domestic work, with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) attempting to facilitate dialogue between countries [c] to establish agreements that recognize migrant workers’ rights protection,[20] and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) releasing a report highlighting the gendered aspects of migration.[21]

In terms of efforts to address the problem of private recruitment, the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies, or Ciett, has created standards for recruitment in its code of conduct that are consistent with the ILO's Convention 181. Ciett's code reaches 47 national federations of private employment agencies and 8 of the largest staffing companies worldwide.[22]

Collaborative works have also been published, including a manual by the International Domestic Workers Network and the ILO, geared to both national and migration domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific,[23] and a report by Human Rights Watch, along with the International Domestic Workers’ Network and The International Trade Union Confederation.[24]

Strategies by civil society to address issues faced by migrant domestic workers

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Advocacy efforts have evolved from fighting to “recognize the position of paid domestic workers” to addressing work conditions and forms of abuse.[25] Through time, a number of strategies have been used by international and civil society organizations in the hopes of improving the conditions surrounding migrant domestic work. These have included conventional means of mobilizing, such as rallies,[26] protests[27] and public campaigns to raise awareness or improve migrant domestic workers’ conditions.[28][29][30] Lobbying, at both the national and supranational level to modify laws [d] [31] or by trade unions attempting to change the irregular status of migrant domestic workers [32] has been used as a tactic. Civil society has also played a role in negotiating international legislation such as the International Labour Organization’s Domestic Worker Convention.[33]

Beyond these public mobilizations and lobbying efforts for change, awareness raising has also been used as a strategy, serving in some cases to transform the public view on migrant domestic workers with the hope of stigmatizing abuse against [34] and encouraging respect toward migrant domestic workers[35] at the national level.[e] Educational efforts have also been used to inform women of their rights in countries where laws outlining employers’ obligations do exist.[36] Due to the difficulties in mobilizing domestic workers, initiatives to raise awareness and inform migrant workers of their rights has not always been undertaken in institutionalized manners, but rather through informal means, such as planned encounters in public spaces that migrant domestic workers are known to frequent.[37][38][39]

Language and discourse represent another component in advocacy efforts for migrant domestic workers. Certain organizations and institutions,[f] have, for example, taken the approach of promoting social and economic benefits of domestic work by migrants to private household and society at large.[40][41][42][43] Groups have also employed women’s rights, workers’ rights[44] and human rights language[45][46][47] in their discourse. Moreover, groups addressing migrant domestic groups have tied abuse against migrant domestic workers at the national level to campaigns against abuse at the global level,[48] to wider issues of abuse against women more generally,[g][49] to human trafficking and domestic slavery,[50][51] and to neoliberal globalization.[52] Migrant domestic groups have also created coalitions with other organizations such as feminist groups, labor groups, groups for immigrant rights,[h][53] religious, human rights organizations,[54] and trade unions.[i][55][56] In fact, given these domestic workers come from abroad, there were a number of “cross-border alliances” created.[j][57]

While women’s rights has been alluded to in some advocacy initiatives and that “cross-border exchanges strengthened the momentum in the development of transnational advocacy of worker rights as a gender-based concern,” [58] the intersection between migrant domestic work and gender in advocacy has not been consistent. Some organizations may consider themselves “feminist”[k][59] or emphasize the gender dimension of their work,[60] while others may not wish to associate migrant domestic workers’ with feminist issues.[l] [61][62]

Given that the nature of domestic work poses challenges in mobilizing large groups of migrant workers, other tactics have been used by to cater to and improve the situation of these migrants. These strategies have included providing support and services to these workers,[63][64][65] with groups offering shelter, food, clothing, legal advice[66] and assistance,[67] as well as counselling.[m][68] These groups have additionally been required to tailor their human resources and materials in order to ensure accessibility by communicating in a language understood by these foreign employees.[69][70]

Resistance and agency by migrant domestic workers

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Despite the challenges to collective action and advocacy, some works have shown that migrant domestic workers do communicate with and inform each other as well as engage in forms of resistance against their employers. During their time off work, migrant domestic workers “reclaim their identities” through their attire[71][72] and can ridicule their employers in their absence.[73] They also find ways to communicate with others and as such “attempt to build communities[74] or learn about ways to improve their own working conditions[75] by making use of information and communication technology[76] or by undertaking discussions from their balcony with passersby and domestic workers from neighbouring apartments.[n][77]

Some domestic workers invest efforts to improve their own welfare or further challenge their employers’ authority by using emotion to capitalize on their employers’ guilt and sympathy for monetary gain,[78] refusing to participate in “extracurricular work” such as family dinners,[79] emphasizing “status similarity” between themselves and their employers,[80] or refusing to accept statements by their employer that could be offensive to migrant domestic workers.[81]

Best practices

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In addressing issues faced by migrant domestic workers, some countries have ratified the Domestic Workers Convention[82] or have adapted their national legislations by implementing minimum rest requirements or wages.[83] Country-specific initiatives have also been introduced. These have included a Code of Conduct in Lebanon for recruiting migrant domestic workers,[84] subsidies for assistance offered to migrant workers in Taiwan,[85] or mandating certain government agencies with the task of overseeing the treatment of their nationals working as domestic workers in other countries, as it was done in the Philippines.[86] Finally, there are governments, notably in Europe, which allow for migrant domestic workers to join or start trade unions.[87]






ORIGINAL TEXT CONTRIBUTION TO THE WIKIPEDIA PAGE (DO NOT GRADE THIS PLEASE)

Improving the Conditions of Migrant Domestic Workers

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Challenges to collective action

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Migrant domestic workers, due to the nature of their work and to their status as migrants, or irregular migrants,[88] are subject to a number of challenges that prevent collective action and claims for rights. The fact that migrant workers may not speak the language of the host country, are unaccustomed to the local culture and laws,[89] are non-citizens and are often only temporarily in the host country, all hinder efforts to organize in advocacy efforts.[90]

In addition to this, domestic workers, who work in private households, are dispersed geographically,[91] isolated from society,[92] [93] and work long hours,[94] preventing them from developing networks [95] and coordinating action.[96] Finally, domestic workers more generally cannot employ tactics used by other workers in organizations, such as strikes, if they live in their employer’s home.[97]

Beyond these structural issues, states are also partially responsible for preventing collective action, with some countries imposing limitations on movement and organization.[98] In fact domestic migrant workers are prohibited from creating or joining trade unions in a number of countries around the world. [o] [99] Non-governmental organization (NGO) activity has also been constrained by state action, with barriers to registration or prohibition of “political activity.”[100]

Efforts by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations

edit

International organizations have helped raise awareness about the plight of migrant domestic workers by issuing reports, launching programs and discussing issues surrounding migrant domestic work.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has stressed the importance of legal standards for workers and migrants.[101] It has more specifically addressed states’ lack of protection for migrant domestic workers during its June 2004 Congress[102] and during a High-Level Panel Discussion in 2013.[103] The ILO has also launched the Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers and their Families,[104] undertaken studies in and guidelines for foreign domestic workers in specific countries[p][105] and published a report making note that female migrant workers constituted the main demographics in the sector of domestic work.[106]

Other United Nations agencies have addressed migrant domestic work, with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) attempting to facilitate dialogue between countries [q] to establish agreements that recognize migrant workers’ rights protection,[107] and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) releasing a report highlighting the gendered aspects of migration.[108]

Collaborative works have also been published, including a manual by the International Domestic Workers Network and the ILO, geared to both national and migration domestic workers in Asia and the Pacific,[109] and a report by Human Rights Watch, along with the International Domestic Workers’ Network and The International Trade Union Confederation.[110]

Strategies by civil society to address issues faced by migrant domestic workers

edit

Advocacy efforts have evolved from fighting to “recognize the position of paid domestic workers” to addressing work conditions and forms of abuse.[111] Through time, a number of strategies have been used by international and civil society organizations in the hopes of improving the conditions surrounding migrant domestic work. These have included conventional means of mobilizing, such as rallies,[112] protests[113] and public campaigns to raise awareness or improve migrant domestic workers’ conditions.[114] [115] [116] Lobbying, at both the national and supranational level to modify laws [r] [117] or by trade unions attempting to change the irregular status of migrant domestic workers [118] has been used as a tactic. Civil society has also played a role in negotiating international legislation such as the International Labour Organization’s Domestic Worker Convention.[119]

Beyond these public mobilizations and lobbying efforts for change, awareness-raising has also been used as a strategy, serving in some cases to transform the public view on migrant domestic workers with the hope of stigmatizing abuse against [120] and encouraging respect toward migrant domestic workers[121] at the national level.[s] Educational efforts have also been used to inform women of their rights in countries where laws outlining employers’ obligations do exist.[122] Due to the difficulties in mobilizing domestic workers, initiatives to raise awareness and inform migrant workers of their rights has not always been undertaken in institutionalized manners, but rather through informal means, such as planned encounters in public spaces that migrant domestic workers are known to frequent.[123] [124] [125]

Language and discourse represent another component in advocacy efforts for migrant domestic workers. Certain organizations and institutions,[t] have, for example, taken the approach of promoting social and economic benefits of domestic work by migrants to private household and society at large.[126] [127] [128] [129] Groups have also employed women’s rights, workers’ rights[130] and human rights language[131] [132] [133] in their discourse. Moreover, groups addressing migrant domestic groups have tied abuse against migrant domestic workers at the national level to campaigns against abuse at the global level,[134] to wider issues of abuse against women more generally,[u][135] to trafficking and domestic slavery,[136] [137] and to neoliberal globalization.[138] Migrant domestic groups have also created coalitions with other organizations such as feminist groups, labor groups, groups for immigrant rights,[v][139] religious, human rights organizations,[140] and trade unions.[w][141] [142] In fact, given these domestic workers come from abroad, there were a number of “cross-border alliances” created.[x][143]

While women’s rights has been alluded to in some advocacy initiatives and that “cross-border exchanges strengthened the momentum in the development of transnational advocacy of worker rights as a gender-based concern,” [144] the intersection between migrant domestic work and gender in advocacy has not been consistent. Some organizations [y] may consider themselves “feminist”[145] or emphasize the gender dimension of their work,[146] while others [z] may not wish to associate migrant domestic workers’ with feminist issues.[147][148]

Given that the nature of domestic work poses challenges in mobilizing large groups of migrant workers, other tactics have been used by to cater to and improve the situation of these migrants. These strategies have included providing support and services to these workers,[149][150][151] with groups offering shelter, food, clothing, legal advice[152] and assistance,[153] as well as counselling.[aa][154] These groups have additionally been required to tailor their human resources and materials in order to ensure accessibility by communicating in a language understood by these foreign employees.[155][156]

Resistance and agency by migrant domestic workers

edit

Despite the challenges to collective action and advocacy, some works have shown that migrant domestic workers do communicate with and inform each other as well as engage in forms of resistance against their employers. During their time off work, migrant domestic workers “reclaim their identities” through their attire[157][158] and can ridicule their employers in their absence.[159] They also find ways to communicate with others and as such “attempt to build communities”[160] or learn about ways to improve their own working conditions[161] by making use of information and communication technology[162] or by undertaking discussions from their balcony with passersby and domestic workers from neighbouring apartments[ab][163].

Some domestic workers invest efforts to improve their own welfare or further challenge their employers’ authority by using emotion to capitalize on their employers’ guilt and sympathy for monetary gain,[164] refusing to participate in “extracurricular work” such as family dinners,[165] emphasizing “status similarity” between themselves and their employers,[166] or refusing to accept statements by their employer that could be offensive to migrant domestic workers.[167]

Best practices

edit

In addressing issues faced by migrant domestic workers, some countries have ratified the Domestic Workers Convention[168] or have adapted their national legislations by implementing minimum rest requirements or wages.[169] Country-specific initiatives have also been introduced. These have included a Code of Conduct in Lebanon for recruiting migrant domestic workers,[170] subsidies for assistance offered to migrant workers in Taiwan,[171] or mandating certain government agencies with the task of overseeing the treatment of their nationals working as domestic workers in other countries, as it was done in the Philippines.[172] Finally, there are governments, notably in Europe, which allow for migrant domestic workers to join or start trade unions.</ref>Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work: Fundamental Rights Challenges for the European Union and Its Member States (Luxembourg: Publ. Off. of the European Union, 2011), 35-36.</ref>

Notes

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  1. ^ These countries include Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Thailand, the United States and countries in the Middle East
  2. ^ Countries such as Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates
  3. ^ Such as Jordan with Indonesia and the Philippines
  4. ^ Such lobbying was done by Waling Waling in the UK and Europe
  5. ^ The Working Committee 2 has notably done this in Singapore
  6. ^ Organizations and institutions include the ILO, NGOs such as Waling Waling, and the European Parliament
  7. ^ Such as the TWC2 did with its White Ribbon Campaign
  8. ^ Migrant domestic groups in Canada created coalitions with such groups
  9. ^ Waling Waling established coalitions with these kinds of organizations
  10. ^ Transnational and international networks and movements include Kalyaan, Migrante International , the Asian Domestic Workers’ Union, RESPECT, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing
  11. ^ The Women's Aid Organization in Malaysia considers itself feminist
  12. ^ The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) in Singapore did not wish to explicitly associate its position with feminism
  13. ^ Counselling could involve providing guidance on how to undertake negotiations with the employer
  14. ^ Balcony talks notably take place in Lebanon
  15. ^ These countries include Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Thailand, the United States and countries in the Middle East
  16. ^ Countries such as Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates
  17. ^ Such as Jordan with Indonesia and the Philippines
  18. ^ Such lobbying was done by Waling Waling in the UK and Europe
  19. ^ The Working Committee 2 has notably done this in Singapore
  20. ^ Including he ILO, NGOs such as Waling Waling, and the European Parliament
  21. ^ Such as the TWC2 did with its White Ribbon Campaign
  22. ^ As it was done in Canada
  23. ^ As Waling Waling did
  24. ^ Transnational and international networks and movements include Kalyaan, Migrante International , the Asian Domestic Workers’ Union, RESPECT, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing
  25. ^ Such as the Women's Aid Organization in Malaysia
  26. ^ Such as AWARE in Singapore
  27. ^ Counselling could involve providing guidance on how to undertake negotiations with the employer
  28. ^ Such balcony talks notably took place in Lebanon

References

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  1. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work: Fundamental Rights Challenges for the European Union and Its Member States (Luxembourg: Publ. Off. of the European Union, 2011), 3.
  2. ^ Committee on Migrant Workers - General Comments,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2010, 2, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cmw/cmw_migrant_domestic_workers.htm.
  3. ^ Pei-Chia Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders : Migrant Domestic Workers in Taiwan,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 12, no. 1–2 (2003): 119.
  4. ^ “Committee on Migrant Workers - General Comments,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2010, 6, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cmw/cmw_migrant_domestic_workers.htm.
  5. ^ Helen Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” Refuge 21, no. 3 (2003): 45.
  6. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 109.
  7. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 45.
  8. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 46.
  9. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 45.
  10. ^ D K Stasiulis and A B Bakan, “Regulation and Resistance: Strategies of Migrant Domestic Workers in Canada and Internationally,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal: APMJ 6, no. 1 (1997): 51–52.
  11. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform (United States of America: Human Rights Watch, ITUC, IDWN, 2013), 17.
  12. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 24.
  13. ^ Lenore Lyons, “Organizing for Domestic Worker Rights in Singapore: The Limits of Transnationalism,” in Feminist Politics, Activism and Vision: Local and Global Challenges (Zed Publications, London, and Inanna Publications & Education, Toronto, 2004), 4–5.
  14. ^ Juanita Elias, “Struggles over the Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers in Malaysia: The Possibilities and Limitations of ‘rights Talk,’” Economy and Society 37, no. 2 (May 2008): 295, doi:10.1080/03085140801933330.
  15. ^ Nicola Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 14, no. 1–2 (2005): 97–98.
  16. ^ "Lauching of Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers at High-level Panel Discussion 'Making Decent Work a Reality for Migrant Domestic Workers'". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  17. ^ "Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers and their Families". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  18. ^ Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” 104.
  19. ^ Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” 103–104.
  20. ^ Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” 105.
  21. ^ International Migration and the Millennium Development Goals - Selected Papers of the UNFPA Expert Group Meeting (PDF). United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 11–12 May 2005.
  22. ^ Klett, Erin. "A private sector perspective on regulating the migrant labour recruitment industry" (PDF). United Nations General Assembly. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  23. ^ Elsa Ramos-Carbone, Decent Work for Domestic Workers in Asia and the Pacific: Manual for Trainers, 2012, 8, http://www.ilo.org/asia/whatwedo/publications/WCMS_184194/lang--en/index.htm.
  24. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 23–24.
  25. ^ Stuart C Rosewarne, “The ILO’s Domestic Worker Convention (C189): Challenging the Gendered Disadvantage of Asia’s Foreign Domestic Workers?,” Global Labour Journal 4, no. 1 (January 2013): 4.
  26. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 6.
  27. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 12.
  28. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work, 43.
  29. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 26.
  30. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 120.
  31. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 50.
  32. ^ Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” 110.
  33. ^ Rosewarne, “The ILO’s Domestic Worker Convention (C189): Challenging the Gendered Disadvantage of Asia’s Foreign Domestic Workers?,” 1.
  34. ^ Brenda S. A. Yeoh and Kavitha Annadhurai, “Civil Society Action and the Creation of ‘Transformative’ Spaces for Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore,” Women’s Studies 37, no. 5 (July 8, 2008): 561, doi:10.1080/00497870802165502.
  35. ^ Yeoh and Annadhurai, “Civil Society Action and the Creation of ‘Transformative’ Spaces for Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore,” 554.
  36. ^ Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” 101.
  37. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 24.
  38. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work, 43.
  39. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 24.
  40. ^ "The European Parliament adopts resolution on the integration of migrants and its effects on the labour market". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  41. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work, 36.
  42. ^ "Migrant domestic workers". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  43. ^ Bridget Anderson, “Mobilizing Migrants, Making Citizens: Migrant Domestic Workers as Political Agents,” Ethnic and Racial Studies 33, no. 1 (January 2010): 64, doi:10.1080/01419870903023660.
  44. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 49.
  45. ^ Elias, “Struggles over the Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers in Malaysia,” 282.
  46. ^ Elias, “Struggles over the Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers in Malaysia,” 283.
  47. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 49.
  48. ^ Stasiulis and Bakan, “Regulation and Resistance,” 53.
  49. ^ Lenore Lyons, “Dignity Overdue: Women’s Rights Activism in Support of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore,” Women’s Studies Quarterly 35, no. 3 & 4 (Fall/Winter 2007): 115.
  50. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 49.
  51. ^ International Migration and the Millennium Development Goals - Selected Papers of the UNFPA Expert Group Meeting (PDF). United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 11–12 May 2005. p. 128.
  52. ^ Elias, “Struggles over the Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers in Malaysia,” 289.
  53. ^ Stasiulis and Bakan, “Regulation and Resistance,” 52.
  54. ^ Anderson, “Mobilizing Migrants, Making Citizens,” 65.
  55. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 50.
  56. ^ Piper, “Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers -- Emergence of Transnational and Transregional Solidarity?,” 112.
  57. ^ Rosewarne, “The ILO’s Domestic Worker Convention (C189): Challenging the Gendered Disadvantage of Asia’s Foreign Domestic Workers?,” 4.
  58. ^ Rosewarne, “The ILO’s Domestic Worker Convention (C189): Challenging the Gendered Disadvantage of Asia’s Foreign Domestic Workers?,” 5.
  59. ^ Elias, “Struggles over the Rights of Foreign Domestic Workers in Malaysia,” 289.
  60. ^ Anderson, “Mobilizing Migrants, Making Citizens,” 64.
  61. ^ Lyons, “Dignity Overdue: Women’s Rights Activism in Support of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore,” 112.
  62. ^ Lyons, “Dignity Overdue: Women’s Rights Activism in Support of Foreign Domestic Workers in Singapore,” 114.
  63. ^ Yeoh and Annadhurai, “Civil Society Action and the Creation of ‘Transformative’ Spaces for Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore,” 556.
  64. ^ Yeoh and Annadhurai, “Civil Society Action and the Creation of ‘Transformative’ Spaces for Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore,” 553.
  65. ^ A. Pande, “From ‘Balcony Talk’ and ‘Practical Prayers’ to Illegal Collectives: Migrant Domestic Workers and Meso-Level Resistances in Lebanon,” Gender & Society 26, no. 3 (April 5, 2012): 398, doi:10.1177/0891243212439247.
  66. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 24.
  67. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work, 38.
  68. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 120.
  69. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work, 43.
  70. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 24.
  71. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 114.
  72. ^ Pande, “From ‘Balcony Talk’ and ‘Practical Prayers’ to Illegal Collectives,” 394.
  73. ^ Pei-Chia Lan, “Negotiating Social Boundaries and Private Zones: The Micropolitics of Employing Migrant Domestic Workers,” Social Problems 50, no. 4 (2003): 539.
  74. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 121.
  75. ^ Pande, “From ‘Balcony Talk’ and ‘Practical Prayers’ to Illegal Collectives,” 392-393.
  76. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 121.
  77. ^ Pande, “From ‘Balcony Talk’ and ‘Practical Prayers’ to Illegal Collectives,” 392.
  78. ^ Lan, “Negotiating Social Boundaries and Private Zones: The Micropolitics of Employing Migrant Domestic Workers,” 540.
  79. ^ Lan, “Negotiating Social Boundaries and Private Zones: The Micropolitics of Employing Migrant Domestic Workers,” 542.
  80. ^ Lan, “Negotiating Social Boundaries and Private Zones: The Micropolitics of Employing Migrant Domestic Workers,” 545.
  81. ^ Lan, “Negotiating Social Boundaries and Private Zones: The Micropolitics of Employing Migrant Domestic Workers,” 545.
  82. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 8–9.
  83. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 8–9.
  84. ^ "Lebanon: a Code of Conduct to recruit migrant domestic workers". United Nations Human Rights - Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  85. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 120.
  86. ^ Stasiulis and Bakan, “Regulation and Resistance,” 40.
  87. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work: Fundamental Rights Challenges for the European Union and Its Member States (Luxembourg: Publ. Off. of the European Union, 2011), 35-36.
  88. ^ Agency for Fundamental Rights, Migrants in an Irregular Situation Employed in Domestic Work: Fundamental Rights Challenges for the European Union and Its Member States (Luxembourg: Publ. Off. of the European Union, 2011), 3.
  89. ^ Committee on Migrant Workers - General Comments,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2010, 2, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cmw/cmw_migrant_domestic_workers.htm.
  90. ^ Pei-Chia Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders : Migrant Domestic Workers in Taiwan,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 12, no. 1–2 (2003): 119.
  91. ^ “Committee on Migrant Workers - General Comments,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2010, 6, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cmw/cmw_migrant_domestic_workers.htm.
  92. ^ Helen Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” Refuge 21, no. 3 (2003): 45.
  93. ^ Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders,” 109.
  94. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 45.
  95. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 46.
  96. ^ Schwenken, “RESPECT for All: The Political Self-Organization of Female Migrant Domestic Workers in the European Union,” 45.
  97. ^ D K Stasiulis and A B Bakan, “Regulation and Resistance: Strategies of Migrant Domestic Workers in Canada and Internationally,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal: APMJ 6, no. 1 (1997): 51–52.
  98. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform (United States of America: Human Rights Watch, ITUC, IDWN, 2013), 17.
  99. ^ CLAIMING RIGHTS Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform, 24.
  100. ^ Lenore Lyons, “Organizing for Domestic Worker Rights in Singapore: The Limits of Transnationalism,” in Feminist Politics, Activism and Vision: Local and Global Challenges (Zed Publications, London, and Inanna Publications & Education, Toronto, 2004), 4–5.
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OUR PROPOSAL (ALREADY REVIEWED EARLIER IN THE SEMESTER)


Migrant Domestic Workers - Proposal

The existing Wikipedia article for “migrant domestic workers” currently has some content. That content, however, appears to be focused on a limited number of case studies in the United Kingdom, which do not seem particularly current, and provides very little referencing. In fact, Wikipedia has provided a comment noting that the “migrant domestic workers” article fails to “represent a worldwide view of the subject.” The existing entry lacks a definition of terms or a coherent linkage of the issue with any international organization advocating on behalf of migrant domestic workers on an international level. Also lacking is any examination of gender as a complicating or linked dynamic. As such, we have decided to, if not completely erase the article, minimize the existing content to, perhaps, a case study. Given that the Talk Page associated with the article is completely empty, it does not seem like this will be particularly offensive to anyone.

The article itself will be divided into a few “sections,” beginning with a basic definition of terms and establishment of a status quo (in terms of numbers of workers and their distributions). Accompanying this will be an examination of relevant regulations and international conventions. Some domestic regulation will be brought up here as well, but this section is not intended to delve much into specificities. The entry will then consider the cultural, structural and economic drivers for becoming a migrant domestic worker, as well as those factors motivating individuals to hire such workers. The processes behind the hiring of these workers will be surveyed next, in the “Recruitment and Employment” section. This will start with a review of the basic recruitment process as it is practiced in the West versus the Middle East. This lends itself to a comparative analysis of problems identified with the recruitment industry in the Middle East and the informal market for domestic workers in Europe. This section will be concluded with a look into current efforts and measures being taken to deal with problems of recruitment and employment (i.e., with country examples).

The next section will focus on the abuses experienced by migrant domestic workers. The vulnerabilities of the population in question will first be established, followed by efforts being made to combat these abuses. It is here that we hope to look into the particularly gendered aspects of abuse of migrant domestic workers, and, time and space permitting, we hope to include some specificities—case studies, if you will—from various regions. We end our Wikipedia entry by going in depth on advocacy efforts underway for migrant domestic workers. First, the structural, political and legal constraints the migrant domestic workers face in fighting for their own rights will be reviewed. The subsequent sections will deal with efforts being undertaken by main international organizations as well as some NGOs, including tactics used and services offered. Resistance efforts observed among migrant domestic workers themselves will then be discussed. The article will conclude with a brief examination of some best practices currently being promoted and employed.

We intend to link this article with a series of other articles, some of which focus on domestic workers, others of which focus on labor and migration issues more broadly. Because it deals with domestic labor, our entry can clearly be linked to the “Domestic Workers” and the “Convention on Domestic Workers” articles. There is additionally the international aspect of the article. This lends itself to linkages with the “Women migrant workers from developing countries,” “Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong,” “Migrant Worker,” “International Migration,” “Immigration Policy,” and “Human trafficking” articles. As domestic work deals with so many labor rights issues, our article can reference content in the “Labor Rights,” “Labor Law,” and “Informal sector” articles. Finally, the issue of migrant domestic workers is also an issue of development, as we will reference the many push-pull factors involved in becoming or hiring such a worker. As such, we will also reference articles on “Economic development,” “Social development,” and “Remittance.”