User:KRd12/sandbox2

Since we decided to eliminate the former 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 786 words is in the sandbox and I left 8 messages on the migrant domestic worker talk page. We would like a group grade.

Vulnerability to abuse

Although the working conditions of migrant domestic workers are also dependent on regional and country specific factors, several global commonalities render these workers vulnerable to abuse.

Risks of abuse during recruitment and travel

Recruitment agencies and other intermediaries often do not inform migrant domestic workers about their rights in their future employment and about the mechanisms available to them in order to report abuse. Advertising non-existent domestic jobs and forcing migrants to pay high fees are daily risks migrant domestic workers face. In transit to the country of employment, female workers are particularly vulnerable to physical and sexual harassment and abuse.

Social isolation

Regardless of their country of employment, migrant domestic workers experience social isolation from the local community, as well as from their home community, resulting from the move to a different country. Since they typically leave their families behind, migrant domestic workers are separated physically from their social network, including their children and close relatives, which contributes to their social isolation. The language and cultural barriers further complicate this transition and make it difficult for these workers to connect with the local population. Due to the language barrier, migrant domestic workers know little to nothing about the local laws to protect themselves from abuse in the work place. This prevents them from raising awareness about their working conditions and from forming collective action.

Negative perceptions of migrant domestic workers

In addition to their social isolation, the international community often negatively characterizes these workers and their profession as culturally inferior. In many countries, migrant domestic workers have a reputation for being “unskilled, low-end and expendable,” which contributes to their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation. Gender stereotypes and bias also add to their negative perception, particularly in the case of female domestic migrant workers who experience “disadvantages arising from their gender and the low social status assigned to domestic work.” Discrimination is not only limited to gender, but also extends to race, class and ethnicity.

Working conditions

Migrant domestic workers’ working conditions further exacerbate their exposure to abuse, which largely arises out of their informal status in the economy. Since their work primarily takes place in private households, they are invisible from the formal labor structures, hidden from the public. As a result, they cannot defend their rights and unions cannot represent them. The informal nature of domestic work, often results in exploitative and harsh forms of labor, exposing these workers to human rights abuses.

Due to poor – in many cases none – regulation, migrant domestic workers face “excessive hours, physical and sexual abuse, forced labor and confinement.” In many countries, this also includes foregoing wages and paying debt bondage. Bonded labor occurs when the migrant domestic worker is required to pay off transportation and recruitment costs, as well as agent commission fees. According to the ILO, 20.9 million persons work as forced labor in the world, of which domestic work represents the biggest proportion, affecting migrant domestic workers around the world. In some countries, these migrants work under slavery-like conditions, trapping them in their employment, and they can be susceptible to food deprivation and, in extreme cases, even death.

Even when the workers are paid, it is not always sufficient to provide for themselves and their families. Confinement and restrictions on their freedom of movement because of their harsh working conditions also contribute to their social isolation and their further exposure to abuse. Since migrant domestic workers have little to no opportunity to demand better working conditions through unions and legal protection, they often receive few, if any, social benefits. This includes insufficient rest time and little to no opportunities to visit their relatives during medical emergencies, and no pension.

Dependency on the employer

Migrant domestic workers can become extremely dependent on their employers through all of the aforementioned risks. In many cases, employers will withhold their immigration papers and confiscate their passports, which adds to their dependency and helplessness. This makes it difficult for migrant domestic workers to contact law enforcement officials in order to report abusive working conditions. Additionally, “the absence of work contracts and the fact that in many countries domestic employment is not recognized in labor legislation allows employers to impose working conditions unilaterally.” Employers frequently consider their migrant domestic workers as their property or do not treat them as “proper” employees. Sometimes their place of work is also their shelter, making migrant domestic workers dependent on their employers.

Lasting effects of abuse

Even when migrant domestic workers return to their native countries, abuse experienced during their domestic employment abroad can have lasting effects. Workers often do not have access to support mechanisms and do not have the possibility to seek legal counsel due to their informal status during their period of employment.

References

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.”