Following the excitement of last night’s adoption of the Convention for Domestic Work by the Committee, the MFA delegates returned to the Palais des Nations this morning for the continuing deliberations on the draft text of the Recommendation that will supplement the Convention.

While the Convention itself will be a legally binding document, the Recommendation is non-binding.  It is meant to provide states parties with clarification on how to interpret the binding articles of the Convention, and guidance on how to implement the adopted provisions.  Because the text is non-binding, there is some flexibility and specificity in the formulation.

There were 102 amendments proposed for the Recommendation.  Today’s deliberations dealt with the preamble and paragraphs 1 to 6, which provide guidance on ways that members can ensure: freedom of movement and association and the right to collective bargaining; elimination of discrimination with respect to medical testing; protections for domestic workers under the age of 18; and comprehension on the part of domestic workers of the terms and conditions of contracts and provisions that are to be included in such contracts.

After lengthy debates, stronger recommendations on medical testing were pushed through in terms of confidentiality for domestic workers.  Protections were also retained for domestic workers under the age of 18, in spite of multiple attempts by the employers’ group to weaken the recommendation on this point.  There was also a long debate on who should ensure that the necessary information is provided to domestic workers – states or employers – when they enter into an employment arrangement.  These debates repeated much of the same that has been discussed in the past deliberations, including hours of work, and compensation for overtime and standby time.  A strong proposition from Australia resulted in an additional paragraph recommending a mechanism against abuse, harassment, and violence for domestic workers.

Tomorrow’s session will focus on the remaining paragraphs of the Recommendation.