On June 14th, in a high-level session of the International Labour Conference, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke in support of the Convention and Recommendation on Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

President Yudhoyono underscored the importance of the Convention, stating: “…this Convention will help us formulate effective national legislation and regulations.”  Chancellor Merkel also supported the efforts to create a new Convention.  “This is an area that has been very much in the shadow of official employment. It’s so important that standards are put down that makes it possible to actually respect human dignity and decent labour standards in this area,” she said.

These comments in support of the Convention come two days before the ILO member states are set vote to adopt the Convention and Recommendation texts.  Some of the most vocal supporters of the Convention throughout the process of deliberations have been Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the Philippines.

**Update… On June 15th, the Executive Committee of the ILC formally accepted the report of the Domestic Workers Committee, sending it to vote tomorrow, June 16th!