This indispensable work that we ignore
A morning agitated by the comings and goings of all the staff, some with scrapers, others with cloths, between cleaning the furniture, emptying the baskets,... it is an unusual day in our premises. In the kitchen it is the Mobilization Project Manager who cleans the plates, "I prefer to do the dishes because cooking is not my job" he says with a smile as if to laugh at himself. There is no breakfast as usual and the work day starts 30 minutes late. Which is too much for us. This is our day on Monday, June 13. It is exceptionally too hectic. And the reason? Our cleaner was absent due to illness and did not give any advance notice. All the staff is surprised and everyone quickly puts his hand.
This is the working climate in many houses and public and private administrations. The presence of domestic workers is essential for the balance of work anywhere, to the point that their absence handicaps all work from small support services to the highest officials. Yet domestic labour in the DRC remains the least valued of all. Not only is it not regulated as a job in its own right, but domestic workers, who are, as we have just demonstrated, the linchpin of a healthy work environment, are deeply victimized by the deprivation of their rights without any effective community response. Many of them take refuge in it only to survive, because they are not able to guarantee a healthy life. But even survival in domestic labour in the Congo is not easy. Many are marginalized and have no one to turn to.
AGIR-RDC, in its objective to promote the rights of domestic workers, supports the Union des Femmes Domestiques du Congo (UFEDOC) in a project of psychological assistance and community mobilization in favor of the respect of the rights of domestic workers. The implementation of the project has allowed us to delve into the problems faced by domestic workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Between gender-based violence and various forms of exploitation, domestic workers are torn apart. Through the work of UFEDOC we discovered that out of 100% of domestic workers in the DRC
- 48% are minors
- 97% do not have a contract
- 77% are deprived of wages
- 49% are violated by their employers or dependents
- 89% have additional unpaid tasks
- 61% are traumatized by working conditions
- 30% have unwanted pregnancies contracted in the workplace
- 30% are out of school
- 41% are abandoned women
On the occasion of the 16th of June, which has been designated as International Domestic Labour Day since 2011, it is imperative that the community reconsiders this work and that domestic workers are recognized as employees who should enjoy their full rights. This requires awareness raising, and it is appropriate to join the work of the Union des Femmes Domestiques du Congo, UFEDOC, in this regard.
It is up to the Congolese State to implement protective mechanisms for this layer of workers, in particular by ratifying and popularizing the international conventions on the subject such as the C189 on the rights of domestic workers, the C190 on the elimination of harassment and violence in the world of work, but also to the Congolese parliament to legislate to protect these thousands of people who are thirsty for their rights throughout the country and who are at the very heart of our productivity in other sectors. Every person is dependent in one way or another on a domestic.
It is up to other actors to become involved so that the problems facing the domestic labour sector are everyone's concern and that the search for solutions is effective.
The inhuman violence and exploitation that domestic workers in general, and women and children in particular, face is unheard of. Putting an end to it is the duty of all.
Jacinthe MAARIFA