Brock University Associate Professor of Labour Studies Simon Black travelled to Kingston, Jamaica, this week to share a new report on the seventh anniversary of Jamaica’s ratification of the International Labour Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention.
“Achieving Decent Work for Domestic Workers in Jamaica: Progress and Prospects Seven Years After the Ratification of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189),” written in collaboration with Lauren Marsh of the University of the West Indies, includes 17 recommendations for improving the working conditions of domestic workers in Jamaica.
“The Government of Jamaica has done a good job of ensuring that domestic workers are covered under the law,” says Black. “However, it is one thing for workers to have rights on paper and another to have rights in reality and work in everyday conditions of dignity and respect.”
Black says that domestic workers “must enjoy decent work, both in law and in practice,” and that the report seeks to show the progress made since the ratification.
Black and Marsh began their research collaboration at the Hugh Shearer Labour Studies Institute at the University of the West Indies Global Campus. Together, they worked with the Jamaica Household Workers’ Union (JHWU) to survey over 200 domestic workers about their experience. They also ran focus groups, conducted interviews with government officials and analyzed documents and reports in order to complete their study.
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Brock University Press Release
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