Living in Fear in Other Peoples' Homes: Protection of Domestic Workers in Bahrain

“What is particularly striking about domestic workers is their invisibility. Once they come to the country, they disappear into peoples’ homes.”
- Liesl Gerntholtz, Executive Director, Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch.

Migrant workers are vulnerable to abuse and unfair labour practices because of their precarious status in host countries. However, migrant workers who perform domestic labour (such as nannies, housekeepers, and caregivers) face an added dimension of vulnerability by working in their employer’s home, where they are cut off from outside help.

Abusive employer practices against domestic workers include taking passports away so that they cannot leave, making them work long hours with no time off, providing inadequate living quarters, withholding wages, and physical and sexual abuse. Migrant workers in all lines of work are at risk of similar abuses, but domestic workers are often without redress since many countries exclude domestic workers from the protection of their labour laws. For instance, in the Middle East, only one percent of domestic workers are protected under labour legislation.

There are approximately 53 million domestic workers worldwide, although there could be as many as 100 million, taking into account the underreporting of domestic work. Many women travel abroad to accept domestic labour jobs in Asia and the Middle East.

As an example, in the small island nation and Gulf State of Bahrain, which has a total population of 1.3 million, there are over 450,000 migrant workers, who comprise 77 percent of the work- ing population. Of those, 87,400 are domestic workers. Bahrain has long been a regional leader in protecting migrants’ labour rights, although it was only in July 2012 that Bahrain extended some of its labour laws to domestic workers.

Domestic workers in Bahrain are paid on average $186 per month. Many work up to 19 hours per day with few breaks, and with no days off. New protections for domestic workers introduced in 2012 include access to labour mediation, the requirement that jobs be governed by contract, and mandated annual vacations and severance pay. However, the reforms did not establish maximum work hours or days of rest.

Bahrain’s immigration system is based on employer sponsorship and places significant restrictions on migrant workers’ mobility. A former Minister of Labour referred to the kafala (sponsorship) immigration system as “near slavery”. Employers who sponsor domestic workers decide whether the employee is allowed to go to work for someone else or return home.

Ministry of Labour officials in Bahrain have announced plans to introduce unified contracts for domestic workers in order to guarantee decent work and living conditions. This would be a welcome development, although enforcement may be an ongoing concern. As of 2011, the Ministry of Labour employed 57 labour, health and safety inspectors, while the head of the Ministry’s Department of Inspections has said that 100 inspectors are needed.

Even with enough labour inspectors, however, employers and recruitment agencies can prevent domestic workers from leaving when their rights have been violated. For example, when domestic workers complain to the Ministry of Labour, it is common for employers to launch counterclaims alleging that the employee stole from them or ran away.

Domestic workers who flee abusive employers may seek help from their embassies, who may refer them to the recruitment agency that originally brought them to Bahrain. Since recruiters have to refund employers’ expenses for an employee who is deemed “unsatisfactory,” recruiters often return domestic workers to their abusive employer.

To protect domestic workers, somec ountries have gone as far as preventing their own female citizens from accepting contracts for domestic work abroad. Last August, the government of Nepal approved a ban on Nepalese women under 30 from going to work in Gulf countries, including Bahrain.

Banning the migration of domestic workers altogether is a drastic response to abusive employer practices. Legislative reform is a better way to protect domestic workers, who would likely find ways to go abroad despite a ban. In June 2011, the International Labour Organization’s Convention Concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, which requires domestic workers to be entitled to the same protections as other workers, was opened for signature. The convention includes a right to minimum wage, daily and weekly rest time, and prohibits domestic workers from being forced to stay at their employer’s home. As of January 2013, 48 countries had approved ratification or submitted draft laws adopting the convention.

Working abroad as a housekeeper or caregiver represents an excellent opportunity for women to earn money, particularly if they have families to support. Accepting that opportunity should not mean accepting intimidation, abuse, and working conditions akin to slavery.