Urbanisation and Changing Dynamics of Migrant Domestic Work

in Accra, Ghana

Awumbila, M.; Badasu, D.; Anamzoya, A.; and Alhassan,

O.

Centre for Migration studies

University of Ghana

Legon

Paper Presented at 1st international Conference on Urbanisation and

Rural-Urban Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nairobi, Kenya, 26-27, November, 2012

Introduction• Domestic workers estimated to be about 53 million worldwide,

(representing some 3.6% of global wage employment), with women constituting 83% of this work force. (ILO, 2011).

• It accounts for 7.5% of female employees worldwide.

• Men are also hired as domestic workers, but their vulnerabilities and needs tend to differ from those of women domestic workers.

• Domestic work plays an important role for the functioning of families, households and labor markets, but is largely undervalued and poorly regulated.

• Domestic work is performed to a large extent by migrant women.

• Domestic work is also a growing economic sector, as more households are substituting care work previously performed by female household members with external domestic services.

Domestic Work in Ghana• Domestic work is believed to be a substantial segment

of the workforce.

• There is at least one domestic worker in each house,and large houses could have as many as six (LAWA-Ghana, 2003). Many households, irrespective of theirpoverty status, have been known to employ domesticworkers on a wide range of terms and conditions.

• Domestic workers, like others in the informaleconomy, are largely undocumented and undeclared.

• The problem of labour statistics is compounded by thedifferences in official definitions of domestic work.

METHODLOGY

Residential area EmployersDomestic Workers

Low 8 10

Middle 10 7

High 7 3

Total 25 20

The Characteristics and Conditions of Domestic work in Ghana

• Both rural and urban households across a wide socio-economic spectrum utilize the services of domesticworkers.

• Domestic work is predominantly a female occupationin Ghana and activities are highly gendered.

• Most tend to be migrants from rural parts of Ghana

• The wide prevalence of domestic work among femalesis however not demonstrated by census data.

• The prevalence of women in domestic work and thefact that their employers are largely women, who tendto be more educated, raises some important genderissues about domestic work

Patterns of Domestic Work• Different kinds of arrangements and activities performed

based on sex, kin, payment arrangement as dominant criteria for distinguishing type of domestic work.

1. Performs mostly only domestic tasks in the household. Usually performed by girls and women, includes fostered children

2. Performs all domestic work in addition to helping with productive and income earning activities.

3. Domestic workers who perform multiple tasks both inside and outside the household. Usually performed by males.

4. Domestic work in 2 households simultaneously –new trend - Employers of both HHs would usually be related.

Contract arrangements• a wide variety of arrangements• Most lack a formal employment contract regulating

the relationship between the employer and worker

1. No contract at all - Principle of reciprocity. Common in fosterage situations.

2. Informal unwritten contract, but with some verbal agreements.

3. Informal recruited through “middle men” but with formal contracts.

4. Formal recruited, with clear, written contract and signed by both agency and the employer as well as between employer and DW.

Recruitment Agencies• More recently, registered and unregistered

recruitment agencies have entered the market fordomestic workers.

• have introduced a more formal regime between theemployer and the domestic worker.

• Require potential employers of domestic servants tosign and abide by a formal contract, which includesthe payment of the minimum wage.

• Recruit only those who are by legal definition adults

• They contribute to reducing unemployment andgenerating revenue for government throughtaxation.

Policy Implications• Despite its challenges it can create opportunities for access to

employment.

• Efforts to make domestic work more visible through collection ofstatistical data, research.

• Promoting decent work for domestic workers through laws andpolicies should go hand-in-hand with other measures for theirempowerment.eg enhancing access to training and professionaldevelopment, awareness raising campaigns of domestic workers’rights, supporting collective organization etc.

• Enhancing domestic work in Ghana cannot be done throughlabour laws only and need to be tackled in a holistic way throughlinking urban, migration, social protection and dev policy.

• Ratification of ILO Convention 189

THANK YOU