Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
Newsletter No.22
Europe 60 years later, between challenges and problems,
March 24, 2017, Italy
Dear colleagues,
You are reading the 22th newsletter
of the Research Network for Domestic
Worker Rights, including information
on the implementation process of
the ILO Convention, campaigns, and
news from the world of research.
1.
Updates on the
Convention and
Campaign News
IDWF
The Bishop Tji Haksoon Justice & Peace
Foundation in South Korea formally
announced on January 3 that the
International Domestic Workers Fed-
eration (IDWF) will be the 20th Justice
and Peace Award winner in 2017.
Italy
On the anniversary of the Treaties of
Rome, Effe, (fdration europenne
des emplois de la famille), with the
support Assidatcolf held in Rome
on March 24, a panel discussion
entitled Europe 60 years later, be-
tween challenges and problems.
Raffaella Maioni, National Secretary
of Acli Colf, participated in this round
table, presenting the domestic work-
ers point of view. The round table was
Apr 2017
Content
1. Updates on the
Convention and
Campaign News
2. Research
3. Conferences and
calls
4. Publications
an opportunity to initiate a reflection
on how the reality of the Italian and
European citizens has changed after
the signing of the Treaties compared
The Newsletter includes
to the situation 60 years ago. There are
contributions from Nina
manyfold changes related to the lives of
Trige Andersen, Eileen
families and problems of the European
Boris, Peng Choi, Abigail
continent: aging population, cutting
Hunt, Fish Ip, Sue Ledwith,
welfare, migration and problems related
to care work, ect (see picture this page).
Raffaella Maioni, Sabrina
Marchetti, Katharina Pel-
2. Research zelmayer, Alexandra Ricard-
FADWU (PLU) carried out the re-
Guay, Stefan Rother, Sarah
Schilliger, Helen Schwen-
search Between a rock and a ken, Karin Schwiter, Adla
place on the issue of charging il- Souralov, Olga Tkach
legal agency fee. Report:
https://view.publitas.com/ Picture: Raffaella Maioni,
rights-exposure/between-a- Acli Colf
rock-and-a-hard-place-en/
Video: https://youtu.be/AwowYd_Ha2c
The report reveals criminal be-
havior of employment agencies to-
wards domestic workers. It shows
how the agencies charge domestic
workers excessive fees, resulting in
domestic workers being in debt and
subject to exploitation and abuse.
Looking into Trafficking in Domestic
Work Sector: The Demand-Side
A series of publications have been
published within this project: http://
1
Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
globalgovernanceprogramme.eui.
eu/demandat/ and http://cadmus.
eui.eu/discover?filtertype_1=Re
lationIspartofseries&filter_rela-
tional_operator_1=equals&filter_1
=DemandAT&submit_apply_filter
Angeli, D (2016): Policy Brief:
Trafficking in Domestic Work in
Greece: A demand-side approach.
Angeli, D. (2016): Demand in the
Context of Trafficking in human beings
in the Domestic Work Sector in Cyprus,
DemandAT Country Study No 2.
Angeli, D. (2016): Demand in the
Context of Trafficking in human beings
in the Domestic Work Sector in Greece,
DemandAT Country Study No 4.
Angeli, D. (2016): Policy Brief:
Trafficking and Exploitation in
Domestic Work in Cyprus.
Carmago, B. (2016): Policy Brief:
Trafficking in human beings in do-
mestic work in Belgium: Tackling
severe exploitation in hidden spaces.
Carmargo, B. (2016): Demand in
the Context of Trafficking in human be-
ings in the Domestic Work Sector in Bel-
gium, DemandAT Country Study No 1.
De Volder, E. (2016): Demand
in the context of trafficking in hu-
man beings in the domestic work
Sector in the Netherlands, De-
mandAT Country Study No 6
De Volder, E. (2016): Policy Brief:
Trafficking in Human Beings in the
Domestic Work Sector in the Neth-
erlands: A hidden phenomenon.
Levy, F (2016): Policy Brief:
La Traite des tres humains dans
le travail domestique en France,
un phnomne sous-estim.
Levy, F. (2016): Demand in the
Context of Trafficking in human beings
in the Domestic Work Sector in France,
DemandAT Country Study No 3.
Maroukis, T. (2016): Demand
in the context of trafficking in hu-
man beings in the domestic work
sector in the United Kingdom, De-
mandAT Country Study No 7.
Maroukis, T. (2016): Policy Brief:
The Gap between Law and Reality:
Addressing human trafficking in the
British domestic work industry.
Palumbo, L. (2016): Policy Brief:
Exploited for Care: Abuse and traf-
ficking in domestic work in Italy.
Palumbo, L. (2016): Demand in
the Context of Trafficking in human
beings in the Domestic Work Sector in
Italy, DemandAT Country Study No 5.
Ricard-Guay, A. (2016): Policy
Brief Addressing the demand-side of
trafficking in the domestic work sec-
tor: main findings at European level.
Ricard-Guay, A.(2016): Address-
ing demand in the context of traf-
ficking in the domestic work sector:
perspectives from seven European
countries. Working Paper No 7.
3.Conferences
and calls
Symposium The Global Fight for Do-
mestic Workers Rights, June 15-16,
2017, Venice, Ca Foscari University
The second event of the ERC project
DomEQUAL is dedicated to celebrat-
ing the International day for domestic
workers rights with a symposium in
which activists and researchers confront
the main issues that have emerged
so far, and new challenges ahead.
Amongst the confirmed speakers:
Myrtle Witbooi (IDWF), Elizabeth Tang
(IDWF), Ai-Jen Poo (NDWA), Marcelina
Bautista (FIFTH), Eileen Boris (Santa
Barbara University), Zita Cabais (CFDT)
and Kostadinka Kuneva (Eu-
ropean Parliament).
For updates about the pro-
gram follow: https://www.face-
book.com/DomEqual/ and https://
twitter.com/ERCDomEQUAL
After the conference, on June 16,
2017, 12-5pm in Venice (Auditorium
Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 3689),
the general assembly of the Research
Network for Domestic Worker Rights
(RN-DWR) will take place (see invita-
tion on p. 3 of this newsletter).
Symposium Global Views on Paid
Domestic Work, 17-18 March 2017,
Venice, Ca Foscari University
In the framework of the ERC project
DomEQUAL, this symposium has ex-
plored the challenges of global com-
parative research on the conditions of
domestic and care workers around the
world, also in a historical perspective.
Speakers have resented case-studies
from UK, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan,
Spain and they have discussed their
interconnections around the topics of
migration and the care-gender nexus in
particular. Amongst the speakers: Rhacel
S. Parreas, Eleonore Kofman, Dirk
Hoerder, Raffaella Sarti, Rosie Cox, Mar-
garita Baraano Cid and Pei-Chia Lan.
Articles and interviews based on
the conference will be published
on-line at and https://www.open-
democracy.net/beyondslavery
Paid work in Swiss private house-
holds. Situation and perspec-
tives for the future, May 12,
2017, 9.15 am to 5.00 pm, Uni-
versity of Zurich, Switzerland
The one-day conference organised by
the Economic Geography division at the
University of Zurich and the Denknetz
working group Prekaritt consists of
presentations which summarise the
results of the three year project Care
Markets. The role of care agencies in
the commodification of elderly care
and leave ample time for discussion.
The afternoon sets out with three
short inputs on current developments
regarding domestic work in Switzerland,
followed by two discussion rounds, in
which workers, activists, representa-
tives of organisations and academics are
invited to network and develop ideas
for future collaboration. The presenta-
tions will be held in German and be
translated simultaneously in French.
Program: http://www.geo.uzh.
ch/dam/jcr:75c0e358-59e6-42de-
bc18-764065456bd2/17-05-12%20
Programm%20Workshop_D.pdf
2
Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Invitation to a General Assembly of the Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights
June 16th, 2017, 2-5pm
Auditorium Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 3689, Venice, Italy

JOIN US!!!

Members and interested researchers and activists are invited to meet for our general assembly in Venice and join the network!

Several coordinators of the RN-DWR will be present: Helen Schwenken & Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff (IMIS, University of Osna-
brck), Raffaella Maioni (Acli-Colf ), Claire Hobden (ILO), Sonal Sharma (Johns Hopkins University), Mary Goldsmith (Universidad
Autnoma MetropolitanaXochimilco), Jennifer Fish (Old Dominion University), Sabrina Marchetti (Ca Foscari University)

For more info, write to RN-DWR[at]uni-osnabrueck.de

The event follows the Symposium The Global Fight for Domestic Workers Rights or-
ganized by the ERC project DomEQUAL based at Ca Foscari University.
Here the FB event: http://tinyurl.com/l6cx52y
Here the FB page of the DomEQUAL project: https://www.facebook.com/DomEqual/

solidarity works # 2 Migrant Do-
mestic and Care Worker Organizing
an International Workshop, May
22, 2017, 2-6pm, Room 11/212,
Institute for Migration Research
and Intercultural Studies, Uni-
versity of Osnabrck, Germany
In many places in the world, migrant
domestic workers carry out reproduc-
tive tasks such as care for the elderly
and children and cleaning, cooking,
and gardening. Global inequalities,
sometimes rooted in colonial histories,
enable employers to hire migrants to
carry out household tasks they do not
want to or cannot do. The workshop
features presentations on the organ-
izing of migrant domestic workers,
difficulties, but also successful in-
stances of organizing. Fish Ip, Regional
Coordinator of IDWF will present on
her almost 20 years of organizing
experience in Hong Kong and on the
international level. Sarah Schilliger
(Institute for Migration Research and
Intercultural Studies) as well as Katha-
rina Schilling (University of Mannheim)
will present their research results
on organizing of domestic and care
workers in Germany and Switzerland.
For more information con-
tact Lisa (liheimeshoff@uos.de).
Gut versorgt? Auf wessen Kosten?
Migration und pflegebedrftige
Menschen in Privathaushalten, May
22, 2017, Katholische Akademie,
Wintererstr. 1, Freiburg, Germany
Information: http://www.katholis-
che-akademie-freiburg.de/html/
veranst/detail.html?t=ua3vibuls7
jekbubeni604ae55&tto=87081da
5&&m=111847&tid=1507376
4.Publications
Anderson, Nina Trige (2017): Phil-
ippine History of Denmark: From
Pioneer Settlers to Permanently
Temporary Workers. In: Philippine
Studies: Historical and Ethnographic
Viewpoints 65(1), p. 3170.
In 1973 forty-nine women left
the Philippines to work as chamber-
maids at the Hotel Scandinavia in
Copenhagen. They became known as
The 49ers and were among the last
Filipino Pioneers. In late 1973 Den-
mark formally stopped issuing work
permits for third-country nationals,
which profoundly changed the condi-
tions for later arrivals. Since the 2000s a
new wave of migrants from the Philip-
pines has entered Denmark on a much
larger scale but under more precarious
conditions. This article traces the lives
of The 49ers and examines the relations
between the generation of the Pioneers
and the later migrants, illustrating a
history of creating labor in motion.
Boris, Eileen (2017): Decent Work
in the Home: Affect and Rights
Talk, 15 Santa Clara J. Intl L. 79.
Online: http://digitalcommons.
law.scu.edu/scujil/vol15/iss1/3
Heimeshoff, Lisa-Marie (2016): His-
torical Legacies: Postsocialism, Trade
Unions, and Organizing Domestic
Workers in the Czech Republic, in:
Laboratorium - Russian Review of
Social Research (3), p. 100-123.
Hunt, Abigail & Machingura, Fortu-
nate (2016): A good gig? The rise of
on-demand domestic work Overseas
Development Institute Working Paper.
This study explores the emer-
gence of Uber-style platforms within
the domestic work sector in develop-
ing countries, with consideration of
relevant policy, legal and regulatory
frameworks, as well as the implica-
tion of digital and financial divides. At
the following link you can access the
report and exec. summary, a 90-second
animation, infographic and a recording
of the launch event with ODI, SEWA,
ITUC and Women in Tech Africa, as well

3
Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

as a short intervention from WIEGO:
www.odi.org/domestic-work-tech
ILO (2016): Formalizing domes-
tic work. Online: http://ilo.org/
travail/whatwedo/publications/
WCMS_536998/lang--en/index.htm
Pelzelmayer, Katharina (2017): Bod-
ies That Work, Discourses That
Care. Dissertation. Online: http://
www.zora.uzh.ch/136516/ .
In her thesis, Katharina Pelzel-
mayer analyses the growth of private
sector 24-hour care arrangements in
German-speaking Switzerland. Given
the recent emergence of this form of
live-in elder care, the thesis focuses on
central discussions of so-called 24-hour
care. Analysis of the central narratives
indicates an intricate relationship
between fundamental inequalities in
live-in care and the particular ways in
which they are discussed. In particular,
her analysis suggests that the spe-
cific ways in which 24-hour care has
been discussed underlie the inequali-
ties in the field and serve to sustain
problematic working conditions.
Ricard-Guay, Alexandra & Maroukis,
Thanos (June 2017, forthcoming, eds.):
Special Issue. Human Trafficking in
the domestic work sector in the EU: a
special case or a learning ground for
the anti-trafficking field? In: Journal of
Immigration and Refugee Studies 15(1).
Rohde-Abuba, Caterina & Tkach,
Olga (2016, eds.): Finding oneself
abroad: Au pairs Strategies of Self-
positioning in Hosting Societies. In:
Nordic Journal of Migration Research.
6 (4) Online: https://www.degruyter.
com/view/j/njmr.2016.6.issue-4/
issue-files/njmr.2016.6.issue-4.xml
Rother, Stefan (2017): Indonesian
migrant domestic workers in trans-
national political spaces: agency,
gender roles and social class forma-
tion. In: Journal of Ethnic and Migra-
tion Studies, 43:6, p. 956-973.
The focus of this article is a cluster
of grassroots movements and networks
of networks: the Association of Indo-
nesian Migrant Workers (ATKI) based in
Hong Kong. By using Kellys typology of
four dimensions of class (i.e. position,
process, performance and politics) as a
framework of analysis, the article shows
that Indonesian migrant domestic
workers can hold multiple class identi-
ties at various positions in transnational
political space(s). Through organising in
these particular spaces, Indonesian mi-
grant domestic workers express agency,
reformulate their gender roles and
identify themselves as a transnational
social class. By not accepting the class
position ascribed to them as domestic
workers, these migrant organisations
chose to define their social class by per-
formance and generate political capital.
Schwenken, Helen (2017): The emer-
gence of an impossible movement:
domestic workers organize globally.
In: Rucht, Dieter; Gosewinkel, Dieter
(eds., 2017): Transnational Social Move-
ments. Berghan books, S. 205-228.
Souralov, Adla (2017): Children
in paid care-giving work: Invisible
receivers or active agents in caring
relations? In: Childhood. Online:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/
full/10.1177/0907568217694420
Tkach, Olga & Hrenjak, Majda (2016,
eds.): Paid Domestic Labour in Post-
socialist Contexts. In: Laboratorium:
Russian Review of Social Research (3).
Online: http://www.soclabo.org/index.
php/laboratorium/issue/current
Yilmaz, Gaye & Ledwith, Sue (forthcom-
ing April 2017): Migration and Domestic
Work: The Collective Organisation of
Women and their Voices from the City.
Palgrave/Springer. Online: http://www.
springer.com/gb/book/9783319516486

Contacts: Research Network for Domestic Worker Rights

Contact to the coordinators: Claire Hobden (ILO), Prof. Dr. Helen Schwenken and LisaMarie Heimeshoff (Universi-
ties of Osnabrck, IMIS and Kassel, ICDD), Raffaella Maioni (Acli Colf ): coordinator@domestic-work-research.org
Asia: Sonal Sharma, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, India (for South Asia):
southasia@domestic-work-research.org
Europe: Prof. Dr. Sabrina Marchetti, Ca Foscari University of Venice, Italy: europe@domestic-work-research.org
Latin America: Prof Dr Mary Rosaria Goldsmith Connelly, Universidad Autnoma MetropolitanaXochimilco, Mexico:
latinamerica@domestic-work-research.org
North America: Prof Jennifer N. Fish PhD, Old Dominion University, United States:
northamerica@domestic-work-research.org
Editor of the Newsletter: Lisa-Marie Heimeshoff, University of Osnabrck, coordinator@domestic-work-research.org