Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala
Volume 53, Issue June, 2016, Pages 304-325

Story behind the closed doors: Decent work practice among the migrant domestic workers in Singapore and Italy (Article)

Islam M.R. , Cojocaru S. , Rahman Z.A. , Siti Hajar A.B. , Arnakim L.Y.B.
  • a Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Department of Social Administration & Justice, University of Malaya, Malaysia
  • b Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Iasi, Romania
  • c University of Malaya, Department of History, Malaysia, Malaysia
  • d University of Malaya, Department of Social Administration and Justice, Malaysia
  • e University of Malaya, Department of South East Asian Studies, Malaysia

Abstract

The objective of this study was to present comparative findings of the decent work practice (the ILO Convention 189) among the migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in two countries e.g., Italy and Singapore. The study covered three main aspects of these decent work practices, such as working hours and annual leave, maternity protection, and minimum wage. The study was based on a content analysis method. The search for relevant literature was completed in two stages. First, we examined peer-reviewed articles found in electronic databases using keyword searches; secondly, we used the ‘snowball’ method for searching the journal articles and published reports. The results showed that both countries were following the provisions of the decent work practices, but the situation in Italy was found much better than in Singapore. Apparently, the study found a large difference between the written provisions and the real practice in both countries. As a result, in many cases the MDWs in both countries were facing terrific challenges to get their expedient working conditions, proper working hours, annual leave, maternity protection and fair wage. The finding would be important guideline to the policy makers, human rights practitioners and academics. © 2016, Editura Lumen. All rights reserved.

Author Keywords

Italy Singapore Decent work human rights Domestic workers ILO Convention 189

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84975321333&partnerID=40&md5=2221f14ea73e2b6c05ed844ed501a9d6
ISSN: 15833410
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English