Kathmandu: Federal and Provincial Assembly (PA) lawmakers have pledged to make every effort to get the International Convention on Domestic Workers (ILO Convention No. 189) endorsed. Speaking at a discussion programme organized by Yuwalaya, a youth-led non-profit organization, the parliamentarians acknowledged Nepal’s status as one of the top countries sending domestic workers abroad and expressed their commitment to pressuring the government to ratify the Convention.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the latest national data indicates there are around 200,000 domestic workers in Nepal, with women making up approximately 80 percent of that workforce. Due to the lack of legal recognition, domestic workers in the country are often denied basic rights such as fair remuneration, health benefits, insurance, and paid leave.
Participants in the discussion strongly emphasized the importance of ratifying the Convention to ensure dignity, protection, and justice for domestic workers in Nepal. Concerns were raised over cases of physical and sexual assaults and various forms of violence against Nepali women working as domestic help abroad, underscoring the need to ratify the Convention.
If Nepal endorses the Convention, it will ensure the workers’ right to safe, healthy, and decent working conditions. Europe, Israel, and Gulf countries remain the major host nations for the Nepali migrant labor force employed as domestic workers.
Lawmaker LP Sanwa Limbu highlighted that domestic work is one of the largest employment sectors globally, and the services and facilities available to workers are determined not only by laws but also by society, attitudes, and cultural values. Due to delays in Nepal signing the agreement, many security guards and other domestic workers in Gulf countries have faced hardships due to deprivation of minimum wages.
The organization, which advocates for youth concerns and domestic workers, has consulted with members of the Industry, Commerce, and Labour and Consumer Committee under the House of Representatives, as well as labour experts from the Bagmati Province. Despite Nepal being a party to the agreement, the absence of enacted laws and non-approval of the Convention has deprived domestic workers of minimum services and facilities.
Committee member Kantika Sejuwal expressed concerns over the lack of effective mechanisms to address domestic workers’ rights and maintain accurate statistics. Representatives from the domestic workers and trade union sectors stated that ratifying the agreement would allow women workers to confidently use Nepal’s airports without hiding.
They suggested that workers going abroad should be provided with skills training, language courses, cultural orientation, and information about applicable laws. MPs Sapana Rajbhandari and Sita Mijar stressed the necessity of pressuring the government for family reunification for domestic workers and creating a people-friendly law to hold the government accountable.
Previously, Bijaya Rai Shrestha from the Migrant Women Workers Group (MWWG) noted that the lack of convention approval has deprived workers in informal sectors, both abroad and domestically, of the minimum wages set by the government. Dharma Raj Rimal, chairman of Yuwalaya, emphasized the need for a unified effort to ratify the agreement.