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Domestic workers and the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)

By CAShorts DeskPublished Sources: ILO (statistical brief, news release, NORMLEX); PIB; Ministry of Labour and Employment (Code on Social Security, 2020); The Hindu

Why in news: On 27 October 2026 an ILO statistical brief found domestic workers' relative wages had fallen since 2019, naming India as an example.

Domestic workers and the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)
Illustration (AI-generated)

The International Labour Organization's (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) sets minimum rights for people working in or for households, including weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours. In force since 5 September 2013, it has 40 ratifications, none from India. An ILO brief of 27 October 2026 found domestic workers' pay slipping further behind other employees'.

Syllabus: GS3 · Indian Economy & Growth; GS1 · Women, Population & Urbanisation; GS2 · Welfare of Vulnerable Sections

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2 welfare of vulnerable sections and international institutions, GS3 employment. Prelims can ask what C189 requires and whether India has ratified it; Mains, how the Code on Social Security, 2020 and e-Shram protect domestic workers.

In short

Domestic workers do paid work in or for private households. The ILO's Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) gives them labour rights, but the home as workplace keeps enforcement weak.

Core protections underC189Written terms24-hour weeklyrestMinimum wagecoverageSocial securityProtection fromabuse

India's codes now name domestic workers; turning registration into enforceable rest, fair wages and social security inside private homes is what C189 asks.

Why it matters

A woman who cooks and cleans in three homes may have no written terms, no fixed day off and no pension. Her employer is a household, not a factory, so an inspector seldom reaches her, and she may not know which law covers her. Registration on a national database is what links her to insurance and welfare schemes; a worker who stays unregistered stays outside them. When other employees' pay rises faster than hers, she falls behind even as her own wage grows. The wider question is how a country values care work, done mostly by women inside private homes, and whether that work earns the same rights as work in an office or a shop.

Prelims pointers

  • C189 lets live-in domestic workers keep their own travel and identity documents and frees them from staying in the household during rest or leave.
  • Under C189, a migrant domestic worker must receive a written job offer or contract, enforceable in the country of work, before crossing the border.
  • C189 asks States to regulate private employment agencies and bars deducting their fees from a domestic worker's pay.
  • Under C189, stand-by time when a domestic worker cannot use the time freely counts as hours of work, to the extent national law decides.
  • Chapter IX of the Code on Social Security, 2020 covers unorganised, gig and platform workers: the Centre frames welfare schemes, and section 113 requires their registration.
  • e-Shram, launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on 26 August 2021, is an Aadhaar-seeded national database of unorganised workers, including domestic workers.
  • The ILO's brief measures the wage gap as domestic workers' average monthly wage expressed as a percentage of other employees' average monthly wage.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), consider the following statements:

1. It requires weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours for domestic workers.

2. It requires every ratifying State to create a minimum wage system for domestic workers where none exists.

3. It provides social security for domestic workers, including maternity, which may be applied progressively.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. C189 sets weekly rest and social security, but extends minimum wages only where coverage exists.

Statement 1: correct. Article 10 of C189 sets weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours for domestic workers.

Statement 2: incorrect. Article 11 gives domestic workers minimum wage coverage where such coverage exists; it does not oblige a State to create a new system.

Statement 3: correct. Article 14 asks for social security, including maternity, no less favourable than for workers generally, and allows progressive application.

Eliminate: statement 2 overstates Article 11. Out: (a), (b), (d).

Trap: Wrong scope. Statement 2 widens a conditional duty, coverage where minimum wages exist, into a duty to build a wage system, which C189 does not impose.

Remember: C189 Article 11: minimum wage coverage where it exists, set without sex discrimination.

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