Introduction: Regulating Decent Work for Domestic Workers (Introduction: Réguler le travail décent pour les travailleuses domestiques)

Abstract

This introductory article has two dimensions that are addressed simultaneously. First, it focuses on the international developments, to highlight and explore some of the findings of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) law and practice report on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Second, it reflects on the contributions in this special issue to the broader deliberative process of identifying and critiquing labour regulatory frameworks as an empowerment strategy for historically marginalized women, such as domestic workers. This introduction suggests that a labour regulatory framework that both secures domestic workers rights in context and creates an enabling framework to support domestic workers' exercise of agency is a crucial part of a reconstructionist project, which that may accompany, but is not a substitute for, a broader project of social transformation.

Keywords: OIT, Travailleuses domestiques, Travail décent, Théorie féministe légale, Transformation sociale, Justice sociale, Droits de la personne

JEL Classification: F22, F62, F66, J15, J16, J47, J49, J61, J81, J83, K31, K37