ILO, CHODAWU empower domestic workers in Mwanza

MWANZA: AT least 100 domestic workers in Mwanza have benefitted from awareness training on their rights, in efforts to improve their working environments.

The training, organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Conservation, Hotels, Domestic and Allied Workers Union (CHODAWU) and WoteSawa Organisation, also equipped domestic workers with knowledge on accountability to ensure fair and productive relationships between employers and employees.

Speaking during the training, Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA) Officer from the Prime Minister’s Office – Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations, Mr Herman Komba, said domestic workers must be guided by labour laws to avoid exploitation and discrimination.

He said one of their rights is the issuance of a written contract whenever they enter into an employment relationship.

The contract, he noted, is a key document that outlines crucial terms such as leave entitlements, working hours and wages.

“We teach them about labour-related laws as stipulated in the Constitution under Chapter 22, including the right to work, workers’ rights and responsibilities and workplace relations,” he said.

Mr Komba further stressed that domestic workers also have a duty to fulfil their responsibilities effectively, including safeguarding their employer’s property.

He added that workers intending to resign must give prior notice.

Those paid monthly must give notice within 28 days, while those paid daily or weekly are required to give notice within four days.

ALSO READ: ILO trainees educate domestic workers on working rights

The same applies when an employer terminates the contract. The coordinator of the ‘Sensitisation for Domestic Workers on Decent Work’ project at the ILO East Africa Office, Ms Chiku Semfuko, said the training targeted both adults and youth, including live-in and live-out workers.

Key topics covered included International Labour Standards, domestic workers’ rights and responsibilities, the Minimum Wage Order, relevant laws and regulations, dispute-resolution mechanisms, gender issues and violence and harassment at the workplace.

She stressed that the training placed strong emphasis on the new minimum wage recently announced by the government.

Head of the Legal Department at CHODAWU, Ms Asteria Gerald, encouraged domestic workers to join the union, which advocates for their rights and links them with vocational training colleges to gain entrepreneurship skills and enhance their economic independence.

A domestic worker from Majengo Street in Nyegezi Ward, Ms Beatrice Kuloba, expressed gratitude to the organisers, saying the training will help them address various forms of abuse they often encounter at work.

“There are some homes where everyone becomes a boss. Even the young ones sometimes physically punish the housemaid in front of their parents when their instructions are not followed,” she said.