Hoping for a Brighter Future for Cambodian Migrant Domestic Workers

Vichuta Ly

Legal Support for Children and Women (LSCW)

Many Cambodian migrant workers abroad are employed in domestic work, that is, work carried out for an employer’s household, such as cooking, cleaning, looking after family members and other household tasks.  Malaysia is a major destination country for Cambodian migrant domestic workers (as well as migrant workers from other countries in the region), who are predominantly young women. 

The history of this migration trend has not been an easy one and its future is not yet clear.  Such was the extent of media reports on abuses, exploitation and even deaths of Cambodian domestic workers in Malaysia that on October 15^th, 2011 the Prime Minister of Cambodia announced a ban on the recruitment, training and sending of domestic workers to Malaysia. This ban still remains in place, although many Cambodian domestic workers who were already there prior to the ban remain in Malaysia and it is believed that some are still going, through unofficial channels.

A major issue contributing to the problems faced by domestic workers is that their situation has long been ignored or indeed purposefully excluded from many legal protections provided to other categories of workers, both in Malaysia and Cambodia, as well as in many countries worldwide.  This reflects the undervaluing of this type of work by society in general, the view of domestic workers as “servants” rather than as “workers” and a reluctance to acknowledge private dwelling houses as places of employment that require to be regulated.  Add the challenges faced by domestic workers to the discrimination and human rights abuses experienced by migrants in general and it is clear that migrant domestic workers are a category at high risk of having their human rights violated.  Within this context, perhaps the multitude of problem cases leading to the ban are not so surprising.

In June 2011, domestic work came under the international spotlight when the International Labour Organization adopted Convention 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers.  This Convention guarantees minimum labour protections to domestic workers on an equal basis with other categories of workers.  Neither Malaysia nor Cambodia have yet ratified this Convention, the protections of which would assist both their national domestic workers and migrants. 

The Malaysian and Cambodian governments have, however, commenced a dialogue surrounding the issue of Cambodian domestic workers in Malaysia which surely must be seen as progress.  The two governments are in the process of negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding on the recruitment and employment of Cambodian domestic workers in Malaysia.

Even if this Memorandum of Understanding is agreed, is it enough to protect this vulnerable category of migrants?  Although it may be a step in the right direction (depending of course on the terms of the agreed draft which remains to be seen), a Memorandum of Understanding alone will not have sufficient force or effect to really grant these workers the rights that they have been long denied and well deserve.  That will require changes to national laws and a high level of commitment from those enforcing and implementing those laws, accompanied by a change in society’s view of these workers generally, to recognize domestic workers for what they are – employees who are employed to work in their employer’s households on tasks their employer wants their help with.  Migrant domestic workers also fit within this description, the main difference being that they have left their homes and travelled to a new place, most likely encountering many further challenges, in order to fulfill this role.