Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) - Mauritius (Ratification: 2012)

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSPP) communicated with the Government’s report received on 1 September 2023, as well as the response from the Government.

The Committee also notes that: (i) the Domestic Workers (Remuneration) Regulations 2010 was revoked and replaced by new Domestic Workers (Remuneration) Regulations 2019 with effect from 24 October 2019; (ii) the Employment Rights Act 2008 (ERiA) was revoked and replaced by the Workers’ Rights Act 2019 (WRA) with effect from 24 October 2019; and (iii) the Employment Relations Act 2008 (EReA) was amended in 2019 and 2024.

Article 3(2)(a) of the Convention. Freedom of association and collective bargaining. In its 2023 report, the Government reiterates that Articles 13(1)(a) and (b) and section 29(1) of the EReA, provide that all workers, including domestic migrant workers, are entitled to be a member of a trade union of their choice and participate fully in all the activities of that trade union. The Government adds that, in Mauritius, social dialogue institutions are tripartite and include representatives of the Government and of the employers’ and workers’ organizations. As regards the issue of migrant domestic workers raised in the previous comments, the Committee notes that the EReA has recently been amended with effect from 27 July 2024. Under the new Section 13 of the Act, a person is entitled to be a member of a trade union where “he is a citizen of Mauritius or, in the case of a non-citizen, the non-citizen is in an employment relationship with an employer.” The Committee understands that, as per this amendment, the right of migrant domestic workers to join a trade union is no longer linked to the possession of a work permit and requests the Government to confirm whether such is indeed the case, considering the fact that non-citizens without a valid work permit do not fall under the definition of a worker as stipulated under the WRA even though they might be in an employment relationship with an employer. Also, taking into account the particular characteristics of domestic work - including triangular employment relationships, a high degree of dependence on the employer, and the frequent isolation in the domestic workplace, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken, pursuant to Article 3 of the Convention, to effectively respect, promote and realize the right to collective bargaining of domestic workers. The Committee indeed considers that, in view of the specificities of domestic work, it is of particular importance to take active measures to support the establishment of organizations of domestic workers and employers and to encourage their engagement in social dialogue on matters of interest to them (General Survey of 2022 on Securing decent work for nursing personnel and domestic workers, key actors in the care economy, paragraphs 1007–1008). The Committee also wishes to draw the Government’s attention in this respect to Paragraph 2 of the Domestic Workers Recommendation, 2011 (No. 201) accompanying the Convention which invites Governments to give consideration to taking or supporting measures to strengthen the capacity of workers’ and employers’ organizations and organizations representing domestic workers and employers of domestic workers to promote effectively the interests of their members. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide examples and information on the participation of representants of domestic workers in social dialogue, and to indicate if there are examples of collective bargaining agreements in the domestic work sector.

Article 3(2)(d). Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Further to the Committee’s previous comments on the outcome of the review of section 13(5)(c) of the Equal Opportunity Act (EOA), 2008, which excludes domestic workers from protection against discrimination with respect to access to employment, the Government indicates that there has been no change regarding the EOA 2008, adding that section 5 of the WRA provides for the protection of workers against discrimination. In that regard, the Committee notes that according to section 5(3) of the WRA “a person does not discriminate against another person by imposing or proposing to impose on that other person a condition, requirement or practice that has or is likely to have a disadvantaging effect, where the condition, requirement or practice is reasonable in the circumstances.” The Government further indicates that no complaint pertaining to discrimination has been reported by a domestic worker to any authority. The Committee however noted in its 2020 comments on the Discrimination (employment and Occupation) Convention, 1959 (No. 111) that domestic workers do not enjoy the benefit of the provisions of the EOA in relation with access to employment and therefore are prevented from the possibility to file complaints in this regard with the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC). While taking note of the information provided regarding the adoption of the WRA in 2019,the Committee refers the Government to its previous comments under the present Convention, and to its 2020 and 2023 comments on Convention No. 111, and requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 13(5) of the EOA and section 5(3) of the WRA with respect to domestic workers, particularly any decisions interpreting these provisions in relation to domestic work. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to amend the EOA 2008 to harmonize the prohibited grounds of discrimination in Mauritian legislation. The Committee further reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers, enjoy in practice the right to be free from discrimination in employment and occupation.

Article 7. Terms and conditions of employment. In response to the Committee’s concerns regarding the measures taken to ensure that domestic workers are informed of their terms and conditions of employment, notably the particulars under Article 7 of the Convention, the Government refers to a new model contract of employment for domestic workers. The Committee notes with interest that the new model contract contains provisions on the remuneration, annual paid leave, normal hours of work, daily and weekly rest periods, food and accommodation, repatriation, and termination of the employment (including a period of notice) of domestic workers. The Committee also notes that section 11 of the WRA makes it mandatory for employers to provide workers engaged for more than one month with a written “statement of particulars of employment” in the form set out in the First Schedule of the WRA, and to register such document with “the supervising officer”. According to the First Schedule, the written statement should contain information on the employer (name, national pensions registration number, address, and business registration number or national identity card number), the worker (name, gender, national identity card number or passport number, date of birth, and address), the nature of the activity performed, the date of commencement of the agreement, the place of work, the grade or category of employment, the rate of remuneration, the payment interval, and the normal hours of work. The Government further indicates that it has taken steps to raise awareness among workers in general about their rights under labour legislation (through media events and job fairs) and the possibility to visit their nearest labour office for detailed information or specific inquiries. In view of the foregoing, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to specifically inform domestic workers of the existence of a model contract of employment for domestic work, and of their specific terms and conditions of employment under Mauritian labour law, notably regarding the particulars listed in Article 7 of the Convention. In addition, it requests the Government to provide information on the number of domestic worker employment contracts registered with a supervising officer.

Article 8(1). Migrant domestic workers. Requirement of a written job offer or contract. The Government indicates that work permits issued to foreigners, including domestic workers, in Mauritius are processed in accordance with the Non-citizens (Employment Restriction) Act 1973, and the guidelines for work permit application, which stipulate that foreign workers should have obtained a work permit and a residence permit prior to taking a job in Mauritius. The Government adds that a work permit is therefore issued to foreign workers on the basis of documents including a contract of employment. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that migrant domestic workers recruited for domestic work in Mauritius receive a written job offer or contract of employment which is enforceable in the country of destination, prior to crossing the border, and which contains the terms and conditions of employment contemplated in Article 7 of the Convention. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the number of domestic workers recruited locally to perform domestic work in another country.

Article 8(3). Migrant workers. Cooperation regarding the application of the Convention. The Government indicates that no bilateral agreements regarding the recruitment of domestic workers has been signed yet. The Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide information on the measures taken in cooperation with other ILO Member States to ensure the effective application of the provisions of the Convention for migrant domestic workers. The Committee therefore once again reiterates its request to the Government in this regard.

Article 9(c). Possession of travel and identity documents. The Government indicates that the model contract of employment for domestic workers provides that the passport shall remain at all times in possession of the worker. The Government adds that, when a migrant worker arrives in the country, a first meeting is carried with them by officers of the Special Migrant Workers Units during which the worker is cautioned about the need to always have their travel and identification documents in their possession. The Government also indicates that, a migrant worker, including a domestic migrant worker, may report any case of retention by his employer of his travel and identity document to the Special Migrant Workers’ Unit or to the Police. The Government reports that no complaint of retention of travel and identity document has been reported, during the period under review, by domestic migrant workers. Recalling that Article 9(c) of the Convention requires Member States to take measures to ensure that domestic workers are entitled to keep in their possession their travel and identity documents, the Committee duly notes the adoption of the model contract mentioned above and requests the Government to provide more detailed information on its legal nature and its use in practice, as well as information on whether there are other measures explicitly prohibiting employers from retaining migrants’ travel and identity documents. The Committee also requests the Government to communicate information on any sanctions applied to employers who contravene this provision.

Article 10(1). Equal treatment in relation to hours of work and leave. The Committee notes that while a regular workweek for workers in general under the WRA is set at 45 hours, under the Domestic Workers (Remuneration) Regulations 2019, the normal working week for a domestic employee is 48 hours. The CTSPP also observes that the normal working day for carers (garde malade), a category of domestic workers, is set at 12 hours, instead of 8 hours for the other workers. Moreover, with regard to annual leave, the Committee notes that, under the WRA, workers in continuous employment for 12 consecutive months with the same employer are entitled to 20 working days of annual leave. In contrast, the Domestic Workers (Remuneration) Regulations 2019 provide that domestic workers, other than migrant employees, are entitled to 30 days of leave for every 5 consecutive years of continuous employment. In addition, where the employer and the worker cannot agree on when leave is to be taken, the WRA prescribes that half of the leave period shall be fixed by the employer and the other half by the worker, whereas the Domestic Workers (Remuneration) Regulations 2019 provide that the employer shall pay the domestic employee a normal day’s wage in respect of each leave day applied for. In view of the above,the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure equality of treatment between all domestic workers and workers in general in relation to normal hours of work and paid annual leave, as required by the Convention.

Article 10(3). Equal treatment. Periods during which domestic workers are not free to dispose of their time as they please. In its previous comment, the Committee had taken note of the Government’s indication that the issue of standby hours was being addressed in the framework of the labour law revision. The Committee notes with regret that in its 2023 report the Government indicates that there is still no provision in the Mauritian legislation to address this issue. The Government also indicates that the payment of standby hours depends on the agreement between the domestic worker and the employer. The Government adds that domestic workers may report a complaint for non-compliance with such agreement at any Labour office. The Government reports that no complaint of such nature has been reported during the reporting period. The Committee recalls in this respect that provisions establishing the compensation for such standby hours are required to ensure equality between domestic workers and other workers. Legislative provisions on standby periods for domestic workers protect them from abuse of this flexibility, which could result in “never-ending” hours of work, while acknowledging the need for the flexibility that is often a characteristic of domestic work. The Committee thus considers that it is crucial to establish limits in national legislation on standby hours and provide for compensation where appropriate in order to ensure that domestic workers enjoy working time protections comparable to those of other workers (General Survey of 2022, paragraphs 768 and 769). The Committee also recalls that Paragraph 9(1) of Recommendation No. 201, which accompanies the Convention, provides guidance on the regulation and compensation of standby hours, calling on Member States to regulate: (a) the maximum number of hours per week, month or year that a domestic worker may be required to be on standby, and the ways they might be measured; (b) the compensatory rest period to which a domestic worker is entitled if the normal period of rest is interrupted by standby; and (c) the rate at which standby hours should be remunerated. In view of the foregoing, the Committee expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures in the near future to bring national legislation into full conformity with the dispositions under Article 10(3) of the Convention. In doing so, the Committee invites the Government to consider the guidance provided in Paragraph 9(1) of Recommendation No. 201. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all progress made in this regard.

Article 11. Minimum wage. The Government stresses that Section 26 of the WRA 2019 provides that every employer shall ensure that the remuneration of a worker shall not be less favourable than the remuneration of another worker performing work of equal value. The Government also indicates that the National Wage Consultative Council Act 2023 (Act No 6 of 2023) (NWCCA), a copy of which was not provided, states that the national minimum wage of every full-time worker shall be 11,575 Mauritian rupees per month (approximately US$244) and that part-time workers are entitled to the same on a pro-rata basis. The Committee however notes that the minimum wages listed in the Second Schedule of the Domestic Worker (Remuneration) Regulations 2019 vary depending on the category of domestic worker and are all set below 11,575 rupees. Under the Domestic Worker (Remuneration) Regulations 2019, which refers to the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2017, the minimum wage for cooks, gardeners, household employees, and caretakers is 8,900 rupees (approximately US$187) per month, and 45.64 rupees (approximately US$1) per hour. The minimum monthly wage of a garde malade is also of 8,900 rupees, but the minimum hourly rate is lower, at 28.53 rupees (approximately US$0.6). The minimum wage for a watch person is slightly higher, at 9,275 rupees (approximately US$194) per month, with a minimum hourly rate of only 44.59 rupees (approximately US$0.9). Similarly, the minimum wage of a driver is set at 9,969 rupees per month (approximately US$209), with a minimum hourly rate at 47.93 rupees (approximately US$1). The Committee observes that, while domestic work requires specific skills, it is often classified as unskilled or low skill work in the context of setting the minimum wage. This practice reflects the frequent undervaluation of occupations, such as domestic work that are highly feminized (General Survey of 2022, paragraph 778). In that regard, the Committee refers to its 2023 comments under the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951(No. 100), in which it notably requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that, when determining minimum wage rates by occupations in the sectors covered by remuneration regulations, skills considered to be “female” are not undervalued in comparison with traditionally “male” skills and that female-dominated occupations are not undervalued in comparison with male-dominated occupations. The CTSPP further observes that, with the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2017, the salaries of domestic workers have effectively decreased as employers have started to pay them on an hourly basis. In view of the above, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information regarding the minimum wage(s) currently set for domestic workers in the country. It also requests the Government to communicate information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that domestic workers enjoy minimum wage coverage and that remuneration is established without discrimination based on sex.The Committee further requests the Government to provide updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, on the impact in practice of the minimum wage regulations on the salary of domestic workers, including data on the number of domestic workers who have received wage increases and decreases.

Article 12(2). Payment in kind. The Committee notes that Section 2 of the WRA defines remuneration as “all emoluments, in cash or in kind, earned by a worker under an agreement”. The CTSPP observes in that regard that employers who are providing food to domestic workers argue that, as a result, they are not obliged to increase salaries to meet the minimum wage requirement. The Committee recalls that loss of monetary compensation when the employer replaces cash wages with goods or service can seriously undermine the capacity of domestic workers to provide for themselves and their family, particularly if the goods are not fairly valued or tailored to the domestic workers’ personal needs (General Survey of 2022, paragraphs 787–789). The Committee thus emphasizes that, in accordance with Article 12(2) of the Convention, payments in kind to domestic workers, if any, should only be allowed under strict conditions. It further draws the Government’s attention to Paragraph 14 of the Recommendation No. 201, which provides guidance on protective measures in relation to in-kind payment. In view of the above, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that, in conformity with the provisions of Article 12(2) of the Convention, payments of in-kind allowances are freely accepted by the domestic worker, are for their personal use and benefit, and are attributed a fair and reasonable monetary value.

Article 15(2). Consultations with the social partners concerned. Noting with regret that the Government has not provided the previously requested information in that regard, the Committee once again reiterates its request to the Government to provide in its next report specific information on whether the most representative organizations of employers and workers and, if they exist, organizations representative of domestic workers and those representative of employers of domestic workers, have been consulted in giving effect to the provisions of Article 15 of the Convention.

Article 17(2)-(3). Complaint mechanisms. Inspection. The Government indicates that Section 24(1)(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 2005 grants the “Permanent Secretary” the authority to inspect any place of work, other than premises used solely for residential purposes except with the permission of the occupier thereof. The Government also indicates that, to ensure compliance with labour legislation, the Ministry of Labour offers a “service de proximité”, with 17 regional labour offices and a Special Migrant Workers’ Unit (SMWU) responsible for conducting inspections as well as registering complaints from workers regarding their terms and conditions of employment. The Government also reports that, from January 2018 to April 2023, the Ministry of Labour received a total of 3,740 complaints from domestic workers (3,733 local domestic workers and 7 migrant domestic workers) and carried out 41 inspections, including 8 follow-up inspections. In that regard, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations published on 5 April 2019, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) expressed concerns about the large number of complaints filed by domestic workers regarding their working conditions and the inability of the labour inspectorate to effectively monitor the situation (E/C.12/MUS/CO/5, paragraphs 30 and 31). The Committee also notes the observations from the CTSP according to which, as the Mauritian constitution provides that a household is a private property, no labour inspection can be done without the express permission of the owner. The Committee considers in this regard that the consent of the employer or occupant of a household, or prior authorization by a judicial authority, ensures respect for the principle of privacy, while balancing this with workplace rights (General Survey 2022, paragraph 904) The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information on the actions taken or envisaged to ensure that all complaints received from domestic workers about working conditions are duly investigated and, where appropriate, penalties are applied. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to enable labour inspectors to effectively monitor the working conditions of domestic workers, including by exercising the powers of the Permanent Secretary provided for in the OSHA. The Committee further reiterates its request to the Government to provide detailed information on any measures adopted or envisaged to ensuring the effective application of labour law, such as establishing a national hotline for domestic workers and providing information to domestic workers of their rights, relevant laws and regulations, available complaint mechanisms and legal remedies, in a format or language understood by them, as contemplated by Paragraph 21(1)(a)–(f) of Recommendation No. 201.