Workers with Family Responsibilities (C156)
Oct 29, 2024
PSI launches five-year year campaign calling for the urgent ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 156 , in a fundamental move towards achieving gender equality and rebuilding the social organisation of care.
In a fundamental move towards achieving gender equality and rebuilding the social organisation of care, PSI launches on 29 October 2024, International Day of Care and Support, a campaign calling for the urgent ratification and implementation of ILO Convention 156 “Workers with Family Responsibilities” which will run for the next five years.
This campaign aligns with several key initiatives and commitments:
Our Care Manifesto , in which we call for Recognising, Rewarding, Reducing, Redistributing, and Reclaiming the public nature of care as a public good and human right. It emphasizes the crucial role of the State in funding, regulating, and providing comprehensive public care systems.
The 2023 International Labour Conference (ILC), which, during discussions on the General Survey Achieving Gender Equality at Work, reaffirmed that all international labour standards are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. To continue closing gender gaps, it is essential to uphold the indivisibility of these standards, including Convention 156, and encourage its ratification as key to achieving gender equality at work.
The 2024 ILC General Discussion on Care, which resulted in a resolution urging the ILO Office to prepare research for a tripartite meeting. This meeting, to be convened by the Governing Body, will assess potential gaps in the ILO’s international labour standards concerning paternity and parental protection, as well as other care-related leave (for critically ill family members, older persons, or persons with disabilities) and if so, whether normative or non-normative actions are necessary to address these gaps.
Global statistics
The issue of workers with family responsibilities has gained significant attention globally, and trade unions are central to advocating for policies that address these challenges. These include the need for parental leave, flexible work schedules, and access to affordable childcare. Source: ILO
606 million
women
globally provide unpaid care, including childcare, limiting their access to paid employment opportunities.
18 per cent
of employees
have access to flexible working hours, which is essential for balancing work and family responsibilities.
41 per cent
of countries
worldwide provide paid paternity leave. However, the duration and compensation vary significantly.
Take Action: Call on your government now!
Now is the critical moment to push for a broader ratification and effective implementation of Convention 156, particularly as we focus on building or strengthening national care systems staffed by public care workers, exercising decent work rights.
PSI calls on Member States for increased Commitment to Ratification and Implementation of Convention 156.
PSI asks its affiliates and women’s committee members around the world to join the call to action. Download the model letter below, adapt it to your national situation and call on your government to ratify the Convention NOW.
Download
Ratification and Implementation
PSI priority countries for the implementation of C156 include those countries in which the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEAR) has requested country reports and a specific date for revision; those in which there are national initiatives around national care systems; and those in which there are collective bargaining experiences and opportunities.
The ratification and implementation of Convention No. 156 on workers with family responsibilities:
Applies to all sectors of the economy and all categories of workers.
Ensures equal opportunities and treatment for workers in managing their family responsibilities, including care, and guarantees that these responsibilities are balanced with their work commitments without penalizing workers' ability to choose, enter, or remain in formal employment.
Encourages governments, in line with national conditions and resources, to develop childcare and family services that redistribute care work and enable workers to exercise their human right to care, underpinning the fundamental role of the State in assuring it. Global research shows that these services are most effective when publicly run, in the public interest, rather than for private profit. The public nature of care is a crucial element in building comprehensive social care systems that benefit all.
Will strengthen policies that support the redistribution of unpaid care work among workers, promote gender co-responsibility, and highlight the role that the world of work plays in this redistribution.
