Migrant domestic workers are protected by the law and enjoy the same rights as all residents in Lebanon

Guarantee equal rights and civic duties to all citizens

Migrant Domestic Workers (MDW) in Lebanon can be classified into three types: live-ins, freelancers and runaways:

1. Live-in migrant domestic workers live in the household of the sponsor who is responsible for all financial costs and has a lot of control over the worker
2. Freelancers have a sponsor but live on their own terms and work on an hourly basis for different employers
3. Runaways are former-live in workers who have left their sponsor

1. 250,000 MDWs (2018)
2. Number of reported cases of abuse by type
3. Number of MDWs suicides
4. Number of runaway MDWs
5. Number of MDWs in prisons
6. Average salary of MWDs
7. Rule of Law Index: Factor 4 (WJP)

1. MDWs are excluded from the Lebanese Labor Law and are governed by the kafala system, which ties the legal residency of the worker to the contractual relationship with the employer, which results in MDWs facing many legal issues and violations to their basic human rights
2. The standard unified contract is largely in favor of the employer not the worker
3. MDW have been denied the right to freedom of association and banned from union membership under Article 92 of the Labor Law
4. MDW have almost no legal safeguards which leaves them subject to abuse and exploitation
5. MDW’s pay is below the official minimum wage in Lebanon
6. Half of MDWs complained that their papers were held against their wishes
7. Irregular channels of bringing workers from countries who banned work in Lebanon still operate
8. Working hours are long 10,5/day and time off are is low and not respected also, a large segment of MDWs suffers from a drastic lack of privacy and freedom

1. Lebanon has not ratified ILO conventions that would help protect MDWs
2. MDW suffer from high levels of racism prevailing in Lebanon
3. MDWs are suffering from the Lebanese Pound devaluation
4. MDWs suffer from lack of awareness of their right to dignified work conditions
5. Recruitment agencies often ignore reports of abuse or are responsible for it themselves
6. Despite the high levels of abuse, many migrant domestic workers fear going to the police. Because the kafala system links a worker’s legal status to their employer, simply escaping from an abusive employer can put them at risk of detention
7. It is difficult to address MDW’s labor rights without addressing the labor rights of Syrian and Palestinian refugees

1. The Lebanese Labor Law explicitly excludes domestic workers, denying both Lebanese and migrant domestic workers labor protections enjoyed by other workers such as a minimum wage, overtime pay, compensation for unfair dismissal, social security and parental leave
2. The government has largely been inactive and ineffective in implementing laws to protect migrant domestic workers
3. Many grassroots actions and actors of the civil society advocate for rights of MDWs
4. A hotline for MDWs to report abuse already exists, but rarely works

1. End the Kafala system and include all workers under the protection of the Lebanese labor law (institutional change)
2. Fight racist discrimination and abuse in Lebanon on the social and institutional levels (nudges, campaigns)
3. Sensitize MDW employers to the status of MDWs as capable adults entitled to the same rights they themselves are entitled to (educational campaigns)
4. Criminalize racist speech and actions (command and control)
5. Criminalize holding a worker’s passport (command and control)
6. Insure maternity protection (institutional change)
7. Guarantee protection, rights, and access to justice for MDWs by ensuring they are given free legal support through pro-bono legal consultations (service provision)
8. Empower civil society advocacies and NGOs that are efficient in safeguarding MDWs’ rights (outsource to third sector)
9. Forma a syndicate of MDW employers to give voice to their insecurities and contractual concerns (institutional change)
10. Allow MDWs to join, elect and be elected to unions (institutional change)
11. Set up a working 24/7 hotline for MDWs to report abuse (institutional change, nudge)
12. Become a state party to ILO Convention No. 189 on Domestic Workers and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families