Members of the Domestic Workers Action Group (DWAG) gathered at the United Arab Emirates embassy in Dublin on 14 June to mark International Domestic Work-ers Day and to protest the decision of the embassy to invoke diplomatic immunity in an employment rights complaint.
The complaints were brought by two women previously employed as domestic workers in the private residence of the UAE ambassador in Dublin. The workers, who are being supported by the DWAG, lodged formal complaints against the ambassador with the Labour Relations Commission in May.
However, the embassy claims that the Rights Commissioner has no jurisdiction to entertain the complaint by invoking diplomatic immunity.
In a statement, the DWAG said: “This is not an isolated case but a trend – in Ireland and across the globe – which needs swift Government intervention.”
Ann Guan of DWAG commented: “This is a matter of great urgency. It is shameful and unfair that domestic workers employed by diplomats in Ireland are being denied access to their basic rights and that the Department of Foreign Affairs has still not addressed this problem.”
She added: “Four years later Ireland still has no systems in place to protect the rights of these workers.”
