*Says African women spend three times more hours on unpaid care work
By Michael Oche
The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has called on African governments to guarantee living wages, social protection and decent working conditions for care workers, warning that the sector remains undervalued despite its critical contribution to society and the economy.
The organisation also urged governments to invest in accessible public care services, extend social protection to informal economy workers and unpaid carers, and adopt policies that address the unequal burden of unpaid care work on women and girls.
ITUC-Africa made the call in a statement issued by its General Secretary, Akhator Joel Odigie, in Lomé, Togo, on Thursday to mark the 2026 International Day of Care and Support, observed on October 29 under the theme, “Building Sustainable Care and Support Systems Through Decent Work.”
It said care work, both paid and unpaid, remained underpaid, undervalued and largely overlooked in public policies and national budgets, despite its vital social and economic contributions.
The organisation noted that women in Africa spend more than three times as many hours as men on unpaid care work, while more than one-third of African women outside the labour force are excluded from employment because of care responsibilities, compared with fewer than one in 20 men.
It added that young women in rural West Africa spend four times as many hours on unpaid care work as their male counterparts, limiting their opportunities to pursue education, acquire vocational skills, secure decent jobs and participate in trade unions.
According to ITUC-Africa, domestic workers, community health workers, early childhood educators, nurses and home-based carers, most of whom are women and many of whom are migrants, often work informally for poverty wages without social protection and are exposed to violence and harassment.
“Poor working conditions for care workers mean poor quality care for everyone,” the organisation said.
It warned that Africa had the weakest care coverage in the world, while demand for care services continued to rise because of population growth, urbanisation, the climate crisis and an ageing population.
To address the challenges, ITUC-Africa called on African governments, the African Union and Regional Economic Communities to invest in quality, accessible public care systems, including childcare, long-term care and health services.
It also urged them to provide basic infrastructure such as water, energy and clean cooking facilities to reduce the burden of unpaid care work, particularly on women and girls.
The labour organisation called for the implementation of the International Labour Organisation’s 5R framework for decent care work and its 2024 resolution on decent work and the care economy through national care policies.
It further urged governments to ratify and implement ILO Conventions 189 on domestic workers, 156 on workers with family responsibilities, 183 on maternity protection, 190 on violence and harassment, and 102 on social security.
ITUC-Africa said care workers should be guaranteed living wages, equal pay for work of equal value, formal employment contracts, safe workplaces, social protection, and the right to organise and engage in collective bargaining.
The organisation also called for social protection coverage for informal economy workers and unpaid carers, alongside adequately funded paid parental leave for both women and men.
