Recognising Care as a Human Right

During a parallel event organised by Public Services International (PSI), in collaboration with the core group behind the Rebuilding the Social Organisation of Care Manifesto, Laura Pautassi from the University of Buenos Aires emphasised that the right to care is not an emerging right—it has existed for nearly 15 years. The current challenge is advancing its recognition as an autonomous human right, while acknowledging its interdependence and interrelation with other fundamental rights.

This struggle is not solely the concern of human rights advocates; it intersects with multiple agendas that seek to rebuild the social organisation of care, including the Feminist, Environmental, Decolonial, Debt justice, and Tax justice agendas

For PSI, as the global union representing care workers in the public, private, non-profit, and community sectors, the labour agenda underpins the struggle for recognising care as a human right provides traction to:

·      Advocate for universal, gender-transformative, high-quality public care services, including formal employment in the sector and sufficient staffing to meet the highest quality ratio standards.

·      Defend trade union rights for care workers, including the right to unionise, bargain collectively, and receive equal pay for work of equal value. This also includes raising the economic and social value of the sector, promoting professionalisation, ensuring occupational safety and health (OSH), and protecting workers from violence and harassment.

Recognising care as a human right, reinforces PSI’s demand for raising the State’s fundamental role in financing, providing universal access, and regulating care systems and actors, including the private sector.

The Beijing +30 Political Declaration failed to advance the recognition of care as a right.

The fight continues!