According to the Labour Force Survey, in 2023, there were around 9,000 domestic workers (i.e. less than 1% of all workers) across the country. Administrative data on domestic work arrangements are scarce and, while anecdotal evidence suggests that the domestic work sector must be sizeable, most of it goes unregistered. Access to social protection benefits for care workers is conditional on payment of social insurance contributions. However, these rights are not always ensured for all employees and most domestic workers working unregistered means they are left mostly without access. Furthermore, measures for tackling undeclared work are unsuitable for the domestic work sector. High demand for domestic workers is being driven by an ageing population and emigration, and is being met by a growing private sector. However, the marketisation of service provision will result in unmet care needs among those without the ability to pay. In policy terms, the entities and Brčko District should aim at better regulation of domestic and care work, ensure that workers are covered by social insurance and are able to access labour protection rights.
Nikolina Obradović (Wed,) studied this question.