(Brussels) – Granting EU legal status under labour law to housecleaners and homecare providers (such as home carers for elderly people) “to discourage human trafficking, forced labour and exploitation”. This suggestion is contained in a non-regulatory resolution that will be discussed today and voted on tomorrow at the mini-plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels. “Such acknowledgement – a notice reads – should be laid down bin the EU regulations and should reduce off-the-book work, promote social inclusion and provide easily understandable forms of legal relationships between employers and employees”. The text of the resolution was written by Greek MEP Kostadinka Kuneva and points to the need for “proper acknowledgement of housecleaners and homecare providers”, often foreigners, “in all the national labour and anti-discrimination laws, as well as a chance for housecleaners and homecare providers to join trade unions”. The European Parliament calls the member states to find “innovative supervisory methods which, without infringing on privacy, may help stop human trafficking, abuse and exploitation, including economic exploitation, of home cleaners”.