Right to health, right to live: domestic workers facing the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America

ABSTRACT

This article presents the results from a survey on the impact of COVID-19 on domestic workers in 14 Latin American countries. The data reveal a massive employment and social crisis, with about half of respondents having been dismissed or suspended while they had no access to social protection. We further demonstrate the harms on the health and safety of domestic workers, with evidence of pre-existing health conditions making them more vulnerable, lack of adequate protection at the workplace, and an increase in violations of rights. We argue that this situation of extreme vulnerability creates a crisis of social reproduction, making more acute the underlying contradiction between the necessity for domestic workers’ labour to sustain the economy and their precarious working and living conditions. This situation has been worsened by COVID-19 to the point that not only jobs, but also lives are being threatened, and with it, the provision of reproductive labour across Latin America.

Cet article présente les résultats d'une enquête sur l'impact de la COVID-19 sur les travailleuses domestiques dans 14 pays d'Amérique latine. Les données recueillies mettent en évidence une importante crise sociale et de l’emploi ; en effet, environ la moitié des personnes interrogées ont été licenciées ou suspendues alors qu'elles n'avaient pas accès à une quelconque protection sociale. Nous démontrons par ailleurs les préjudices sur la santé et la sécurité des travailleuses domestiques, présentons des données factuelles indiquant que les problèmes de santé préexistants les rendent plus vulnérables, que le degré de protection sur le lieu de travail est inadéquat et que le nombre de violations des droits augmente. Nous soutenons que cette situation d'extrême vulnérabilité crée une crise de reproduction sociale, et rend plus aiguë la contradiction sous-jacente entre la nécessité du travail domestique pour soutenir l'économie et les conditions de travail et de vie précaires de ces travailleuses. Cette situation a été aggravée par la COVID-19 à tel point que ce ne sont pas seulement les emplois mais aussi les vies qui sont menacés, ainsi que, en parallèle, la disponibilité de main-d’œuvre reproductive à travers l'Amérique latine.

Este artículo presenta los resultados de una encuesta realizada en 14 países latinoamericanos que investigó el impacto de la Covid-19 en las trabajadoras del hogar. Los datos obtenidos dan cuenta de la existencia de una crisis laboral y social masiva: cerca de la mitad de las encuestadas fueron despedidas o suspendidas, careciendo de acceso a las distintas modalidades de protección social. Además, examinamos los daños a la salud y la seguridad de las trabajadoras del hogar que poseen condiciones de salud preexistentes, lo que incrementa su vulnerabilidad; a ello se suman la falta de protección adecuada en el lugar de trabajo y el aumento de las violaciones a sus derechos. Sostenemos que esta situación de extrema vulnerabilidad provoca una crisis de reproducción social, agudizando la contradicción subyacente entre la necesidad del trabajo del hogar para sostener la economia y las precarias condiciones de trabajo y de vida de estas trabajadoras. La Covid-19 agravó esta situación, al punto de que tanto los puestos de trabajo como la vida misma se encuentran amenazados y con ello la provisión de trabajo reproductivo en toda América Latina. 

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic workers
• social reproduction
• COVID-19
• labour unions
• Latin America

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the 24 domestic workers’ unions which disseminated the survey and conducted phone interviews to make this research possible: ASTRADOMES, ATH, CCTH, FENATRAD, FENATRAHOB, FENTRAHOGARP, FESINTRACAP, FETRADOMOV, IPROFOTH, RMEHAC, SIMUTHRES, SINACTRAHO, SINGRETRADS, SINPECAF, SINTRADESPY, SINTRADI, SINTRADOMES-CASC, SINTRADOMGRA, SINTRASEDOM, SINTTRAHOL, SITRADOMSA, UNFETRAH, UPACP, and UTRASD. Their courage and strength during this crisis inspires us every day and we hope this article does justice to their incredible work. Thank you as well to IDWF-Latin America support staff, Adriana Paz Ramirez (Regional Coordinator) and Fernanda Valienti (Programme Officer), and to IDWF General Secretary, Elizabeth Tang.

Notes

1 See WIEGO and IDWF campaign: ‘Covid-19 and the World’s Two Billion Informal Economy Workers’, www.wiego.org/COVID19-Platform (last checked 28 January 2021).

2 For a detailed mapping of government measures, see the Observatory of Covid-19 in Latin America provided by ECLAC: https://cepalstat-prod.cepal.org/forms/covid-countrysheet/index.html?country=ARG&theme=4 (last checked 28 January 2021).

3 See ibid.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 See IDWF website with the full list of affiliates: https://idwfed.org/en/affiliates/latin-america

7 For more detailed examples from each country, see IDWF’s website: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/the-idwf/rapid-responses-by-the-idwf-affiliates/every-action-counts and IDWF regional newsletters: https://idwfed.org/es/recursos/fith-e-boletin (both last checked 28 January 2021).

8 See the campaign of the National Federation of Domestic Workers of Peru: www.facebook.com/fenttrahop.peru/, and the details of the legislation (law no. 31047): https://busquedas.elperuano.pe/normaslegales/ley-de-las-trabajadoras-y-trabajadores-del-hogar-ley-n-31047-1889434-1/ (last checked 28 January 2021).

9 See https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/the-idwf/rapid-responses-by-the-idwf-affiliates/latin-america

10 See ‘A feminist response to Covid-19’: www.feministcovidresponse.com/static/media/principles-en.a6f9f4a2.pdf (last checked 28 January 2021).

11 See more recommendations from IDWF: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/the-idwf/advocacy/idwf-recommendations.pdf (last checked 28 January 2021).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Louisa Acciari

Louisa Acciari is Research Fellow and Co-director of the Centre for Gender and Disaster at the University College London (UCL), and Research Associate of the Núcleo de Estudos em Sexualidade e Gênero (NESEG) of the UFRJ. Between 2019 and 2020, she was Programme Officer for the IDWF Latin American team. Postal address: IRDR Centre for Gender and Disaster, University College London, Room 40, South Wing, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. Email: [email protected]

Juana del Carmen Britez

Juana del Carmen Britez is Vice-President of IDWF (International Domestic Workers’ Federation) and leader of the Union of Auxiliary Workers of Private Houses (Unión del Personal Auxiliar de Casas Particulares – UPAC) in Argentina. Email: [email protected]

Andrea del Carmen Morales Pérez

Andrea del Carmen Morales Pérez is the representative of Latin America on IDWF’s Executive Committee, and leader of the Federation of Domestic Workers of Managua (Federación de Trabajadoras Domésticas y Oficios Varios de Managua – FETRADOMOV) in Nicaragua. Email: [email protected]