The Social Policies and Gender Equality Policies of the European Union Programme EUROsociAL+ provided technical assistance for the preparation of the Regulation and Registration of the new Law on Domestic Work in Peru.
Foto: Dan Gold
This assistance was provided through a participatory process led by the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion of Peru, with the participation of the union federations of domestic workers and other civil society organisations.
Household work in Peru is characterised by its high rates of informality: 89% of these workers work in the informal sector and do not have access to social security. They are badly paid and more than half (52.5%) earn a monthly income that is below the legal minimum income. Domestic work is mainly the realm of women, poor, indigenous rural people, many of whom start this work at a very early age (girls and adolescents). The most vulnerable of the vulnerable.
In 2011, the International Labour Conference adopted Convention 189, extending basic labour rights to domestic workers around the world. Since the adoption of the Convention, several countries have approved new laws and regulations aimed at improving domestic workers’ labour and social rights. Ten years since the adoption of the Convention, 18 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region have ratified it, accounting for half of all ratifications in the world. Convention 189 and its accompanying Recommendation have been a starting point for devising new policies, recognising the dignity and value of domestic work.
Peru ratified Convention 189 in November 2018. Two years later, the Peruvian Parliament adopted a regulation that recognises all their Labour rights, ending decades of discrimination.
The process of drafting the Regulation of Law 31047 on domestic work was carried out through a process of consultation and dialogue with the organisations of domestic workers, gathering their voices and contributions to ensure that the regulations reflect the spirit of Law and Convention 189. The achievements of this process of dialogue between the State and trade union organisations in Peru is a model of successful dialogue and agreement to establish protective mechanisms for domestic workers that can be replicated at the international level.
Adelinda Díaz, general secretary of the National Federation of Domestic Workers of Peru (FENTRAHOGARP) pointed out that “For us it is a historical milestone to have been included in the General Law of private activity workers. This would have been impossible without a Sectoral Round Table with the Government and an alliance with the Ministry of Labour technical teams. Because, as you know, when we don’t have power it is very difficult to reach our expectations”
This process of consultation and dialogue [1] was carried out during six sessions that were summoned through the Home Work Table for the follow-up of Agreement 189. These were carried out remotely, in the midst of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the sector of domestic workers so seriously.
The sessions were attended by numerous organisations of domestic workers from all over Peru and the active support of EUROsociAL+, the ILO and the Ombudsman’s Office. Cecilia Tello, director of Promotion and Protection of Fundamental Labour Rights of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion of Peru and executive secretary of this round table, said that “the regulatory advances and, in particular, the process of drafting the regulations of the New Domestic Workers’ Law, is a lesson for the country in the persistence of the union organisation, in valuing the potential of union organisations in protests and as spaces to establish the leadership of female workers, showing that organisation is the way to build and be stronger. It has also an opportunity to show that with commitment and technical and political will, the Executive and the Government can carry out successful processes of social dialogue to guarantee the rights of workers and their reasonable aspirations, a path toward a peaceful society and everyone’s development through diversity.”
The new regulation [2] helped to settle a historic debt with more than 420,000 domestic workers, the vast majority of whom (95%) are women. Despite their substantial contribution to progress in the country and to sustaining life, they were faced with a legal framework that did not fully recognise their rights, since they were subject to a special regime that gave them only 50% of the rights of workers under the general scheme. Gender stereotypes, prejudices regarding care work as a task that does not require technical knowledge since it relies on women’s “natural” qualities and abilities, has contributed to its disparagement and has been a factor which determines its poor quality of employment, precarious working conditions and the deficit of decent work for domestic workers.
The new norm establishes basic conditions for the full recognition of the rights of domestic workers. It establishes the mandatory requirement for a written contract based on a form and its registration. It recognises the right to the minimum wage and to two annual bonuses equivalent to one month’s salary, and equates the weekly working day to that of other private sector workers. The new regulations also guarantee the right to Social Security, both in terms of health care and the possibility of retirement. For the first time, a regulation on domestic work incorporates the phenomenon of sexual harassment, making Peru as a pioneer for having a specific regulation for this cohort, demonstrating the State’s commitment to addressing the violence and harassment in the workplace to which the sector is exposed. The creation of the Working Round Table to Promote Compliance with the Rights of Domestic Workers is also established.
Regarding the new regulations, according to Leddy Mozombite, General Secretary of the Domestic Workers’ Union of Peru (FENTTRAHOP), “this is a great achievement for organised workers, beyond union demands, this is a conquest of democracy and citizenship. We are no longer regarded as the “god-daughters” or the “helpers”. We are not part of the family, we are simply workers like any other. Our work is essential for life and generates value and wealth and we trust that with the installation of the Intersectoral Round Table we will be able to continue delivering proposals for compliance with the Law. Our organisation is proactive and is committed to dialogue.”[3]
The adoption of a new regulation is a very important step. The great challenge at this time is to ensure that the letter of the law becomes a reality, that domestic workers have their rightful role in society, that their labour rights are respected and that they have access to decent work. EUROsociAL+ recognises this challenge and is supporting this process. The Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion of Peru has played an important role and is committed to ensuring compliance with the Law, thus ensuring that formal rights become real. EUROsociAL+, as an international cooperation programme between both regions, will continue to provide advice and technical support to the process.
*Article by María Elena Valenzuela, Chilean sociologist, expert in employment policies of the EUROsociAL+ Union Programme, Social Policies area
