Informed But Insecure: Employment Conditions and Social Protection among Paid Domestic Workers in Guayaquil

Abstract

Salaried domestic labor in private homes in Latin America is informal, precarious, and exploitative, but for thousands of women who have no other options it is their occupation and the sustenance of their families. The results of a study based on 400 surveys of paid domestic workers in Guayaquil, Ecuador, about social protection and labor rights show that workers possess a high level of knowledge about their labor rights but the majority do not belong to the social security system and many do not enjoy any of the benefits guaranteed them by law. Understanding the situation and experiences of these workers is a precondition for creating strategies to recognize the importance of their work and to guarantee their labor rights.

En América Latina, el trabajo remunerado en casas privadas es informal, precario, y explotador; para miles de mujeres que no tienen otras opciones, es su ocupación y el sustento de su familia. Los resultados de un estudio basado en 400 encuestas de la protección social y derechos laborales de las mujeres trabajadoras remuneradas del hogar de Guayaquil, Ecuador, demuestran un alto nivel de conocimiento de los derechos laborales entre las trabajadoras. Sin embargo, la mayoría de las participantes no estaba afiliada al sistema de seguro social, y muchas no gozaban de ninguno de los beneficios garantizados por la ley. Entender la situación y las experiencias de las trabajadoras del hogar es necesario para crear estrategias que reconozcan la importancia de la reproducción social y defiendan los derechos laborales.

Keywords

Domestic labor Ecuador Informal labor Social security Women workers

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