Informality advanced and precariousness still persists among Brazilian domestic workers, ten years after the enactment of Constitutional Amendment 72, which became known as PEC das Domésticas. This is the assessment of specialists consulted by Agência Brasil. For them, among the reasons are the economic crises of the period, the covid-19 pandemic and changes in the composition and customs of families. The difficulty in supervising fraud and income stagnation are also among the category’s concerns. “What is worrying is that there has been informalization, people are performing domestic work without labor rights in greater numbers. We had to work on moving this segment to professions that generate greater personal and professional fulfillment, greater financial gain, I think that is the challenge”, said economist Marcelo Neri, director of the FGV Social study center. According to him, the number of domestic workers in Brazil is high and it is not common to find the same proportion in other countries. “It reflects Brazil’s high inequality,” he said. “And what experience shows is that the attempt to fight this inequality does not happen without reactions. So, this exchange of formal maids for day laborers reflects a little this reaction, it gives this feeling that we have not advanced, despite the good intentions of the legislation”, he added. The general coordinator of the National Federation of Domestic Workers (FENATRAD), Luiza Batista. Photo: Fenatrad/Divulgaçāo For the general coordinator of the National Federation of Domestic Workers (Fenatrad), Luiza Batista, the rights were won after a lot of struggle in the category, but the effectiveness and respect for legislation still leave much to be desired. “When we didn’t have a legal tool to claim rights that were not respected in court, we depended a lot on jurisprudence, on the judge who judged the action. From the moment we have a law that guarantees us rights, it is a joy and at the same time a disappointment, because, unfortunately, many employers do not respect it, they do not register a portfolio and when they are going to make a termination, we only guarantee something through a lawsuit . This is very draining,” she said. Legislation The Housemaids PEC provides for equal labor rights between housemaids and other workers, including maternity pay, sickness allowance, work accident allowance, pension for death and disability retirement, age and contribution time. She also fixed the working hours of these workers at eight hours a day and 44 hours a week. In 2015, the PEC underwent regulation, with the approval of Complementary Law No. 150, which expanded the guarantees provided for the category, such as the mandatory payment of the Severance Indemnity Fund (FGTS) for domestic workers. The law also guaranteed access to unemployment insurance, family allowance and additional night and travel allowances. The right to overtime was also guaranteed by law. The rapporteur for the PEC das Domésticas in the Chamber, deputy Benedita da Silva (PT-RJ), was a maid. During the course of the matter, the parliamentarian said that, since she was a girl, she helped her mother, who was a laundress for former president Juscelino Kubitschek, in the 50s, in Rio de Janeiro. The proposal was enacted on April 2, during the government of President Dilma Rousseff. “It was in 2013, with the support of President Dilma, that the National Congress almost unanimously approved the Household PEC, which I had the honor of reporting, guaranteeing labor rights to the category. For me, who fought so hard since the Constituent Assembly to guarantee the rights of housemaids was a personal victory. After years of dismantling and mismanagement, the fight continues to recover the dignity of all male and female workers”, said the deputy, through her social network.
Agência Brasil
Folha Nobre - Desde 2013 - ©