Mexico: Domestic workers organize to defend their rights Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - Milt Shapiro Domestic workers organize to defend their rights Conrad Fox, TheNewsMexico.com - 4/25/2002 At age 14, Margarita Gomez left her impoverished village in Oaxaca and came alone to Mexico City, hoping the metropolis could provide for her better than her overburdened family. Speaking faltering Spanish, and with only a primary education, her prospects were limited. Often without food, she went door to door in the wealthier neighborhoods until a housewife offered her work as a live-in maid. Then her problems began. "I left thinking the city was the greatest," she recalls. "But I discovered that my job could be so denigrating. Society sees it as a job for people who haven't studied, who don't know anything." Like so many women forced into service because of poverty, Margarita was overworked, underpaid and denied benefits that other workers consider basic rights. According to INEGI, the national statistics bureau, there are 1.5 million domestic workers in Mexico. Of them, 1.3 million are woman, making domestic employment the third most important source of income for women in Mexico after office work and sales. It is not much income, however. Although there are no official studies of wages for domestic employees, it is not uncommon for a live-in maid to earn as little as 1,000 pesos (US$108) a month working 12 hours a day, six days a week. A day worker can earn less than 100 pesos (US$10.80) a day. Mexican labor law makes few provisions for domestic employees, and those few - such as a Christmas bonus - are not always granted by employers. Unlike others in her situation, however, Margarita did not passively accept her lower status. A calm, confident young woman with a bright smile and a thoughtful tone, she says: "I slowly realized my job has great validity. It's no less dignified than any other job." Part of her confidence owes to the organization of which she is a member. Formed two years ago, the Center for Employment and Training of Home Workers (CACEH, Centro de Empleo y Capacitación de Empleados del Hogar) is dedicated to helping domestic workers break out of the cycle of subservience and poverty they so often find themselves in. "We are exploited, discriminated against," says Gloria Martinez, CACEH founding member and domestic employee herself. "We want to teach our members the dignity of their work, and to understand their own importance." They appear to be doing a good job. At a regular CACEH meeting, self-esteem is in abundance, as roughly 30 members, all women, compete eagerly to explain their one-sided industry. "We don't get any recognition," says Martha Escamilla, a middle-aged woman with fiery, friendly eyes. "The employer wants to know everything about us, whether we can iron and cook, whether we are honest. But we don't know anything about them." Rosa Maria Raymundo nods, and tells how she took a job on the understanding she would clean and iron only. "And when I got there," she says, pausing for effect, "they wanted me to do all that and wash their pet rabbits!" CACEH is not about fomenting revolution, however. With a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, the organization offers classes in self-esteem, sexuality and reproductive rights, workers' rights and techniques for negotiating with an employer. As well, CACEH runs a placement service with a guaranteed minimum daily wage of 130 pesos for a day worker. Those successfully placed pledge to attend the organization's bi-monthly workshops. "I've learned so much from CACEH," says Rafaela Guillen Peralta. She explains that now, when she negotiates a contract, she stipulates exactly how much work she will do in a day. "You can't do everything," she adds. "You have to know how not to be exploited." CACEH currently has 100 members throughout Mexico City but would like to help other domestic employees. Accordingly, on Sundays, they head to the city parks where domestic employees traditionally spend their day of rest and explain the concept of labor rights. "They are so shy sometimes," says Margarita. "They don't want to admit they work in someone else's home." If not revolutionary, the women would still like to see the law changed. Currently, CACEH and several other similar organizations in the city are drafting proposed amendments to the labor law that would grant domestic employers paid vacation, sick leave and social security. They say the proposals will be sent to the Labor Secretary sometime this year. Despite the hardships, the women are enthusiastic about their jobs. Some have bought houses with their salaries, others are putting children through school. "If I hadn't started working," says Margarita, "I might have ended up pretty badly. Now I have a place to live, and I am studying high school in my free time." Asked what her future plans are, she blushes and says she would like to study linguistics at the university. That comes as news to her companions, and they gentle rib her for keeping her plans secret. Than it comes out that most of the women have dreams, and in retrospect, they don't seem so unattainable. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytlab-04.26.02-00:34:40-18083