Trabalho doméstico: visão global e análise da efetividade da Convenção n. 189 da OIT e da Emenda Constitucional n. 72/2013 como normas que estabelecem critérios para o trabalho doméstico decente no Brasil

Abstract

Domestic work is an area of labor which is mainly occupied by women, most of them black or of mixed race, migrant and poor. Those characteristics lead to a view of domestic work as a non-professional activity and thus to discrimination by societies and governments throughout the world. Considering the International Law, human rights at work apply to the domestic workers as well as to other workers. ILO recognizes that expressly. However it is a fact that States throughout the world keep depriving domestic workers of several rights at work by editing discriminatory laws or even by refusing to protect them under the national labor laws. In that sense, domestic work is being apart from decent work, as pursued by ILO. Faced with discriminatory practices by too many States, International Labor Conference 2011 adopted the Convention n. 189 and Recommendation 201 in order to specifically protect the rights of domestic workers. By those instruments ILO expressly recognizes that all its Conventions, as well as the Human Rights Treaties also apply to that specific group or workers. Therefore, Brazil initiates a changing in the Constitution by amendment, altering the sole paragraph of article 7, which addresses the social the social rights at work for domestic workers. By modifying that article the Constitution expressly recognizes most of the social rights at work to the domestic workers. This achievement was obtained with the political participation of women domestic workers whose fighting spirit and determination towards the recognition of rights precedes the Constitution of 1988. However, Brazil, up to this date (July 2014), has not stated the internal procedure towards the ratification of ILO’s Convention n. 189 yet, without which the use of monitoring mechanisms as well as the international accountability of the country are hindered.