Domestic Workers in Mexico Seek Benefits, Recognition as Legitimate Employees Mexico Star
go to original September 6, 2016

Ana Laura Aquino Gaspar has been cleaning homes since she was 13 years old. Now 40, she says she experienced uncomfortable and exploitative working conditions. (Global Press)

Almost 40 percent of domestic employees in Mexico believe the biggest problem with their industry is excessive work and low salary, according a 2010 nationwide poll on discrimination conducted by the Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminacion, or CONAPRED, a government institution promoting policies to advance social inclusion and equality.

The Centro de Apoyo y Capacitacion para Empleadas del Hogar (CACEH), was founded in 2000 to organize domestic workers and promote their rights, but more recently the organization created the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Hogar, SINACTRAHO, a national union for domestic workers that began in August 2015. The union was officially registered in February, says Marcelina Bautista Bautista, founder and director of CACEH.

SINACTRAHO has a legal counseling program to assist domestic workers in their complaints and disputes. It also offers training for domestic workers in human rights, gender violence, unionism and other subjects, Bautista Bautista says.

In Mexico, labor rights for domestic employees aren't fully recognized legally. Domestic workers and employers say Mexican society also doesn't recognize it as a profession.

Read the rest at Mexico Star

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