CIS   24481
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES SOCIALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Regulatory Innovations. The Influence of the ILO Domestic-Work Convention in Latin America
Autor/es:
POBLETE, LORENA
Lugar:
Princenton
Reunión:
Workshop; Workshop: How to Study Diffusion: Innovations in Theories, Methods and Research Designs, Princeton University; 2014
Institución organizadora:
Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies, Princeton University
Resumen:
In Latin America, paid domestic work is very prevalent. In this region, it constitutes nearly 40% of the worldwide total (ILO, 2013), and is one of the most generalized forms of labor for women, representing 26.6% (ILO, 2013). The majority of these workers are undeclared by their employers; thus, labor rights don't apply, and workers don't have access to social protection. In an attempt to achieve labor standards, the ILO approved a specific convention for domestic workers in 2011. This convention, C189, establishes some fundamental principles, such as freedom of association; the abolition of child and compulsory labor; and protection from abuse, harassment, violence, and discrimination. The convention also includes labor and social rights, such as limited working hours, monthly pay, a minimum wage, daily and weekly rest periods, annual leave, probation periods, termination terms, and access to social security. Until now, only fifteen countries have ratified C189, and most of them are Latin American. This convention is now in force in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay, and it will enter into force in 2015 in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico have already begun the ratification process as well. Since 2003, specific laws concerning domestic work have been approved in several Latin American countries. Some of these approvals preceded the establishment of C189, but most of them came about at the same time or shortly after. An analysis of these laws shows that in each country, legislators have been confronted by the same old questions, but they haven't given the same answers. A process of regulatory innovation seems to be in progress regionally. The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of C189 on laws approved in several Latin American countries during recent years. Our main thrust is to understand how ILO recommendations contribute to the development of regulatory innovation at the regional level. In order to do so, we will first reconstruct the diffusion process of ILO recommendations in Latin American countries, and second, analyze the evidence of these recommendations in documents, bills and the final versions of laws. The diffusion process of ILO recommendations seems to be based on that organization's internal procedures (reports, expert committees, meetings, etc.), as well as on the activities of its regional delegations. Latin American regional delegations are situated in Peru, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay. Regulatory innovation might also be related to regulatory traditions in the domain of labor or to political situations in which domestic work regulation is discussed. The empirical material for this study is comprised of ILO reports, briefs, conventions and recommendations related to domestic work, 'decent work', and employment relationships. It also includes various national laws, implementations of regulations, parliamentary debates, and specialized reports. The corpus concerns eight countries which ratified the convention (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay), thee countries in the process of ratification (Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico) and two other countries which have changed their legislation in recent years, but in which C189 has not yet been ratified (Peru, Chile).