The Translation of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention in Latin America. A Comparative Study of Argentina, Chile and Paraguay

POBLETE, LORENA

Princeton

Workshop; DIFFUSION BEYOND CONVERGENCE. Fung Global Fellows Program Workshop; 2016

Princeton University

The ILO Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention (No.189) represents an innovative regulatory model for paid domestic work. This convention 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. Since the Domestic Workers Convention was approved in 2011, eleven Latin American countries ratified it and several are in the process of ratification. Although, influenced by the Convention 189, numerous countries changed their legislation concerning paid domestic work. The way different countries introduce this innovative regulatory model is not homogenous. The translation of Convention 189 is shaped by preceding labor regulation and also depending on the composition of the domestic work sector in the labor market. The object of this presentation is to analyze the translation of Convention 189 in three Latin American countries: Argentina, Chile y Paraguay.