Even though he Ministry of Labor resolved that the domestic work will be formally regulated, employers and people who are dedicated to the trade comment that, although they have not established a written contract, they entail a harmonious and respectful relationship regarding the obligations and rights of both parties, for which they consider that the novelty of the formalization is the contribution to social security.
“That is good, that they put a regime on this work that consumes the lives of us (domestic workers)”, expressed to Free Journal Luisa Peña, who gets up at 5:30 in the morning every Monday to “intern” in the house of a family in Santo Domingo until Friday afternoon, when she returns to her home in San Cristóbal.
He comments that he has been doing his “little job” for eight years, earning 15,000 pesos for cooking, cleaning and taking the dog for a walk. Although she has not received any inappropriate treatment from her employers, she is happy for the resolution that will allow her to have health insurance in which she already aspires to include her husband and her youngest daughter.
“Domestic work is the third sector that generates the most jobs among women in the country”Economy Minister
Peña is one of the more than 20 women who travel by public transport to work in homes from that province. She says that she likes her work because it is what she knows how to do, and since she started working she defined with her boss the moments of rest for her and they talked about the use of uniform.
about the resolution
The minimum salary monthly established for employment contracts of domestic employees is 10,000 pesos. Currently, some employers pay more and some less. According to resolution 11-2022 of the National Salary Committee, released on Thursday, September 1, no person can reduce the salary they have been paying their domestic helper once the provision comes into force.
The document highlights that the employer must make a written or digital contract to set the workday of who helps you at home, rest time, vacations with salary and, among other things, detail if the work to be done requires sleeping or activities outside the work environment.
The resolution, which will enter into force three months after its publication, indicates that there must be a mutual agreement regarding the work to be done and the remuneration, which may be adjusted according to the schedule to be fulfilled and the type of work, based on the salary base.
The Minister of Economy, Pavel Isa Contrerasindicated yesterday that the domestic work It is the third sector that generates the most jobs among women and that has been unprotected for decades. “The knowledge of the resolution is a significant step for the recognition of the domestic sector in the country”, commented to the press during an activity on sustainability.
He assured that the Government’s action aims to dignify the work that, for years, many men and women do with the establishment of a minimum wage to have a specific margin that serves to establish rates for work.
The resolution establishes that the day of domestic work may not be more than eight hours per day, nor more than 44 hours per week.having a mandatory break of no less than nine hours between shifts.
Set a rate minimum salary It also allows regularizing the average daily salary, which will benefit those workers who work piecework or per day, a situation that until now had not been regularized.
Confusion about pay per day
Notwithstanding the provisions of the first articles of the document that will regulate this type of work, it is also highlighted that the worker and his employer can determine the modality in which this shift will be fulfilled, thus allowing the necessary flexibility so that both parties can comply. with their rights and obligations.
But despite the estimate of the ministry to calculate the days per day, Andrea Matos He doesn’t know how he will explain to the girl who helps him at home that, in his case, the minimum salary of 10,000 pesos does not apply.
“She (the young woman who helps her) comes two days a week: one to clean the house well and the other to wash the clothes,” she explains. She understands that they will not be able to agree and she will have to do without her services.
Matos considers it inappropriate that the document has not specified how much can be paid on average for work done per daysince the workers “will begin to think that they want to deceive them”. “The intention is very good, but it should have been clearer”, concludes.
In the case of Miguelina Fernandez, who receives the services of a lady who is in charge of cleaning, cooking and washing from Monday to Friday, with a schedule from 8:00 in the morning to 6:00 in the afternoon and for which she pays 16,000 pesos per month, the resolution Your schedule doesn’t change.
Fernandez is a doctor. She understands that the step she has taken Ministry of Labor is favorable so that domestic workers can receive a “decent” salary in proportion to the work they do, but recognizes that not everyone can pay what she deposits to her employee.
In addition to the salary that exceeds the minimum stipulated by the ministry, the doctor added her collaborator to her Family Health Insurance and pays her what corresponds each year as a Christmas salary.
