Domestic workers negotiate new collective agreements in Uruguay and Italy

Members of the tripartite group working on the Domestic Work Sector at the Wages Council of Uruguay have signed a new collective agreement covering the period from January 2013 to December 2015 that will benefit the country’s more than 120,000 domestic workers. The group consists of representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Union of Domestic Workers (SUTD), and the employers’ association Liga de Amas de Casa (LACCU). The agreement raises domestic workers’ minimum wage and sets adjustment rates according to three salary bands. The group also made a commitment to define the categories that are part of the sector until 2015; created a premium for domestic workers who have not been unduly absent from work and highlighted the importance of complying with the law that gives all workers the right to paid leave to undergo screening for breast cancer.

Uruguay, the first country to ratify the Domestic Workers Convention No. 189, 2011, is among the countries with most advanced legislation in terms of protecting domestic workers. Collective bargaining over employment conditions in domestic work was established in 2006, when the law regulating the domestic work sector was adopted. Besides the wage raise, the outcome of previous rounds of negotiation in 2008 and 2010 included a premium for time service, compensation for night work, and the creation of the Domestic Worker Day on August 19 as a paid holiday. The group also agreed to form a Tripartite Commission on Occupational Health.
In recent years, the Uruguayan government has launched several initiatives to improve working conditions in the domestic work sector, including a country-wide campaign launched by the Social Security Bank (BPS) in 2004 to improve the social security coverage of domestic workers. Even though the levels of social security coverage have significantly increased between 2003 and 2011, this is still around 40%. Enhancing the levels of formalization and social security coverage are among the main challenges for the promotion of decent work for domestic workers in Uruguay.

Read more: Convenio colectivo, Consejo de Salarios Grupo n. 21 - April 10 2013 (in Spanish).


In Italy, despite the difficulties arising from the current economic crisis, trade unions and employers have reached an understanding on the renewal of the national collective agreement, formally expired in 2011. The contract foresees a salary increase, which will be applied progressively over a three-year period, allowing domestic workers to recover purchasing power that has been eroded by inflation since 2011. Another benefit obtained is the right to a notice period which can be twice as long the usual for domestic workers who are dismissed in the first month after maternity leave. Other provisions to be included in the new collective agreement refer to regulation of remuneration for holidays and annual leave; extension of the right to paid leave to undergo training for migrant domestic workers; and the right to leave the house during the mandatory daily two-hour break for live-in workers. For employers, the agreement includes the obligation to inform the domestic worker about any health and safety risks they may face at the workplace, and, for the families employing domestic workers in the care of dependent persons, the right to hire a substitute at special conditions to cover weekly leave periods.

The first National Collective Agreement on domestic work in Italy dates back to 1974. It introduced three occupational levels, according to professional skills and specific tasks performed by the workers; set maximum working time in 11 hours per day and 66 hours per week, and minimum wages. Since then, the collective agreement for the domestic sector has been renewed 7 times, but besides a gradual reduction of working time, no substantial changes have been introduced until the last renewal in 2007.

In the last collective agreement, adopted in 2007 and expired in February 2011, important provisions were introduced reflecting the developments of the sector in the last decade. Domestic workers were reclassified into eight categories, according to the tasks performed, the necessary degree of autonomy, and whether they are care workers assisting dependent persons. The agreement also introduced the possibility of job-sharing between workers providing personal care services to the same family, and the possibility of reduced working time (maximum 30 hours per week) for live-in workers who are not care workers. Despite these important advancements, domestic workers still enjoy a differential treatment with respect to other categories of workers in important fields such as maternity protection, illness or occupational safety and health.

Read more: Verbale di accordo per il rinnovo del contratto collettivo nazionale di lavoro nel settore domestico – April 9 2013 (in Italian).