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Colombia: Support for domestic work

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by IDWFED published May 01, 2012 12:00 AM
Contributors: Mauricio Berrío Vélez/El Mundo
Minister Pardo presented before the Congress ILO Convention 189, that promotes the rights of domestic workers.

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COLOMBIA:

Ana Isabel Narváez is single mother and has worked a great part of her life as domestic worker. She tells that she toiled almost 20 years for a family in Guajira and they never recognized her a Peso beyond her poor wage, until they stopped her services.

In order to prevent situations like the one of Ana Isabel, the Secretary of Labor, Rafael Pardo, and the chancellor Maria Ángela Holguín, presented before the Congress of the Republic ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers, approved in the 100th meeting of the International Labor Conference, ILC.

“Colombia will contribute to a great step in the international scope with the ratification of the Convention, because the total incorporation of the domestic workers to the international system of labor standards, will be a fundamental advance towards the accomplishment of decent work for all”, affirmed the head of the Work portfolio.

Although the Colombian legislation at the moment guarantees to the domestic workers the equality of conditions as far as social remuneration and benefits, such as social security, license of maternity and disease, weekly rest and paid vacations, this will be a tool on which they will be able to count to fortify and to exert the rights, now subscribed in an international treaty.

Also, in the Tributary Reformation that attends before the Congress, it is tried to establish mechanisms that induce the formality in the hiring of domestic services. “This tributary norm looks along with the decree of quote per days for tributary stimuli to the employer so that the discounts made on benefits and wages, are based on the total formality of relation with the employee”, assured Pardo.

At present, Ana Isabel toils on dayly basis in different homes. She does not know that at this point of her life it is very difficult to reach a pension, since she contributed barelay one year to the system, but as she warmly says, “since one can work honestly and since one does it with love, it does not hit me what I do”. Now she knows that she can count on the benefits that law grants her.

Read the article in Spanish: Respaldo al trabajo doméstico

Source: Mauricio Berrío Vélez/El Mundo

Story Type: News

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