This manifesto letter from the sons and daughters of domestic workers and day laborers aimed to activate a policy of the common good, where individual actions are paramount for the well-being of the community. The letter sought support for the classification of domestic work as non-essential and for employers to release their domestic workers, thus making it possible to respect the social isolation recommended by the WHO to control the pandemic, through paid leave.
According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) , professionals who provide domestic services – which may include housekeepers, day laborers, caregivers, gardeners, and caretakers – represent a total of 6.3 million workers. Of these, only 1.5 million have formal employment contracts, 2.3 million work without formal contracts, and 2.5 million are day laborers, making them a vulnerable group during the pandemic .
The petition for the letter was created at the height of the pandemic, and the authors emphasize that the largest number of affected workers were precisely those unprotected by labor laws. Domestic workers, in an even more precarious and vulnerable situation, without legal contracts that would allow them, for example, to negotiate vacation advances and other benefits, face even greater obstacles in supporting themselves and ensuring the safety of their families, as they are paid per day worked.
The manifesto was signed by more than 131,000 people and included three bills (PL 798/2020, PL 651/2020, and PL 2740/2020) that addressed the issue without a final definition, but were judicially excluded from essential services. The bills received support from fewer than 50 people on the Chamber and Senate websites. The group also created three hashtags: #QuarentenaRemuneraJa #PelaVidadasDomesticas and #PelaVidadeNossasMães.
Access the petition .
