Domestic work, wages and gender equality: Lessons from developing countries Martin Oelz & Uma Rani ILO, Geneva Presented at the 4th Conference of the Regulating for Decent Work Network International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland 8-10 July 2015
Research questions To understand the developments regarding labour market participation, remuneration and minimum wages for women in domestic work sector in comparison with other sectors What are the basic characteristics of domestic workers? What are the gaps in minimum wage coverage, compliance and depth of violation for domestic workers across a diverse group of developing countries? What are the strategies that could succeed in improving coverage and compliance in developing countries?
Countries, data sources and time period Country Data source Years Brazil Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD), IBGE 2005 and 2009 Costa Rica Encuesta de Hogares de Propósitos Múltiples, INEC for 2005 and 2011 2005; Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO), INEC for 2010 India Employment Unemployment Survey, NSSO, Government 2004-05 and 2009 10 of India Indonesia National Labour Force Survey (Survei Angkatan Kerja 2005 and 2009 Nasional) (SAKERNAS), BPS-Statistics Mali Enquête Permanente Emploi Auprès des Ménages (EPAM) 2004 and 2010 Mexico Encuesta Nacional de Ocupación Y Empleo (ENOE), INEGI 2005 and 2010 Peru Encuesta Nacional de Hogares, INEI 2005 and 2010 Philippines Labour Force Survey, National Statistics Office 2003 and 2009 South Africa Labour Force Survey, Statistics South Africa for 2007, 2007 and 2011 Labour Market Dynamics (LMD) Survey for 2011 Turkey Household Labour Force Survey, Turkish Statistical Institute 2005 and 2011 Viet Nam Labour and Employment Survey, General Statistics Office, Ministry of Planning and Investment 2007 and 2011
Labour market situation of women in select countries LFP rates lower than that of men Participation gaps are low in some countries (7.5% Viet Nam, 12.5% South Africa) but high in others (48.2% in India and 41.5% in Turkey) Women tend to participate as unpaid family worker, informal or temporary work without access to labour and social protection Concentrated in agriculture, low-skilled services and domestic work (low pay sectors)
Distribution of workers across industry groups, females, latest year available Agriculture Mining Manufacturing Construction Lowskilled services Highskilled services Domestic workers All workers Brazil 10.9 0.1 12.5 0.5 29.4 29.3 17.2 100.0 Costa Rica 4.4 0.0 10.4 0.8 33.5 32.5 18.4 100.0 India 68.3 0.3 10.9 5.3 6.5 7.1 1.6 100.0 Indonesia 37.9 0.3 14.4 0.3 32.7 10.0 4.4 100.0 Mali 52.2 0.3 8.3 0.2 24.7 3.4 10.8 100.0 Mexico 3.5 0.1 15.5 0.7 42.0 27.4 10.8 100.0 Peru 24.0 0.3 9.8 0.3 43.0 16.1 6.5 100.0 Philippines 20.0 0.1 9.2 0.3 39.5 18.0 13.0 100.0 South Africa 3.5 0.6 10.6 2.0 30.9 37.5 14.9 100.0 Turkey 40.9 0.0 14.7 0.8 16.7 23.8 3.1 100.0 Viet Nam 49.9 0.3 15.4 1.3 22.8 9.6 0.7 100.0
Basic characteristics of Domestic workers Education In most countries either illiterate (Mali, India) or with primary education (Costa Rica, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, Viet Nam) In Brazil, Peru, Philippines and South Africa, a sizable portion had secondary education A notable (9 per cent) share of domestic workers with higher degree in the Philippines
Basic characteristics of Domestic workers Race & ethnicity Brazil: Parda (50%), White (38%), Black (12%) India: Scheduled Castes and Tribes and other Backward Classes (approx. 70%) Peru: White (67%), Mixed race (16%), Indigenous (16 %) South Africa: Black (91%), Colored (8%) Viet Nam: Kinh (90%)
Gender pay gaps in select countries Women being often in informal and unpaid work leads to overall lower wages women Further, segregation of women and men in different jobs also contributes to this disparity Where women work often little collective organization, weak representation and reduced bargaining power Women s work in domestic work/care economy particularly undervalued
Ratio of average wages of female workers in different industry groups to total average wages among female workers, latest year available Agriculture Mining Manufacturing Construction Low-skilled services High-skilled services Domestic workers Brazil 0.49 2.36 0.87 1.54 0.90 1.51 0.46 Costa Rica 0.56 0.12 0.81 0.12 1.40 1.08 0.38 India 0.48 1.34 1.05 0.77 1.48 2.87 0.63 Indonesia 0.49 1.24 0.88 1.64 0.97 1.85 0.54 Mali 0.95 1.89 0.89 1.27 1.04 1.65 0.46 Mexico 0.56 2.78 0.86 1.48 0.84 1.56 0.58 Peru 0.38 1.64 0.99 1.36 0.79 1.50 0.45 Philippines 0.44 1.05 1.03 1.21 0.95 1.71 0.42 South Africa 0.29 1.49 0.96 0.68 0.87 1.47 0.27 Turkey 0.45 0.90 0.75 1.03 0.84 1.30 0.46 Viet Nam 0.70 1.26 0.90 0.97 1.04 1.21 0.90
Regulating wages for domestic workers: the context Deeply rooted perceptions and patterns of behaviour of influence wage determination Social and gender-based undervaluation of domestic work, discrimination, non-recognition of skills Not seen as employment relationship, private sphere argument High prevalence of informality, legal illiteracy Historically prevalence of in-kind allowances, lack of working time limitations (live-in workers) Low individual and collective bargaining power, particularly among migrant domestic workers
Coverage for domestic workers in minimum wage legislation (2015) Brazil Costa Rica Mexico Peru Turkey Viet Nam India Workers in domestic work National minimum wage applicable to domestic workers National minimum wage floor applicable to domestic workers, in combination with a specific (higher) occupational rates National minimum wage applies to domestic workers (2 rates for different geographical regions) Domestic workers excluded from national minimum wage National minimum wage covers domestic workers The (general) regional rates are applicable to domestic workers, and this has been more clearly specified as of May 25 th, 2014 Domestic work minimum wage rates were set in in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha and Rajasthan schedules of employment Philippines Regional rates for domestic workers set by acts of Parliament, most recently in the 2013 Domestic Workers Act South Africa Domestic workers minimum wages are set by Sectoral Determination No. 7 (2 rates for different geographical regions) Mali Indonesia Domestic workers are covered by separate rates for seven categories of domestic workers (corresponding to level of qualifications) No sectoral or provincial rate set for domestic workers not covered
Disparity in minimum wage rates (nominal), latest available year Country Domestic work Other sectors/national minimum wage Philippines (monthly, National Capital Region) Mali (monthly) Costa Rica (monthly) South Africa (hourly, Area A) India (daily) Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Bihar Rajasthan P 2,500 From F 21.936 (category I) to F 35.049 (category VII) C 169,142.26 R 10.59 165.58 173.85 144.62 144.73 P 12,116 for non-agricultural workers National minimum wage is 28.460 C 283,799.64 (non-qualified workers) R 16.98 in the contract cleaning sector Cleaning workers 195.38 260.56 157.00 147.00
Methodology adopted for the analysis Scoping: Recent labour legislations, labour codes, wage decrees, sectoral wage determinations,etc. Broad national wage systems (with possible exceptions) Complex (and partial) system for certain selected industries, occupations or sectors To identify workers who are covered: the categories of workers covered by minimum wage legislation are matched with employment data from labour force or household surveys Ex.: If minimum wages applies to all workers except domestic workers, then Coverage = Ratio of non-domestic to total employment (using LF or HH Surveys)
Minimum wage compliance: domestic workers Mid-2000s Latest available year Rural Urban All Rural Urban All Brazil 41.2 51.6 50.4 35.3 41.5 40.9 Costa Rica 22.1 27.1 25.1 15.7 30.4 25.4 India - - - 18.6 43.7 36.8 Mali 15.6 6.3 7.1 0.0 49.3 36.6 Mexico - - 74.5 - - 71.0 Philippines - - 100.0 - - 100.0 South Africa - - 38.7 25.7 48.9 44.2 Turkey - - - 3.2 10.1 9.3 Viet Nam 89.2 91.2 90.0 92.6 79.2 86.5 Source: Authors estimates based on household and labour force surveys of the respective country.
Extent of violation of non-payment of minimum wages Mid-2000s Latest available year Rural Urban All Rural Urban All Brazil 0.55 0.46 0.47 0.57 0.46 0.47 Costa Rica 0.44 0.49 0.47 0.53 0.47 0.49 India - - - 0.47 0.40 0.43 Mali 0.56 0.71 0.69 0.55 0.52 0.53 Mexico - - 0.37 - - 0.36 Philippines - - - - - - South Africa - - 0.36 0.47 0.36 0.40 Turkey - - - 0.53 0.42 0.44 Viet Nam 0.25 0.21 0.23 0.27 0.21 0.23 Source: Authors estimates based on household and labour force surveys of the respective country
Extending and improving coverage Inclusion on national minimum wages Setting of occupational/sectoral rates A combination of both Improving rules on in-kind payments and working time
Issues affecting compliance High incidence of informality (no contracts, nondeclaration) Often no clarity/agreement on terms and conditions between parties Legal illiteracy Personal nature of the employer-workers relation difficulty for workers to raise claims Employer-perceived generosity - Non-respect for the law not seen as problematic Absence of public compliance strategies
Improving compliance Recognition of domestic work as real work with social and economic value Making the case for public intervention highlighting the cost of inaction Empowerment of individual workers, bringing employers to the table for discussion, collective organization Regulatory framework favoring formalization (written contract, pay slips, working time records) Raising awareness of the law
Public monitoring/enforcement Assigning lead responsibility for supervision to labour administration bodies Information and advice Registration of contracts Receiving complaints Inspections visits with due respect for inviolability of private homes Accessible dispute settlement procedures, including access to court
Compliance and enforcement Some examples South Africa: inspection campaigns targeting specific neighborhoods, high number of cases solved before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) Philippines: legal obligation for authorities to run information campaigns, mediation by labor offices, contract registration by local governments. Costa Rica: a new protocol for inspections regarding domestic work, Sunday fairs in parks (outreach)