Almost 60% of Latin American domestic workers in Barcelona earn less than € 8,871 per year. In other words, they have incomes below the poverty line defined for a one-person household. This is one of the data provided by the study “Living conditions of domestic workers and Central American care in Barcelona”, which has been presented by the CCOO de Catalunya union, through the Information Center for Foreign Workers (CITE). The report analyzes the living conditions of this especially precarious, exploited and violated group.
According to the study, 38% of Latin American women in Catalonia are domestic workers, which represents 73% of all foreign women who work in this sector. Honduras and Bolivia are the countries with the highest percentage of women dedicated to the sector: 82% of Honduran women and 77.5% of Bolivians living in Catalonia are domestic workers. These figures show that home and care work continues to represent a niche of labor insertion for migrant women, in the face of a society experiencing a chronic care crisis.
Only 2% of those surveyed claim to receive some type of social benefit. This low percentage is due, in addition to their irregular situation, to the lack of knowledge of the rights and social benefits that correspond to them and the lack of information on the mechanisms for access.
Regarding basic needs, leisure activities and durable goods, the study states that almost 65% of those surveyed can only afford to cover one or more of these needs. It is also noted that almost 40% cannot afford to replace damaged clothing with new ones, nor can they spend a small amount of money on themselves every week. The results also show that only half of the surveyed workers meet with friends or family once a month. When asked how they make ends meet, taking into account all household or family income at destination, most respond that they do it with difficulties. Only 30% say they can make ends meet quietly.
Regarding housing, it is observed that 99% do not live in their own home. Of these, almost 80% live on rent or sublet and pay, on average, € 293.50 per month. This means that, regarding their average salary, they spend almost 40% of their spending on housing. Another fact that the report collects is that most of these homes are in poor condition or in uninhabitable conditions (such as basements or premises).
In relation to health, 75% consider it to be good or very good; although 23% of the respondents affirm that they suffer from a chronic disease. Beyond their own perception and according to the qualitative information collected, the report points out that almost all the women interviewed and observed had anxiety and depression pictures.
The CCOO report also points out that the labor regulations of domestic and care workers contribute to the precariousness of the sector: their economic activity is within a special system of the general Social Security system that excludes them from unemployment benefits, the Salary Guarantee Fund, the Occupational Risk Prevention Law or the right to leave the workplace. In addition, the Immigration Law makes it very difficult for them to access regularity, since a one-year and full-time employment contract is necessary.