The event precedes the Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur, which will take place next Friday (7) in Brasilia. The demonstration of support for domestic workers was motivated by the approval, yesterday (4), in the second round, in the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, of the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 478/2010. Known as the PEC of Domestic Workers, the proposal establishes equal labor rights between domestic employees and other urban and rural workers.
Lilian Celiberti, a member of the Marcosur Feminist Articulation, said that domestic workers are very vulnerable and highlighted the need to strengthen the rights of this category, which are still poorly consolidated in the countries that make up Mercosur. “The laws aimed at paid domestic work do not have the necessary scope to protect these workers. We need national laws to be able to guarantee the exercise of the rights of these workers and, in addition, detect flagrant violence against them. We need the control of the working conditions of domestic workers to be incorporated into the domestic work law as a right,” said Lilian Celiberti.
The document also includes a vote of praise for the Brazilian deputies and asks that the senators now also approve the PEC. The text will be sent to Deputy Benedita da Silva (PT-RJ), author of the proposal, and to the National Federation of Domestic Workers. Another document approved during the meeting recommends the incorporation of the gender perspective in the regional and international agreements, documents and instruments signed by the bloc. The text suggests that the implementation of this objective be carried out through the articulation of the different Mercosur bodies, with the RMAAM. It also recommends that the exchange of experiences, plans and programs related to policies for women be deepened, and that a common action be articulated in the promotion and defense of women's rights in regional and international forums.
The RMAAM began on the 3rd and concludes its work today, after discussing issues such as strengthening the gender perspective in Mercosur and recent advances in policies for women.
