Legislating worker justice : the formalisation of paid domestic work in Maputo, Mozambique.
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Date
2012
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Abstract
Paid domestic work is the most important occupation for urban Mozambican women after
self-employment. Domestic workers perform the reproductive and productive functions
necessary to keep households running and the economy growing. Despite the importance
of this sector, it is characterised by low wages, long hours, rigorous schedules, and
vulnerability to abuse. In 2008, Mozambique’s National Assembly passed Decree
40/2008, extending labour protections to domestic workers. There is significant debate
however about whether labour protection can transform working conditions in such an
intimate sector. Domestic work takes place in isolation, behind the closed doors and high
walls of private homes; it consists of intimate tasks, adding a personalness to the
employment relationship; and working conditions are negotiated one-on-one with
employers.
Drawing on historical research, primary observations and semi-structured interviews with
key informants and domestic workers in Maputo’s central city, this study discusses the
opportunities and limitations of legislating worker justice in an intimate profession. It
explores how the institutional and regulatory framework both enables and prevents
improvements in working conditions; how domestic workers leverage these institutions to
advance their interests; and the informal strategies and tactics they use concurrently.
The study suggests that Decree 40/2008 has had limited direct impact on working
conditions. Its ambiguous language, poor dissemination, and weak regulatory structure,
combined with the precarious nature of Maputo’s labour market and entrenched power
relations between workers and employers, mean that domestic workers exhibit high levels
of accommodation or patience, preferring to wait for conditions to improve or better
options to surface, than to make outright demands from employers. However, this study
also suggests Decree 40/2008 has galvanised domestic worker organising, creating a
focus of mobilisation and advocacy with the potential to profoundly affect working
conditions in this sector. In the context of a fractured labour movement however,
domestic worker organising has become a battleground for autonomy, power, and
resources. It is still too early to know whether domestic workers will ultimately benefit.
Description
Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.
Keywords
Household employees--Legal status, laws, etc.--Maputo., Labour laws and legislation--Maputo., Theses--Development studies.