Citation

Donaldson JK. Grassroots Dev. 1992; 16(1): 2-11.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Inter-American Foundation)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12286185

Abstract

Colombia's women's organizations which help household workers are profiled. In Bogota the Asociacion de Mujeres Trabajadoras del Hogar (AMUTRAHOGAR) provides legal counseling, educational courses, and a friendly gathering place. The experiences of several women are highlighted, e.g., Emma Ojeda comes to the weekly meetings for legal and moral support. AMUTRAHOGAR is an alliance of unskilled and largely rural workers and professional and urban women who are concerned with the joint recognition of the importance of domestic service. The stigma is by gender, social rank, and sometimes race. This informal economy does not have very accurate figures on workers. The estimate is half a million of mostly rural migrants. Another important organization is the Asociacion Colombiana para el Estudio de la Poplacion (ACEP) which is a nongovernmental organization in Bogota begun in 1981. The aim was to review existing labor laws and evaluate how well the code was meeting women's needs. Magdalena Leon has been a research sociologist studying women's issues for 20 years through ACEP. ACEP has worked with the Sindicato de Trabajadoras del Servicio Domesticao (SINTRASEDOM) which represents and lobbies for household workers. Violation of the law on live-ins, wages, and time off duty was discovered a common occurrence. In the application of the law, employers found loopholes, and, for instance, subtracted food, clothing, and shelter which left little pocket money. The ACEP program was expanded to other cities in 1983. Program expansion included informal courses on citizenship, sexuality, and the role of women in Colombian society. When the social security code was reformed in 1977, household workers became eligible for benefits, but many employers were unaware of it. The law also excluded those with wages under the minimum wage. A public campaign was begun in 1985 by ACEP and SINTRASEDOM to inform people about the law. Community action was disrupted by unrelated political violence and a volcanic eruption. In January 1988 after 5 years of hard work Law 11 was passed which assured household workers social security benefits. A by-product was consciousness raising of many women and the formation of autonomous women's groups. Radio broadcasts now use the term professional household workers.

Language: en