The (Non)Regulation of Paid Domestic Work in Mexico

In this paper I analyze three aspects of the regulation of paid domestic work in Mexico: the labor and social security  laws, jurisprudence and trade union organization.  I argue that paid domestic work  in Mexico still is characterized by servile, patriarcal relations that are bolstered by the laws and jurisprudence. In the first section of this paper I outline how  labor and social security laws that date from the first half of the twentieth century, despite recent reforms,  still discriminate against domestic workers. Their work day is unregulated, and they are not entitled to a minimum wage, overtime pay,  nor social security.    The jurisprudence concerning paid domestic work still stresses that paid domestic work, because it is carried out inside the home, for a family, does not generate profit, and consequently is not subject to the same norms as other kinds of employment. In the second section of this paper, I examine how workers have challenged the patriarchal servile relations of domestic employment, particularly through union organization. As a case in point, I  present a study of  the  recently formed Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Hogar.