DOMESTIC SERVICE DOMESTIC SERVICE “PROFESSIONALIZING AND RAISING THE CLASSIFICATION OF WORKERS” Secretaría de Empleo ARGENTINA Abril 2008 Improving Job Opportunities for the Disadvantaged

Initial Situation  73% of beneficiaries of the Heads of Household Program and 79% of the Training and Employment Insurance are women  Many work or worked in Domestic Service (they participate in activities such as chambermaids, nannies, cooks, gardeners, housekeepers, companions, butlers, nurses) Their work conditions are very precarious: they are not registered; they don’t have access to the benefits of social security (health, retirement, vacations) Labor competencies with little recognition Few opportunities to develop professional careers

The Proposal Articulate: Active employment and training policies, and A Special Regime of Social Security for the Sector, Federal Tax Agency.

The Proposal To promote the classification (ranking), professionalization and access to new opportunities of employment, with the aim to:  Recover the experience and improve the qualifications of the workers of the Domestic Service Sector  Regularize their working contracts and improve their working conditions  Offer new training pathways in occupations that require similar competencies with the goal to expand their labor opportunities. For example, the care and attention of individuals, food services or hotel, etc.

Align the benefits of the Training and Employment Insurance with the benefits coming from Special Social Security Regime for Domestic Workers (Tax Agency) Support improvements in employability and job placement through professional training courses linked to different career pathways, and labor orientation and intermediation services Offer the Training and Employment Insurance stipend($225/$200) for a maximum of 12 months (continuous or discontinuous) within the maximum duration of the Training and Employment Insurance (24 months) Provide medical coverage and access to a future retirement benefit The Proposal

Actions Implemented Publicize the initiative at meetings designed to reach the participants in the Training and Employment Insurance (Information and Orientation) Training workshops for the staff of the Employment Offices and Training Institutions of the municipalities Coordinate with the Professional Training Institutions Publicize the service among employers Identify new market niches to promote job placement (and the required labor competences) Promote the training curricula in Professional Training Intitutions Work-focused interviews and workshops with individuals with background in the sector. Define their “occupational project”

Lessons Learned Define employment and professional training actions, from the base of needs and problems of a particular sector (domestic service) This focus requires the coordination of policies and actors Offices of Employment, Professional Training Institutes, Employers Policies of work conditions, of employment, and social security Include an adequate strategy of communication directed at both individuals and institutions