Washington, March 31: Millions of domestic workers in households throughout the United States work as nannies, care-givers and housekeepers. Experts say most of them are deprived of their legal rights by most labor and employment laws, a Media correspondent in Los Angeles reported Thursday.
“They work with us, they serve us, and yet most of the time, they do not have the benefits that most of the workers would have. You know, like overtime, sick time, vacation time,” said Jorge-Mario Cabrera of the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.
The coalition is pushing for a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, which it says will provide job stability to the vulnerable population of those workers.
“Many of these women — 90 percent of them are women — are even raped, beaten or do not get paid their due wages,” he said.
Tito Boots, one of the many domestic worker women, says she often works 24 hours a day without being paid for the full amount.
“You cannot do it alone. You must have somebody to support you, so that you’ll also be able to take a rest; and to perform your work efficiently,” she said.
Critics say there is an implicit approach toward amnesty regarding the bill, because most of those workers are illegal immigrants. However, supporters of the bill say immigration status has nothing to do with the workers’ rights.
“This bill will protect all workers who are employed in a household. So what we are looking for is fairness; equity. We are not looking for amnesty or anything else,” Cabrera said.
With almost 2 million domestic workers in New York being protected thanks to a similar bill, experts think California Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights would support nearly a million workers in the state.
——-Agencies