Spain equalizes the rights of domestic workers to those of other employees

The left-wing government in Spain announced this Tuesday (06) that the rights of thousands of domestic workers will be the same as those of other salaried workers. Because of this, for example, they can no longer be fired without justification.

Spain, a country that European justice has drawn attention to on the issue in the past, “settles a historic debt with domestic workers”, declared Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz at a press conference, shortly after the government passed a decree of law to put an end to “discrimination” against these workers.

This reform allows domestic workers to benefit from unemployment insurance, which were excluded until now. Employers must contribute to a specific fund from October 1st. It also precludes unfair dismissal.

Employees will have greater “protection” in terms of health and will be able to join training systems to improve “their professional opportunities” and “their working conditions”, says Yolanda Díaz.

This reform was announced in March by the government of socialist Pedro Sánchez, in response to a decision by the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union), which considered the provision in Spain, which prevented domestic workers from receiving insurance, “contrary to the law”. -unemployment.

From this exclusion to the recent change in Madrid’s position, which alleged “the peculiarities of this professional sector”, there was “an indirect discrimination on grounds of sex”, since most of those affected are women, according to the European Justice.

The UGT union praised the government’s decision. It is a “historic advance”, said UGT in a note, promising to continue fighting for the rights of domestic workers, often “of foreign nationality” and in particular from Latin American countries.

“After years of struggle, domestic workers will be workers with rights,” celebrated Carolina Vidal López, from the Workers’ Commissions union, which counts 600,000 domestic workers in Spain.

According to the union, around 200,000 workers remain in the informal sector, so they do not benefit from this reform.