In Brazil, 27 April is National Domestic Workers Day, in honour of Saint Zita, an Italian woman who is the profession’s patron saint. Beyond this religious reference, 27 April is a date for the struggles and demands of a labour category whose profile represents a large section of the Brazilian population: black and impoverished women who continue to fight for work with respect and dignity.
“As domestic workers, one of our most important agendas continues to be the equalization of our rights with other labour categories. We are the only category whose rights were not guaranteed either through the Consolidation of Labour Laws (Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho: CLT), or the 1988 Constitution; this agenda will remain until we have equality of rights under the law,” declared Chirlene Brito, General Director of the Association of Domestic Workers in Campina Grande (Paraíba). “The theme of discrimination, racism, harassment and the other forms of violence which we suffer during the exercise of our profession are also important points for us. We want and deserve respect,” she said.
The Campina Grande Association of Domestic Workers is one of the women’s organizations in the Giving for Change Programme, which seeks to strengthen the influence of social movements on Global North/South power relations in the defence of rights. In 2023, the association took on various struggles and established important arenas for dialogue to strengthen the defence of the rights of domestic workers and contribute to the feminist and anti-racist struggle.
“It was a really intense year, we did a lot of training and participated in important arenas, contributing to the empowerment and political strengthening of our category to combat the oppression of women and to fight, alongside other labour categories, for equality of rights, for the right to the city and to confront violence against women,” Chirlene explained.
Progress in public policies
One of the initiatives that gained ground last year was that of the Economy of Care. Through the National Federation of Domestic Workers (Federação Nacional das Trabalhadoras Domésticas: FENATRAD), the association participated in national debates for progress in the implementation of public policies related to this topic. “This theme is connected to our association’s programme and, with CESE’s support, we were able to participate in the Technical Chamber for remunerated domestic labour, which is responsible for constructing guidelines for a national policy about the politics of care. This has been very enriching for our category, because we’ve had the opportunity to collectively contribute to the construction of public policies that affect us,” Chirlene emphasized.
Further, the association has entered into a partnership with the Federal University of Campina Grande (Universidade Federal de Campina Grande: UFCG) through a Social Sciences extension course to construct an information survey about domestic workers linked to the body. The idea is for the research to support the formulation of public policies that respond to certain problems the women themselves have raised, such as the lack of creches for the children of domestic workers. The association is waiting for the launch of the research report and intends to request a Public Hearing at the Town Council to address its results.
Chirlene noted how participating in the Giving for Change community of practice has had a positive influence on strengthening these initiatives. “It was an important experience for us because it helped us to approach other women, from other labour categories, and the women’s and feminist movements. With CESE’s support we were able to participate in the workshop “Does she who speaks, scare away her woes? The challenges of communications in the struggle for women from the Northeast”, which helped us to think more strategically about our communications, and to train members of our team of associates,” she noted.
Occupying arenas of power
On 30 October 2023, the Campina Grande Town Council approved a bill put forward by Jô Oliveira from the Communist Party of Brazil (Partido Comunista do Brasil: PCdoB), to award the Arnaldo França Xavier Medal to the Campina Grande Association of Domestic Workers in recognition of the organisation’s fight, which has been ongoing since 1980. Chirlene noted that, despite its years of work, their recognition last year from the public authorities was only possible because it came from a black woman, the first elected as a councillor in Campina Grande, who was already a supporter of social movements. In her opinion, occupying arenas of power is essential for the female workers’ struggle to earn the space they are due.
“The public authorities still don’t give us our due, but we’ve managed to make concrete something that was invisible. This is our contribution to society, through our work, but also in the struggle for a fairer, more egalitarian society, one without discrimination, racism, sexism or any violence, particularly against black women, because we form the basis of society,” she concluded.
This is yet another organization supported by CESE’s Small Projects Programme. CESE seeks to support the struggles of social movements to strengthen resistance to the neoliberal dynamic and to encourage the construction of alternative pathways to combat these and the many other consequences of this model of unequal social development.