#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #SPAIN #ANARCHISM #LIBRARY #News #Journal #Update - (en) #Spain, CNT #431: Interview with Carolina García: "As women, we need minimum rights" by Laura L. Ruiz - DOSIER: The struggle of women (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 spokesperson for the Association of Domestic Workers of Zaragoza ---- From the

Association of Domestic Workers of Zaragoza they review the continuous struggle
they develop to be recognized as first class workers. From the resistance box in
the pandemic, to having the right to unemployment. ---- While for the common of
the workers the labor reform of this Government has been considered insufficient,
there are sectors where these changes have practically not touched them. This is
the case of the so-called feminized sectors. Jobs and jobs occupied by the vast
majority of women who were considered essential during the worst of the pandemic
but that consideration has never been reflected in their salaries or their labor
rights. Women who, in addition to the patriarchy, are affected by multiple forms
of violence such as migration, being people of color in a xenophobic and racist
country, the impossibility of reconciling work and family responsibilities, the
lack of networks, and even being survivors of gender-based violence. We spoke
with Carolina García, spokesperson for the Association of Domestic Workers of
Zaragoza about this fight that does not seem to end.

She asks. "Let's start at the beginning. There is talk of women's liberation to
go to work outside the home, but is it often done at the expense of other women?
And when do men enter care?
Answer.- It is a claim that we have, because when we talk about care in general,
this work is not valued. Also when we do it in Spain, we are migrant women. Our
work has allowed other women to get away from that job, to develop their
professional careers, to be able to decide on their lives, but they have left
other women behind. We have felt that as women we need minimum rights and it
seems that there is no struggle for claims from below. I remember the first call
on March 8 in Zaragoza and we felt that our demands were not included. Migrant
women count, we are affected by other forms of violence and, sometimes, we feel
that it is not seen that we are organized and struggling. Something that is very
difficult when you are at the bottom, that we do not reach everyone, even
compañeras who only survive without being able to fight.

Q.- Organizing yourself in these precarious working conditions, with family
responsibilities and even without support networks, is doubly expensive. But even
worse for the internal ones, for example.
A.- That's right, the case of the female interns is of a different gravity. They
are fine with us, but it is very difficult for them to participate in the
activities. There are even compañeras who have been able to serve in the military
for a while, because they work in cleaning and they could, but not when they
change jobs. Many times without option to refuse. For example, a migrant worker
needed eight hours to renew her residence and work permit and she had to go back
to work as an intern to do so. She has been to everything online, but she can't
face anything because of the lack of breaks and compatibility.

Q.- Domestic workers are workers outside the Workers' Statute but with a special
regime. Even the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has just
recognized that this situation is discrimination based on sex. Why happens?
A.- It is the only sector that does not have the right to strike, and we do not
know why. We are the most precarious and you are left with nothing if they fire
you. With papers and without papers, you are helpless. We have a lawyer who
advises us in the association to ask for the days off that they owe you,
compensation, the days you have worked but not contributed, etc.

Q.- Does the recent labor reform help you in any way?
R.- It has definitely not helped us at all. Since we are not in the general
regime, nothing. We had the promise to ratify Convention 189 of the International
Labor Organization (ILO), but it is still pending. Now we know that they are
preparing a table at the Ministry of Equality, also another table on care, but
there is no date or content.

Q.- Have the letters that the Ministry of Labor sent to employers been of any use?
A.- These letters served to inform employers that they should contribute for the
current quota of the minimum wage, since although the wage increased, the base
did not. In that we have seen that it has had an effect, but only in 40-hour
contracts, of course. Because although many colleagues work long hours, the
contract is 36 or 38 hours per week.

Q.- In addition to labor and wage abuse, there is also sexual violence and they
take advantage of the isolation of women.
  A.- Especially the female interns, they are without the freedom to lead a life
of their own. You have just arrived in this country and you are looking to find a
family that will take you in because you have left yours. It is not only not
having the necessary breaks or having a heavy workload, but also if you have your
own space, a door to close. To be able to be safe and even save money, given the
difficulties of having a bank account for many. But the worst is when the
families do not take care of the dependents even on the weekend or when the
caregiver is sick.

When we saw that the pandemic was going to bring many problems and layoffs, we
launched the resistance fund. We had it open until last December. In the hardest
days, we were helping more than 100 women, paying their rent, other expenses,
networking with neighborhood solidarity for food and clothing.

Q.- The pandemic was one of the worst moments to make the situation of the
domestic worker visible. Did your situation get worse? Has it improved more?
A.- The pandemic has made their lives precarious, both at work and mentally.
Something that was an achievement was the subsidy for the pandemic, but it was
temporary and was not renewed. While the others are still protected by the ERTES,
we are not. The submerged economy nature of our sector, not only because of
migration, but because they don't register, left us in a big problem. We were
recognized as fundamental services, but even so, there were even fines to
colleagues for not having papers or because there were bosses who did not want to
sign the pass, since it meant acknowledging that they worked in that house when
they were not registered. If before the pandemic they were already locked up for
a long time, with the pandemic the reduction in breaks has become established.
There are families that respect and have good treatment, there are even
colleagues who are there even if they don't pay what they owe because they
appreciate it by working and without looking for another job. But right now, the
normal thing is the other: they don't respect your rights and on top of that they
treat you badly.

Q.- Many times, these are non-professional employers, but neither are people with
a very high income.
R.- It is that in addition to racism there is classism. Even if they are not
rich, they know they are in a better position than us migrant women of color.
Spanish women know that many times they can decide to go elsewhere. Many of us
don't. Even the inmates, who have neither their own address nor for the Health Card.

Q.- Your work often goes beyond the tasks, you establish personal relationships,
responsibility and care, especially with the elderly. What does that involve?
A.- I have known cases of girls who go to take care of the elderly for free
because they empathize a lot with the problem and know that the elderly are even
suffering abuse. Many times it is very difficult to separate personal life from
work. And going back to the pandemic, I know of the case of a girl who was not
allowed to leave the house when the eldest tested positive. She though she had
the risk of getting infected. The same as another, that she went to work without
knowing that the eldest was infected. She ended up hospitalized for 15 days
because she caught him hard and when she was discharged from her, they fired her.
That is our day to day, dealing with cases like these.

Q.- One of your tools, in addition to advice, workshops or socialization
activities, is the resistance box.
A.- When we saw that the pandemic was going to bring many problems and layoffs,
we launched the resistance fund. We had it open until last December. In the
hardest days, we were helping more than 100 women, paying their rent, other
expenses, networking with neighborhood solidarity for food and clothing.

Q.- Speaking of organization and networks, why in many cases, like yours in
Zaragoza, do you decide to form your own association and not join unions that are
already underway?
A.- When we founded the association, we did not know of unions that were working
on the issue of cleaning or care. Now they do it, but not centrally, because we
are not a source of financing in installments for many. We have a lot of
temporary work, low wages and many of us are migrants. Now we know unions like
CNT and CGT and, above all, we are networking with other similar associations in
other cities. Personally, it has been difficult for me because of our origin,
perhaps we are different in the reception.

https://www.cnt.es/noticias/carolina-garcia-como-mujeres-necesitamos-unos-derechos-minimos/
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