Social Security for Domestic Workers is Now Mandatory

The Chamber of Deputies approved the reform of the Social Security Law, making affiliating domestic workers to social security mandatory. Now domestic workers will have access to insurance for a variety of issues, covering sickness, maternity leaves, work risks, disability, retirement, unemployment in old age and nurseries, among other social benefits.

The reform includes a six-month deadline to affiliate domestic workers with public insurance, which can be done either in person or online. “It is not a favor; it is an exercise of rights. It is based on trusting people and taking care of them,” said Zoé Robledo, Director, General, IMSS. According to INEGI (2018), there are 2.3 million domestic workers in Mexico that will benefit from the reform, and nine out of 10 are women.

Regarding taxes, the base salary for contributions will be the amount paid to the employees, which cannot be below the minimum salary in Mexico City of MX$5,258.1 pesos (US$265.56).

In 2019, insurance integration of domestic workers started as a pilot program, during which 51,790 employees were registered, according to El Economista. IMSS stated that with social security, domestic workers now have “medical, pharmaceutical and hospital care and disability payments following illness or injury from work risks. They also generate savings for retirement or a pension in case of disability, for both the insured and their legal beneficiaries, as well as gain access to nurseries and leisure activities.”

According to the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED), the domestic work sector is highly stigmatized, and its working conditions are difficult due to the lack of regulation preventing overly long shifts, without a contract or benefits. These problems will now be addressed by the government. The Council reports that “The average schooling of the Mexican employed population age 15 and over is equivalent to 10 years. For male domestic workers, the average drops to eight, for women of the same trade, seven.” It also states that one-third of women domestic workers started to work when still underage and one out of five started working between 10 and 15 years of age. In addition, 96 percent did not have a contract that specified their activities.