Artículos

The precarious personalized paid domestic work relation can be transformed through municipalization. Going beyond the current legal framework, formalization of domestic work is only possible if the state authority situates itself as the principal employer. Municipalization of domestic work will make it a public good and constitute domestic workers as public employees. This stands to benefit not only domestic workers, but the larger community of households. The cost of the municipalization of domestic work would be collectively borne through municipal taxes. The present context is apt for such interventions given emerging trends of re-municipalization of certain services and public utilities in recent years in some European countries and parts of Latin America. In countries where municipalities are rendering services and utilities to large impoverished sections of society, domestic work can be added on as municipal service.