“Quase da família”, até que seus direitos nos separem: limites para efetivação da paridade de direitos das domésticas em São Luís/MA

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the effectiveness of domestic workers’ equal protection under the Constitutional Amendment No. 72/2013, having as an empirical reference a collection of lawsuits pending before Labor Courts in São Luís/MA. Amongst its specific objectives, the research aims at showing how the determinants of race, gender and class, as well as how the domestic workers’ collective action influence the process of employers acknowledging and complying with the provisions and rights achieved upon the Amendment, in addition to identifying the limits for implementing said constitutional measure. Having dialectical historical materialism as a theoretical methodological reference, this dissertation relied on literature review, observation of labor hearings discussing domestic work, as well as iAnterviews with employers and employees. It shows how black and poor women are protagonists in domestic work, echoing the history of slavery and the patriarchal dynamics that still dictate opportunities available to these workers and directly influence the recognition of their rights. It contextualizes the role of the domestic workers’ activism in achieving and guaranteeing their rights by articulating the actions of their category and understanding the importance of the work performed by them, which, in addition to other factors, resulted in the equal protection of domestic workers. However, the effectiveness of Constitutional Amendment No. 72/2013 is limited by economic, social and cultural constraints that still have an impact over the recognition of the rights of domestic workers. It concludes that the while Amendment represents an important legal development for the category by guaranteeing equal protection for domestic workers, it has failed to be as effective as expected, demanding stronger associative organization by workers to continue confronting dominant classes and the State in order to demand public policies capable of guaranteeing respect for their rights.