Care and domestic work: a field of debate

Abstract

This article examines how the state, the market and the political movements of domestic and care workers have implemented strategies to mark the possible boundaries and similarities between these two occupations. To do so, we analyse the Complementary Law n. 150/2015 that expands labour rights to domestic workers, and the Bill of Law 11/16 that proposes to regulate the profession of care workers. Within the scope of the market we examine employers' discourse on care and domestic work and the growing use of the modality of Individual Micro Entrepreneur. Lastly, we analyze interviews with representatives of the organized political movements of the sector and with employers. The analysis reveals that the conflicts at stake are related to conceptions of “value” and “recognition” in the three fields, reflecting the inequalities and precariousness that mark this sector of activity.