Nannies, cleaners unite for a better deal
For a growing chunk of America’s labour force, the workplace is the home — someone else’s home.
And in Seattle, nannies, cleaners and home caregivers just won a battle.
The city’s council this week unanimously passed legislation that enshrines minimum wages and guaranteed rest breaks for domestic workers. The Seattle measure also empowers the workers to negotiate industry-wide conditions and regulations.
They will be represented, along with employers, on a new permanent board that will write new rules on areas like overtime pay, sick leave and health benefits.
The plan has echoes of Europe, where it is routine for workers and management to negotiate over standards for a whole industry, rather than just reach company-by-company deals.
It is happening in an industry where demand is “exploding”, as ageing baby-boomers prefer to be cared for at home rather than in costly and impersonal institutions, says Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
“These are going to be a really large share of the jobs of the future,” she said. “They’re not outsourceable, they won’t be automated.” But because of a lack of labour protections and standards, “people who really want to be caregivers end up leaving this work”.
The Seattle bill does not apply to home-health aides who are publicly funded. But it covers other homebased care and cleaning workers — regardless of whether they’re selfemployed, hired directly by consumers, or employed by agencies.
Such regulations risk making care at home too expensive for many older Americans, says William Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.
“It comes down to some very difficult decisions in striking a balance between the worker and the person they serve,’’ said Dombi, though he said “society has yet to catch up” with the respect that domestic workers are due.
Labour advocates respond that providing basic protections is crucial to attracting and retaining a qualified workforce. — Bloomberg