Uruguay’s domestic workers boosted by minimum wage policy

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Uruguay’s domestic sector is dominated by women (99%) and represents 13% of total female employment. But the occupation is undervalued and associated with low wages and high levels of informality. In 2006 new rights were established for domestic workers, including minimum wages, regulations on working hours and inspections of working conditions. A team of local researchers analyzed the impact that the introduction of minimum wages for domestic workers had on their wages, employment, and mobility between the formal and informal sectors. Their findings indicate that this led to almost 20% of domestic workers increasing their wages, in both the formal and informal sectors. There was also a migration of formal workers to the informal sector, particularly for workers outside of the capital city.
Find out more about the research methods, findings and policy recommendations in the following PEP publications:

Country
Uruguay
Project code
PMMA-20102

FUNDED BY

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European Union
Fonds d'innovation pour le Développement
Global Education Analytics Institute