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Labour Migration Branch Promoting Integration for Migrant Domestic Workers in Italy

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Labour Migration Branch Promoting Integration for Migrant Domestic Workers in Italy International Migration Papers No. 115 Labour Migration Branch Promoting integration for migrant domestic workers in Italy Eleonora Castagnone Ester Salis Viviana Premazzi International and European Forum of Research on Immigration (FIERI) INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE – GENEVA Copyright © International Labour Organization 2013 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevert heless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions an d other users registered in the United Kingdom with the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP [Fax: (+44) (0)20 7631 5500; email: [email protected]], in the United States with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Da nvers, MA 01923 [Fax: (+1) (978) 750 4470; email: [email protected]] or in other countries with associated Reproduction Rights Organizations, may make photocopies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. First published 2013 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data Castagnone, Eleonora, Salis, Ester, Premazzi, Viviana Promoting integration for migrant domestic workers in Italy / International Labour Office, International Migration Programme, International and European Forum of Research on Immigration (FIERI). - Geneva: ILO, 2013 International migration paper, No.115, ISSN 1020-2668; 1564-4839 (web pdf); International Labour Office; International Migration Branch; International and European Forum of Research on Immigration domestic worker / migrant worker / domestic work / Italy 13.11.6 The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the l egal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors , and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole r esponsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labou r Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publica tions, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of new publications are availa ble free of charge from the above address, or by email: [email protected] Visit our website: www.ilo.org/publns Printed by the International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland Contents Page Preface ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 2 1. Migration and the domestic work sector in Italy: A background overview ......................................... 7 1.1 The drivers and effects of a booming domestic work sector .................................................... 7 1.2 Origin and evolution of the regulatory framework for the domestic work sector: A long-standing differential treatment ............................................................................................... 8 1.3 Policy experiments addressing employment and working conditions in the domestic sector 10 1.4 Immigration policies and their role in the development of the domestic sector .................... 11 The domestic sector as the main entry into the Italian labour market ............................... 11 Regularizations and the domestic sector ............................................................................ 13 Immigration policies and the domestic work sector: A matched evolution ....................... 15 The role of immigration policies in affecting employment and working conditions in the domestic sector............................................................................................................. 19 2. A booming growth: Main trends in the domestic work sector in Italy in the last decade .................. 21 2.1 An highly feminized and ethnicized sector ............................................................................ 21 2.2 A socio-demographic profile of domestic workers in Italy .................................................... 24 2.3 Characteristics of the work provided by migrant domestic workers in Italy ......................... 27 2.4. The hidden side of domestic work: Irregular employment in the domestic work sector ...... 31 2.5 A booming growth accompanied by extensive research: Brief literature review on the domestic sector in Italy ................................................................................................................ 32 (a) Living and working conditions ..................................................................................... 32 (b) Domestic workers, families and welfare structure ....................................................... 33 (c) Transnational relationships ........................................................................................... 34 (d) Migrant domestic workers' networks ........................................................................... 34 (e) Labour rights and employment conditions ................................................................... 34 (f) Information and communication technology (ICT) in the care sector .......................... 35 3. Into, within, outside the domestic sector: Labour trajectories and patterns of socio-economic integration of migrant domestic workers in Italy ................................................................................... 37 3.1 Live-in assistance to dependent people as the main entry into the domestic work: The paradox of the care sector ............................................................................................................ 37 3.2 Careers within the domestic work sector: Towards live-out domestic work ......................... 40 3.3 A way toward enhanced integration: Determinants and paths of upward mobility within the domestic work sector .............................................................................................................. 42 3.4 Standing up for the domestic workers’ rights: Lobbying and advocacy and emerging leaderships .................................................................................................................................... 48 International Migration Papers No. 115 iii 3.5 Outside the domestic sector: Experiences and perspectives of exit from the domestic work 51 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 55 References .............................................................................................................................................. 59 Annexes .................................................................................................................................................. 69 iv International Migration Papers No. 115 Preface The ILO discussion paper series International Migration Papers aims to disseminate results on relevant and topical labour migration issues among policy makers, administrators, social partners, civil society, the research community and the media. Its main objective is to contribute to an informed debate on how best to address labour migration issues within the overall agenda of decent work. The primary goal of the International Labour Organizations (ILO) is to contribute, with member States and constituents, to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people, a goal embedded in the 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, which has now been widely endorsed by the international community. In Europe, as in many other parts of the world, domestic work has the characteristic of attracting large and increasing numbers of migrants, most of whom are female. While domestic work has been a source of employment for at least 2.5 million men and women in Europe, most of whom are migrants, increasingly restrictive national immigration policies leave many migrants trapped in situations of irregularity of status or in informal employment, remaining excluded from the enjoyment of fundamental labour and human rights despite the existence of regulatory frameworks in most European countries. Since the adoption of the ILO Convention (2011, No. 189, hereafter C189) and its accompanying Recommendation
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