Health and safety in paid domestic work: what does the COVID 19 pandemic reveal?

Reproductive labor, whether paid or unpaid, is gradually occupying different places of interest in research, not only in Brazil but worldwide. Brazil, specifically, has had a historical delay in acknowledging and regulating such work as an occupation, which occurred only in 2013 with the 72nd Amendment to the Constitution and in 2015 with Complementary Law 150, after decades of struggle by these workers. This delay also reverberates in the near absence of discussion about the occupational health and safety of this profession. The purpose of this essay is to reflect on the vulnerability of occupational health of paid domestic workers in the Brazilian context and on discussions about the "indispensability" of such work during the COVID 19 pandemic. Support for these reflections is based on theories of the sexual division of labor in the context of reproductive labor, specifically paid domestic work. We consider the socio-historical-cultural conditions of domestic workers, which concentrate structural elements of an exclusionary society with disparate social inequalities: racism, gender, class, and education. There is an urgent need to standardize these aspects both from a technical point of view, such as through surveys of risks, provision of collective and personal protective equipment, establishment of causal links, and reporting of occupational accidents; and from the standpoint of socio-historical-cultural hazards that involve the profession. We conclude by discussing challenges faced in addressing the deep, harmful scars that exist in our society.

O desafio conceitual do trabalho doméstico à psicologia do trabalho / The conceptual challenge of domestic work to work psychology

Discute-se, neste artigo, o patrimônio conceitual da Psicologia do Trabalho à análise do trabalho reprodutivo (doméstico). Através dos conceitos da Psicodinâmica do Trabalho, da Ergonomia e da Teoria da Divisão Sexual do Trabalho, evidencia-se a realização de um trabalho com prescrições informais, imprecisas, subentendidas e com enorme variabilidade. O trabalho é mobilizado por uma inteligência da prática, pelo uso dos saberes e sagacidades do corpo no cumprimento das tarefas designadas diariamente às empregadas domésticas. Ressalta-se, aqui, a premência da sistematização e da normatização das condições de trabalho, especialmente sobre os níveis de riscos e instrumental de trabalho e de proteção.(AU)

This article discusses the conceptual heritage of work psychology through the analysis of domestic work. Through the concept of work psychodynamics, ergonomics and the theory of work sexual division, it can been shown that work is carried out with informal, inaccurate, implied prescriptions and enormous variability. Work is marshalled by intelligent practice, by knowledge and the body´s sagacity while carrying out daily tasks assigned to domestic servants. It is worth noting the urgency for systemization and normalization of working conditions especially regarding risk levels, instrumentation and health and safety.(AU)