Exploited domestic workers in Spain
They clean and do laundry, watch children, and take care of the elderly twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In Spain, tens of thousands of undocumented domestic workers are living in appalling conditions.
Transcript
00:00 Six days a week, 16 hours a day.
00:02 Dely has filmed herself at work for us with her cell phone.
00:06 In this apartment in Madrid, Spain,
00:08 she takes care of the household and looks after the children.
00:11 She sleeps here too.
00:13 But the 57-year-old doesn't want to show us her room.
00:17 It's her only piece of privacy.
00:19 They put me in a two-by-three-metre basement room.
00:27 I don't have a window. It's demeaning.
00:31 And it's sad to have to live like this.
00:34 Even though you take care of everything in the apartment,
00:37 round the clock, you do your best,
00:39 but still end up in a situation like this.
00:42 They're called 'internas' because they live in the household.
00:48 They're usually from Latin America or the Philippines.
00:51 They do the groceries, mind the children,
00:54 take care of the elderly, and look after the children.
00:57 Like here in the upscale neighbourhoods of Madrid.
01:00 You do everything, cooking, cleaning, everything.
01:05 We're on call 24 hours a day.
01:07 We start at 6.30 and finish at 9 o'clock in the evening.
01:16 At this domestic workers' association,
01:20 Carla Girón is the chairperson,
01:23 but she's not above doing the cleaning.
01:25 She too has worked as an 'interna' in the past.
01:29 Now with the association, she supports the workers' rights,
01:33 because many don't even get the designated minimum wage for their work,
01:37 1,080 euros a month.
01:39 Migrants without residency rights are often shamelessly exploited.
01:43 This is modern slavery.
01:46 They don't pay you the legal minimum.
01:48 Your rights get trampled on just because you don't have papers.
01:52 And then, when you complain, the employer says,
01:55 "Why should I pay you by the book when you don't even have papers?"
01:59 Delia often comes by the association.
02:07 17 years ago, she came to Spain from Paraguay
02:10 to earn money for her family.
02:12 Her biggest burden is the separation from her children.
02:15 Her son was 10 at the time, her daughter 15.
02:19 I left my children in Paraguay,
02:22 and now I'm here for other people's children.
02:25 It hurts.
02:27 I've missed a lot of things, my daughter's wedding,
02:30 the birth of my four grandchildren, my father's death,
02:33 all the things that keep a family together.
02:36 Delia gets help from the association psychologist,
02:41 and her husband, who is also a psychologist.
02:45 Delia gets help from the association psychologist.
02:48 Ana Camargo thinks the extreme living situation
02:52 of the interners is dangerous.
02:54 There can be frustration and depression,
02:56 even the loss of one's own identity.
02:58 The boundaries between your private and working life are blurred.
03:13 Your privacy and personal development are determined by others.
03:18 Spanish authorities want to end the precarious situation.
03:24 They've imposed contracts with minimum rest periods.
03:27 A new decree now grants unemployment benefits to domestic workers.
03:31 But in reality, domestic work is hard to monitor.
03:35 The employer doesn't have to let the inspectors
03:39 into their home during an inspection.
03:41 They can invoke their right to domestic privacy.
03:45 Angela tells us she's had domestic workers all her life,
03:52 but they're now employed under contract and covered by social security.
03:56 She thinks living as an interner has its advantages too.
04:00 After all, she says, they have few expenses.
04:04 They don't have to pay for rent, food, electricity,
04:09 water, washing machine.
04:11 Everything is free because they live in the house.
04:15 They can save that money for themselves and their families.
04:19 Family was the reason Delia left Paraguay to work as an interner.
04:27 17 years later, her own children are practically strangers to her.
04:31 I wouldn't do it again.
04:37 I'd stay in my country and somehow take care of my children there.
04:41 But at least I'd be with them.
04:43 Today, I have no hope of winning back their love.
04:47 Delia is still proud that her work has enabled her children
04:52 to get an education.
04:54 But it's been a high price to pay.
04:58 (audience cheering)