The Household Employees Union in Rio: A vantage point for observing changes in domestic service workers’ employment in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Studying the policies implemented by the Household Employees Union in Rio de Janeiro shows that when new social rights are extended to domestic service workers, it gives them a new sense of justice, leading to a growing number of lawsuits against employers. However, given the role it is made to play in the Brazilian legal system, the Union's position is ambivalent. Light is shed on the strained relationships between the various categories of people who come to its offices – tensions that tell us much about social relations generally. Attention is then turned to this small Union's role in the courts: after cases are heard, household employees often come away feeling their rights have been fairly upheld.