Care system would allow the creation of 6.5 million new jobs in Mexico: ILO

If the government and companies in Mexico had comprehensive care policies and programs for the population, about 6.5 million new jobs could be created in the country, according to an estimate by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Of these positions, 82% would be occupied by women.

According to a simulation carried out by the agency in Latin America, if Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru allocate resources to universalize licenses and care services children and adults, would generate about 25.8 million direct and indirect jobs, nine out of 10 would be formal and 80% would be held by women.

This week the agency published the report Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for greater equality in the world of work, in which he presents the situation for the region. Mexico does not appear very well evaluated, since maternity leave is still short and paternity leave is meager. In addition, domestic workers, people who work independently or informally, lack this minimum level of rights.

In this country, only 10% of women who give birth She has maternity benefits. With this percentage, Mexico occupies the fifth place of those that give less coverage to working mothers. Ecuador (6.8%), Jamaica (7%), Paraguay (8%) and Peru (9%) are the first four.

On the other side of the scale, 100% of working mothers in Uruguay It has paid licenses. Saint Kitts and Nevis, the smallest country on the continent, is the second with the highest coverage (78%). They are followed by Bolivia (59%), Brazil (48%) and Chile (47%).

Half maternal and paternal leave

The unforgettable covid-19 pandemic made it clearer that care is central “for life and for the functioning of economies and societies,” the report states. However, at the same time this crisis deepened the gaps in the distribution of that Unpaid work reloading it more on women.

And among all the regions of the world, the Latin American women and the Caribbean were “the most affected by the crisis in the labor markets”. The pandemic affected its economy “in two ways: the increase in the unpaid workload, which reduces their labor participation, and the enormous contraction of employment.”

In Mexico, women carry out 73% of unpaid household and care work and men take care of 27%, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). In addition to the fact that this immensity of tasks falls on this sector of the population, the conditions in which they are carried out imply even more effort, time and loss of job opportunities.

For example, all the Latin American countries analyzed by the ILO researcher Larraitz Lexartza recognize the right to maternity leave, the problem is how many days they are granted. The international organization recommends that the minimum should be 18 weeks paid.

In 17 countries the duration of the licenses is less than 14 weeks, Mexico among them. In fact, this country is in the least advanced group, with barely 12 weeks maternity leaveas well as the Bahamas, Barbados, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua.

Now, regarding paternity leave, 12 countries still do not recognize this right. Among those who do have such paid leave, in 10 it lasts five days or less, which is the case in our country. The British Virgin Islands grants 30 days, but without remuneration.

The country that has the best policy in this type of permits is Venezuela, which grants 14 days and the financing is provided by social security. In Mexico, the five days of paid leave are charged to the company.

We’re close but we’re stranded

Uruguay is a benchmark for different public policies on the matter, in this case it was the first in the region to create a national care system. This was approved in 2015, under the presidency of Tabaré Vázquez, but it was designed and promoted during the period of President José Mujica.

In its first stage, it prioritized the coverage of child care services From 0 to 3 years. “By 2021, a coverage close to 52% was projected, being the country in the region with the greatest reach for this age group,” says the ILO report.

Mexico is one step away from having a national care system, but it has not given it. Since 2020, the Chamber of Deputies approved a reform that lays the foundations for its creation, but the legislation remains stuck in the Senate.

Although the country has different childcare facilities, “the service hours range from 8 to 12 hours, depending on the program and center”. This is a problem, these schedules do not respond to the needs of families because they do not fit the working day.

The report indicates that 18 countries in the region have, by law, long-term care services for adults. Mexico is not among them. A reform is also pending here to create day houses for this population, which would help many people to look for a job while their relative receives care.