Women and illegal work

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The Spanish Women's Institute recently conducted a study showing that 17% of working women are not registered for social security. The characteristics, profile and view of their work open up new questions and also new prospects in the fight for equal opportunities for men and women.

Tradition of Illegal work in Spain

A traditional feature of the Spanish labour market is that a proportion of workers are not registered for social security (Seguridad Social), as is also the case in Italy, and more recently in Germany and Austria. Several studies that have focused on this phenomenon of illegal or 'underground' work from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s show that it decreased from 25% to 15% among persons in employment during this period. There are far more women than men in this situation and the main area of illegal work is domestic service, though research has tended to focus on some more than other industrial sectors. However, the study of illegal female workers by the Women's Institute (Instituto de la Mujer) is the first that is based on interviews with underground workers, and therefore presents a clearer picture of the characteristics of this group of workers.

Profile of illegal female workers

According to the study, there were 522,000 women - 17% of all employed women - in 2002 working illegally, mostly in the services sector. The largest number were in domestic service (30%), followed by services to companies (16%), hotels and catering (14%), small-scale retailing (13%) and education (9%).

The illegal female workers tend to be concentrated in the young (under 25) and older (over 40) age brackets, the latter being mainly occupied in domestic service. The level of education of illegal female workers tends to be low in domestic service and medium-high in the other sectors. The pay is low, with 51% of all workers and 54% of those in domestic service earning less than EUR 300 per month and just under 40% earning between EUR 300 and 600. One of the reasons for the low pay is that many work part time (30% less than 10 hours per week and 32% between 11 and 20 hours per week), but another reason is that the work is concentrated in low-skilled jobs with little prestige. Immigrants represent 11% of the illegal female workers. (Two years later, we know that the presence of female immigrants is far higher, again particularly in domestic service.) In short, these jobs are characterised by low pay, part-time work, a polarisation between medium-high and low educational levels and a concentration in domestic service, companies and hotels and catering.

A preference for this kind of work

It could be deduced that the workers accept jobs without contracts because no other jobs are available, though many of these would not be poor jobs if they had a contract. Many of these women have sought jobs that adapt to their economic needs and way of life, and the legal status of the jobs is of lesser importance. The study revealed that when interviewed they stated that they would like to have greater stability and more pay, but that the flexibility inherent in the job suits them.

If we compare women working illegally with the rest of women in employment, we find that among the legal workers there are greater numbers of women with a low level of education, which contradicts the belief that legal employment is related to a good education. Not only immigrant women, but many Spanish women may work illegally for several reasons, even if they have a medium-level education. However, legal female workers earn more and have more normal working days (54% work between 31 and 40 hours per week), which is one of the basic reasons for the pay difference.

Types of illegal female workers

The study delineates five basic types of illegal female workers. The first is a woman in a relatively high age group with a low level of education working in domestic service and in charge of the housework, so the jobs provide a supplement to the family income. The second is that of a woman with dependents who has a medium level of education, is no longer young and works in domestic service probably because it allows her to combine work with family life. The third group are immigrant women, relatively young and with a medium level of education, also mainly in domestic service because it is their only alternative. Then there is a group of very young women who are still living at home, are single and have a high level of education. These women work part time in several sectors and their income covers their expenses. Finally, there are young, independent women with a high level of education who work in several sectors with a working time close to full-time hours. They see the job as transitional but it must provide them with a living.

Positions of the social partners

This is a recurring topic of debate in Spanish society, particularly among the employer organisations, trade unions and experts. It comes to the fore when there is a clear increase in the number of illegal immigrants, when illegal workers are the victims of fatal accidents in the construction or agriculture sectors or when companies dismiss legal workers and take on illegal ones. The trade unions and many experts stress the need to reinforce the Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo) in order to prosecute employers with undeclared workers. The employers minimise the problem or blame the high level of the minimum wage, or of the agreed pay in sectors such as agriculture and hotels and catering, which erode profitability. During the last Regulation on immigrants (February-May 2005) (ES0503205F), for the first time the current Socialist government showed itself in favour of reinforcing the Labour Inspectorate in order to penalise those employers who have failed to declare their illegal workers.

The debate on this subject tends to leave aside the situation of women working in domestic service, often part time. These women are meeting the traditional need for domestic service among the upper and middle classes and those of professional women who have entered the labour market. In relation to this sector, the social partners tend to turn a blind eye because this type of work increases the female employment rate and many women work few hours (or at least few hours in each home), so their activity is not considered as a job whose conditions should be a cause for concern. One of the objectives of the recent legalisation was to bring underground domestic service to the surface in order to get a fuller picture of the situation.

Conclusions

The study by the Women's Institute provides us with a better understanding of women working in the underground economy and the jobs that they do. The conclusion that can be drawn is that for many women, the purpose of these jobs is to provide supplementary income to that of their husbands or to cover a period of transition. Therefore, not only the social partners but also the women who do them consider them as 'non-jobs'. This was the situation until now. However, there are two new groups that may change the way things are seen: immigrant women who mainly work in domestic service and women with a high level of education who are forced to accept this type of work. These groups have given rise to a movement to change working conditions and press for proper work contracts.

The fact that most of these jobs are in the services sector indicates that the task will not be easy. The companies are often in sectors with little formal structure (translation, teleworking, travel agencies, property sales and statistics and information gathering) and it is easy for them to conceal undeclared workers. Their diversity makes it difficult to bring this type of job to the surface. Housework is another issue in which two factors are at play. Many families who employ domestic workers are reluctant to legalise them because they only employ the workers for a few hours or because of tradition. Also, many illegal home workers may prefer this situation because they see their work not as a job but as a way of supplementing the family income. The formal recognition of these activities would be a clear step towards eliminating illegal work. (Fausto Miguélez, QUIT)