The dynamics of the globalised migrant domestic labour market in the Mediterranean countries

In most Mediterranean countries1, domestic employment is on the rise, and domestic workers in this area are migrants originating increasingly from developing countries, often illegal residents, who reach their destination by means of intermediaries or traffickers. Studies stress a growing internationalisation of domestic labour markets, in parallel with a growing feminisation of migrations, where domestic workers are coming from further and further away, and with an emerging of national specialisations. Migration in unprotected conditions, especially when leading to employment in a branch having acquired a strong “migrant” marker, bears many vulnerability factors that affect migrant women differently according to their country of origin and their country of destination. My paper is based on a vast bibliography. It is organised in two parts. First, I will illustrate the relevance and magnitude of the relationship between migrations and paid domestic labour markets, focussing on data from the Mediterranean area. Then, I will analyse specific characteristics of this type of employment that tend to reinforce workers’vulnerability ; mainly the nature and framework of domestic employment and its specific status regarding labour and social protection regulations. I will then conclude by some reflections on the dynamics of the domestic labour market at global level. 1 The Mediterranean area has no specific relevance for this topic. However, as it presents an interesting sample of cases, it will be considered stricto sensu. The paper will be mainly founded on some Mediterranean countries only, those on which studies exist and circulate (Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Morocco). I found very little information only on Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Cyprus, Portugal and Malta, which are thus virtually absent from this study. ha l-0 06 37 70 5, v er si on 1 7 N ov 2 01 1 Author manuscript, published in "Mobilities A Conference Organized by the Amsterdam School for Social-science Research (ASSR), Amsterdam : Netherlands (2007)"