Making Decent Wages a Reality for Domestic Workers: The Case of Italy

Italy has one of the highest numbers of domestic workers, mostly women and foreign-born, in Europe. The domestic work sector in Italy constitutes a crucial labour sector against the backdrop of its rapidly ageing population and women’s increasing labour market participation, along with limited public provision. Based on official statistics, the wages in the domestic work sector however do not commensurate with its importance, whereas domestic workers consistently remain systematically undervalued and underpaid compared with the national averages. This policy brief aims to call attention to this current issue and its urgency in a context where Italy is a Member State of the EU and party to key international conventions for the protection of paid workers including domestic workers. The policy alternatives proposed based on the observations offer viable alternative solutions to ensure decent wages a reality for domestic workers in Italy.