ILO proposes ways to expand social security access for domestic workers in Peru

For domestic workers in Peru, working by the hour and serving several employers can make social security difficult to reach. The International Labour Organization said existing systems still do not fully fit those working arrangements.

An ILO report examined the legal, administrative, socioeconomic and sociocultural barriers preventing domestic workers from joining Peru’s EsSalud health system. Data from the 2024 National Household Survey showed that 94.9% of paid domestic workers worked without a contract. Only 18.7% reported affiliation with a pension system, and just 8.1% had EsSalud coverage.

“The main challenge is no longer only recognizing rights, but ensuring that the design and operation of administrative systems allow people to exercise them effectively,” said Pablo Casalí, the ILO’s senior social protection specialist for the Andean countries.

The organization proposed allowing contributions from different employers and part-time jobs to be combined, so they could jointly support access to health and pension benefits. It also called for a digital one-stop service, incentives to encourage formalization and better information about rights and obligations.

The report identified fragmented procedures, poor system interoperability, limited ability to contribute among workers and employing households, and persistent attitudes against formalization as additional barriers. Seven in 10 employers believed domestic work did not require full formalization, while more than two-thirds of workers did not know how to enroll.

More than 441,000 people perform paid domestic work in Peru, and 94.7% are women. Four in 10 are heads of household, while nearly half earn less than the current minimum wage of 1,130 soles, or $337. The ILO said those figures reflect the sector’s economic vulnerability and the need to expand social security coverage.

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The main challenge is no longer only recognizing rights, but ensuring that the design and operation of administrative systems allow people to exercise them effectively.