How the job description grows but not the salary

Annthro: Do you do any housecleaning? “Light housekeeping?”
Alicia (not her real name): "Nooo, well that’s a problem, that’s not a very good job of cleaning, then they complain it’s not clean enough. Then you do a bad job of child care and cleaning."

"In our culture (Guatemala) they never teach you how to defend yourself, how to stand up for yourself, your rights. Here, they want you to be a childcare provider and also you are a housekeeper. It’s two separate jobs and you get paid for one. The employer asked me to come and clean while they were gone on vacation. But I said I need a rest. I’ll do it when I get back. I explain, I show her the human side. I do things with human value. The kids are important. They are the future of this country. I do that job. I don’t get paid for all the off hours stuff like taking to sports practices, music lessons. But this is how I do my part for this country."

Light housekeeping starts when the baby is small. "It’s bad because it starts when the baby is cute and sweet and sleeps a lot,” so there is time to clean a little here and there. Then they stop sleeping so much and the nanny has a lot of work because now the employer expects it.

Sotelo, Rivera, and others have noted exploitation like this among workers who do paid domestic work one-on-one in private homes. However, Alicia is experienced and tries to educate others.

Alicia: "When other women say, 'She makes me do this, do that,' I say no, you speak up. Don’t fight back and be aggressive. All these ladies are very resentful, saying, 'These ladies are lazy…' They resent the employers but they need the job, but they don’t know the right behavior. The nannies suffer from the employer but they need the work, for example, when they are waiting for the employer to come home and she is late. Are you happy with how your employer treats you? Do you have food to eat? Do you tell her how you feel at your work? Tell her. If the house is clean, the employer is happy. But the kids should come first. It’s nannies who know this, not the mothers."

Other nannies in my study noted that employers say the children should come first, but often expect cleaning to be done too. It can compromise the children, but most likely it compromises the employee. During a lull or naptime when the nanny could take a break or rest, she must do the housework without complaint.