Almost 12,000 domestic workers have been enrolled in the IMSS social security scheme since a pilot program began eight months ago, director Zoé Robledo said on Thursday.

Speaking at the president’s news conference on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling that domestic employees must have access to social security like any other worker, Robledo said that 76% of the 11,947 people enrolled are women and 26% are concentrated in Mexico City and México state.

The Mexican Social Security Institute chief called for more employers to register their domestic workers for social security using the IMSS website trabajadorasdelhogar.gob.mx.

Cleaners, cooks, live-in maids, babysitters and gardeners are among more than two million people who are eligible for enrollment. Workers enrolled in the scheme have access to medical care, medicines, disability and retirement benefits and social services such as daycare.

Also at today’s press conference, a new advertisement was presented which encourages employers to enroll their domestic workers. Film director Alfonso Cuarón, whose 2018 movie Roma tells the story of a domestic worker in Mexico City, collaborated on the production of the ad along with the Support and Training Center for Domestic Employees (CACEH) and others.

CACEH founder Marcelina Bautista called on domestic workers to speak with their employers about enrollment in the IMSS scheme and praised the government for its commitment to ensuring the rights of domestic workers. However, she added that it still needs to sign the International Labor Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention.

In response, Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez said the convention would be signed today and sent to the Senate for ratification.

Source: El Financiero (sp)