Workplace Health Hazards Faced by Migrant Domestic Workers in Spain

The recent enhancement of working conditions and social security for domestic service workers in Spain has enabled the integration of this group of female workers into the same legal framework as other employees. Despite the progress already made and the optimistic forecast that the ratification of Convention 189 in 2022 has opened, domestic workers continue to be one of the groups that suffer the most precariousness in Spain. Added to the laxity of the implementation of legislation is the strong presence of the underground economy and a care management model that facilitates the expansion of the deregulated market and the recruitment of irregular migrant women to occupy these precarious labor niches (live-in domestic workers). This article aims to identify the impact of psychosocial working conditions on the physical and mental health of female migrants who are live-in domestic workers in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. The research employs semi-structured, in-depth interviews to understand the representations and experiences in migrant women’s health, by unveiling the meanings of their experiences through a thematic content analysis. The study concludes with a reflection on which psychosocial, legislative, and policy-level interventions are needed to improve the health and well-being of this population of migrant women.