An opinion piece in Brazilian newspaper Estadao rightly points out the anachronism of newly built, slickly marketed apartments still having a "maid's room". I saw one such apartment, or rather a showroom in a new tower block in Sao Paulo. Like all yuppie dwellings it was laughably cramped but the "maid's room" was more like a large cupboard.
The article says that Brazilians are used to treating their maids and cleaners like animals but now that the country is changing, this abused sub-class is also starting to demand more respect and pay. But, says the writer, Brazil will only have truly changed once it learns to erase the demeaning prison-room from its newbuilds.
Hear, hear, say I. Cheap labour and expensive products is not an intelligent, let alone moral, way to live in the modern world.
The article says that Brazilians are used to treating their maids and cleaners like animals but now that the country is changing, this abused sub-class is also starting to demand more respect and pay. But, says the writer, Brazil will only have truly changed once it learns to erase the demeaning prison-room from its newbuilds.
Hear, hear, say I. Cheap labour and expensive products is not an intelligent, let alone moral, way to live in the modern world.
My generation does not know what a round-the-clock maid is anymore. Delfin Netto is himself a stupid old animal. We use this room as a storage room anyway. We have weekly cleaning ladies that get the same pay (yes the same!) as the cleaning ladies in London. The only difference is that over there they are illegal immigrants, here they are legal Brazilian workers.
ReplyDeleteI realize that things are changing Patricia. But newly built yuppie apartments should not still be calling it a maid's room. That indicates a culture which is not embracing change but is still stuck in the past. Can you imagine calling it a maid's room in the UK or US ?!
ReplyDeleteI agree with all you say, Patricia and Rob, but think how happy the average illegal-immigrant-Mexican housekeeper in the US would be to have a room (two, in fact, including full shower-sink-toilet facilities). Is this actually a bad thing? Given that there are under-paid housekeepers all over the world, does it make sense that we should start taking away what is essentially a small employee benefit; something that makes their days somewhat more genteel and humane because they can rest and relax in a small private domain when they're not occupied?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you seem to imply that a maid's room is just for having a nap and a bit of privacy, rather than for living in. If that were the case then I would agree with you that it seems like a nice perk. But modern house cleaners only work for a few hours at a time, since that is all their clients can afford, so having a room is a luxury too far. It seems to be a throwback to times of extreme inequality, which I find hard to endorse.
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