House maids in Brazil get their rights

House maids in Brazil will have the same rights as other employees in the state and private sector according to a new law passed in Brazilian senate. Among other rights, they will be also entitled to overtime after working for a maximum of eight hours a day and 44 hours a week.
Brazil has an estimated 7million house maids and cooks – nearly all of them women. Many middle-class Brazilian families have been used to having a maid to cook, clean and wash for them.

In recent years, their rights have been gradually revised to include paid holidays, sick leave and maternity leave. The new rights have been called historic and widely welcomed in Brazil.
However, the reform could increase the cost of having a domestic worker by nearly 20%.