This paper focuses on the discourse of the second shift and domestic work in the Czechoslovakia presented by journals of women´s organizations, 1945-1948. After the mobilisation of the workforce in the post-war Czechoslovakia, women started to be encouraged to take up paid jobs. Together with the rising number of women in paid jobs the so called second shift was established. That means that women were burdened with two roles: those of breadwinners and housewives. The help offered by women´s organizations was represented by the delegation of housework on other women. The solution of the lack of the domestic help consisted in qualification and professionalization, thus establishing this job as a regular one. The establishment of the institution with a suitable name "Liberated Household" was perceived as the ideal solution.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in graphic narratives that explore family histories, particularly focusing on women and their roles in daily life. Works such as El ala rota by Antonio Altarriba y Kim (2016), Estamos todas bien by Ana Penyas (2017) and Regreso al Edén by Paco Roca (2020) delve into the lives of mothers and grandmothers, aiming to reclaim their memories and acknowledge the significance of domestic and care labor, often overlooked in Spanish history. The graphic novels offer a dual representation, combining text and images to depict the struggles women faced in different historical periods and the inequalities embedded in domestic work. We aim to critically examine this societal change through literature, which blends history, sociology, and personal experience.
The growing importance of domestic services in modern global economy does not help improve the situation of domestic workers on the labour market. The working conditions of domestic workers are far from those that are necessary for the implementation of the right to decent work. One of the main barriers in the present situation is the lack of legal recognition of domestic work in many national legal systems. Domestic workers are one of the least protected groups of workers. The aim of this paper is to present the terms and conditions of employment of domestic workers in the light of the existing law in Poland as well as under the proposals set out in the draft of the Labour Code developed by the Labour Law Codification Committee in the years 2002–2006.
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