Servitude

30 July 2012

I must speak a bit about the service industry of Chile, because elements of it just don't sit quite right with me.

It appears this country is quite fond of "outsourcing" the most minimal chores, paying to have someone else do the simple tasks. Some economists might call this a good thing, as presumably it creates additional jobs while freeing up those in higher-earning positions to spend their time on other things. Others might argue that these jobs are demeaning and take advantage of an over-supply of labor (fed by immigration from neighboring countries) looking desperately for work.

Case in point - the supermarket. Usually when you take your things to be checked out, the person scans them and passes them along to a second person who then bags them (pardon me if this sounds rudimentary, but in many parts of Europe you do the bagging yourself). Don't even think about bringing your own re-usable bags to fill up instead of brand-new disposable plastic bags they distribute, as this only confuses the bag person. The key difference in the situation in Chile is that it is customary to tip these baggers for this simple service (I still haven't figured out the appropriate amount), since I am told they are not fully paid by the store.

The problem appears to be more systemic. Maids, housecleaners, nannies - we have these in the U.S., and they are becoming commonplace in more of the homes of the 99%. Still, I think of them as something of a luxury, and I feel that that perception persists. In Chile, I learned that it is quite common in most middle and upper class households to have someone who cleans the home, does the dishes, and handles the general house chores. Last year one of the students from my program had a maid that cleaned her summer apartment, as it was simply part of the lease she signed.

My apartment has no cleaning service, but my office does. Of course, all offices have some form of cleaning crew, but here it seems to work a bit differently. Our "senorita" comes while we are still at work towards the end of the day in her blue smock, greeting us as she begins to clean up. I feel very uncomfortable for some reason as she begins tidying my desk and cleaning. Sadly, I feel that our office treats this woman as simply a maid. Many people don't really clean up after themselves, just piling dishes in the sink or leaving items on their desk for the "senorita" to clean up. I regret to say I am falling into this pattern along with the rest, though in the U.S. I feel as though it would never fly to leave dirty dishes uncleaned in the sink. What gives?