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Are we to pay workers for staying at home?


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I can't find this anywhere. Our maid and gardener came yesterday and worked. I wasn't certain if they would show, but they did. The maid showed us the news that they, workers, are supposed to stay at home. I agreed, that's okay. She said they should be paid for this. I agreed--short term. 

However, my concern is if this is extended for a longer period, as in the US. Few, if any, workers are being paid if they are not working at home.

I've thought of asking the maid to prepare some meals while staying at home (she is always cooking soup for her large family) and put in Tupperware containers for our freezer. Or maybe sewing some of our clothes or making cloth napkins or pillowcases for our house while she is at home. (She can sew and has a machine; I have the supplies). This way I could justify to continue to pay her.

Does anyone have any ideas on this?

 

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It's "you're", not "your".

I'm in the US now and the majority of the working population is on one month home leave with no pay

I don't think I would be unreasonable in asking my maid--who works 20 hours a week in our home--to spend an hour or two each week, in her home, to do an odd task here and there in exchange for a full weekly salary.

 

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Mexico unfortunately has very little to none in terms of safety nets. The majority of the laborers do not live on pay check to pay check but rather on day to day income. So I would recommend paying house/garden workers paid in full until this crisis is over. (if china is a reference, it looks like it will take at least 4 months). Also think about the exchange rate......

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5 minutes ago, HoneyBee said:

Mexico unfortunately has very little to none in terms of safety nets. The majority of the laborers do not live on pay check to pay check but rather on day to day income. So I would recommend paying house/garden workers paid in full until this crisis is over. (if china is a reference, it looks like it will take at least 4 months). Also think about the exchange rate......

The two economic 's are different and how each country deals with the situation should be respected

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3 minutes ago, lakeside7 said:

The two economic 's are different and how each country deals with the situation should be respected

I agree completely! In the US my maid might be considered "poor" because she doesn't own a car.  But she does own her own home, she takes at least two "traveling" vacations a year (in which she stays in a hotel in another distant location for an extended stay), and she has electricity, running water, big screen TV with cable, and once a year she gets a new Samsung cell phone, passing her older cell phone off to one of her relatives. So in Mexico, I would say she is definitely middle-class. 

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I thought the self-quarantine period required by the Governor of Jalisco was for 5 days starting Friday, March 20, and ending today Tuesday, March 24: http://www.banderasnews.com/2003/jalisco-5-day-voluntary-quarantine.htm

I would have assumed that starting tomorrow, Wednesday March 25, the period of self-quarantine would be over, and maids, gardeners, etc. would re-start their normal schedule. Exercising an abundance of caution, I would maintain a distance of 6 feet (2 meters) between the employee and me. 

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I have talked to a few people who work locally at different businesses Lakeside and they were basically told that they could self quarantine if they wanted to without pay. Some have chosen to not go to work, others cant afford to and are forced to work. In Joco I see the people who work at the berry farms and fields are in full force, pretty scary considering they are all shuttled back and forth on buses everyday.

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2 minutes ago, southernguy said:

I have talked to a few people who work locally at different businesses Lakeside and they were basically told that they could self quarantine if they wanted to without pay. Some have chosen to not go to work, others cant afford to and are forced to work. In Joco I see the people who work at the berry farms and fields are in full force, pretty scary considering they are all shuttled back and forth on buses everyday.

I expect the buses are being sanitized after each trip!!

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5 minutes ago, johanson said:

the self quarantine started Saturday and ends Wednesday night.(unless it is extended for another few days).

Something I saw:

March 21, 2020

The Governor and Secretary of Health of the State of Jalisco issued the following recommendation:

As part of preventive measures to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Jalisco, state authorities ask the entire population to remain isolated for the next five days, until Tuesday, March 24.

The Governor of Jalisco released a video on his social networks to ask citizens to stay home for the next five days: "I ask the inhabitants of Jalisco to make the sacrifice of staying home this week, a sacrifice of five days I could avoid making a sacrifice of months. "

 

---------------

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Por esta razón en la 
@udg_oficial
 hemos suspendido todas nuestras actividades del 20 al 24 de marzo y recomendamos a la población en general, mantenerse en casa durante este mismo periodo.

For this reason in
@udg_oficial
  We have suspended all our activities from March 20 to 24 and we recommend to the general population to stay home during this same period.

 

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We are paying our maid as is our friend and neighbor who she also works for.  We put our heads together to come up with a plan to protect everyone which involves the use of protective measures plus we and the neighbor will be sharing her transportation to keep her off of crowded buses.  She will return to work next week, as the situation permits.  If it doesn't we and our friend will still pay her.

 

 

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We also gave our maid paid leave during the 5 days (one visit) and asked her to come back this Thursday the 26th, another of her regular days.  We all know this could change per Jalisco policy or recommendation at any time......looks like one hour at a time or at least one day at a time, folks.

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My maid has worked for me for the past nine years and has become a friend.  She is very poor and cannot feed her kids without working.  She came Friday and I gave her full pay through the end of April and told her to stay off the bus.  I am immune suppressed and have no desire to get the virus so I will re-evaluate the situation then.  Anyone who thinks this will last five days needs a reality check.  I am middle class but, comparatively speaking, I live like a queen.  With the exchange rate being what it is, her costs to me are minimal.  Let's share the wealth, people.  Reach out to those who are in trouble and help them.  Businesses are required by law to pay minimum wages to their workers for at least a month.  We should do at least that.

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We prepaid our workers for 5 weeks and took a large load of fresh produce and household supplies to them just ahead of the shutdown.

The wife always brings us food she has cooked and the husband does all the things we can't do, from gardening to keeping our solar panels and tubes clean. We're on the poor end of the financial spectrum, but these folks are  deserving of what little we have to give.

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