Women porters at the Tarajal Border: the end of “atypical trade”, non-regularized labor relations

Abstract

This paper addresses the situation of the group known as carrier, who carried out their daily cross-border activity that culminated in the year 2019. We are talking about a particularly unique group due to its special vulnerability, defenselessness, feminization and, above all, lack of regulation and consequent coverage in the public Social Security system, as well as a contractual relationship not framed in Labor Law. Therefore, conceptual definitions regarding “atypical trade”, “smuggling”, “cross-border carrier” are

addressed in this article. The determination of the employment relationship of the group of porters is also analyzed from the perspective of both a de iure and de facto dimension, especially in the latter sense. The vision of certain key informants, knowledgeable about this type of atypical activity culminated almost five years ago; They have also been reflected in the document that we present. In the same way, some of the lines of future regarding the foreseeable economic model of Ceuta are proposed in a different and distant area from the ill-fated cross-border portage.