Events & Issues
New
Delhi, 7 May 2012
Indispensable Domestic Workers
FINALLY GET RECOGNITION
By Dr.S.Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR)
India’s over 10 million domestic workers
are today finally set to get recognition. A first-ever national policy for
these ‘Jack of all trades’ is set to go to the Union Cabinet for approval,
entitling them to minimum wages, defined work hours, weekly holiday, paid
annual and sick leave and maternity benefits.
Significantly, the thrust of the Draft
National Policy for Domestic Workers prepared by the Labour Ministry is to
bring servants and naukars under the
purview of existing labour laws, which would enable them avail all rights and
protection available to other workers. Once approved, domestic workers would be
covered by eight existing laws. Namely, Minimum Wages Act, Trade Union Act,
Payment of Wages Act, Workmen’s Compensation Act, Maternity Benefit Act,
Contract Labour and Equal Remuneration Act.
Once implemented, domestic workers
including part-time helps who work in many households would have to register
with their respective State labour departments. Which would entitle them to a
minimum wage. This varies between States, with the current national floor-level
being Rs 115 per day roughly Rs 3,400 a month.
Besides this, the servants would be
entitled to annual paid and sick leave. In Delhi, a worker gets privilege leave of not
less than 15 days annually and sick or casual leave of not less than 12 days.
This is not all. They would get compensation for overtime, social security
coverage, protection against abuse and violence, sufficient food and a safe and
healthy place to stay.
Women workers would get 12 weeks of
maternity leave --- six weeks prior to delivery and six weeks post delivery.
Also they would be entitled to equal remuneration as men for similar work.
Pertinently, with the servants
category expanding fast to provide specialised services like infant and child
care, care of the sick and the elderly, cooking, driving, gardening, building
maintenance, etc the policy would enable them to form their own trade unions or
join any other.
Indeed, the new policy is thanks to
various servants associations stepping up pressure demanding speedy
ratification and implementation of the recommendations of the International Labour
Conference (ILO) governing employment and working conditions of domestic
workers held at Geneva
in June 2011. Supported by 396 member countries including India it now
awaits the Central Government’s ratification.
Undeniably, domestic workers significantly
contribute to the economy by providing several kinds of care services. In fact, families practically depend on their
domestic helps for anything and every kind of work, freeing them of indulging
in their favourite pastimes and hobbies.
Sadly, however till date these
workers continue to remain invisible and under-reported in the labour market,
unrecognized in public records including economic reports. They are marginalised though engaged in work which
entitles their employers to enjoy their life and comforts.
Interestingly, many countries do not
recognise domestic work as “work” and deny them social and legal protection
granted to organized labour. In India, presently domestic work is
treated as “unorganized labour” without any legal security, protection and
eligibility for welfare measures.
Furthermore, there is no accurate
data on the total number of domestic workers in the world. Estimates vary from 4 per cent to 10 per cent
of total employment in developing countries. According to ILO reports a large
proportion of women and girls particularly child labourers’ work as domestic
helpers. Though conditions differ from country to country, a common feature
about these workers sector is their poverty and helplessness.
In addition, according to the 2001 census
about 50 per cent of 80 million inter-State migrants are domestic workers. A steady stream of rural population from
deprived sections and backward areas, largely illiterate and semi-literate,
migrate to urban areas individually or with their families. While the men folk
enter unskilled and semi-skilled jobs, women and girls end up as domestic
workers and roughly constitute over 90 per cent of the total workforce in this
sector.
Undoubtedly, with the predominance
of women and conspicuous children workers employed in homes it underscores that
domestic workers are a part of a much bigger problem. Whereby this widespread
invisible women labour and persisting child labour force will not vanish notwithstanding
all-out efforts to bring these children into the mainstream.
In sum, the need to regulate
domestic work has become urgent because of the increasing number of cases of
abuse and ill-treatment of domestic workers not only in India but also
by those who take them abroad. Be it via unscrupulous middle men or employers.
Shockingly, many cases of sexual
harassment, violence, abuse of women employees, mostly migrants have come to
light. Instances of victimisation at the hands of traffickers/placement
agencies and forced migration are a plenty. Women workers abroad are also prone
to suffer from loneliness.
Add to this a prevailing atmosphere
of mutual suspicions and accusations, whereby employers suspect their domestic
helpers of turning informers to burglars and thieves. Towards that end, the policy rightly stresses
the need for registration of placement agencies.
All this is very well, but till the
National Domestic Workers Policy is implemented things will continue as they
are. Clearly, this needs to be urgently rectified as it is linked with other
social development measures. As without this silent domestic workforce many a
households would come to a standstill. ---- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
|