RIGHTS FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS IN INDIA

ABSTRACT

The article aims to examine the status of domestic workers and the legal framework for decent
work for domestic workers in India. The analysis is done in light of the Constitutional mandate,
judicial pronouncements and ILO’s decent work agenda. : In India, workers in the informal
sector are considered to be vulnerable and marginalised. Benefits of economic growth rarely
reach to this segment of the society and they are also excluded from benefits of physical and
social infrastructure expansion.. Now that more and more women have started to take up
employment outside the house, they are not able to perform household activities. The domestic
helps have replaced them for performing household work and are being paid for it. This paper
discusses the unaccounted and invisible contribution of domestic workers in our country.
Domestic workers are not recognized as workers and their work is undervalued. Home of the
employer is the workplace for the domestic workers and this unique feature makes them
vulnerable to abuses, exploitation and acute working conditions. But, these workers themselves
are left on the margins of the development matrix. Stuck between bad working conditions and
expectations of subservient loyalty, the Indian domestic worker has to cope with the worst
aspects of both feudalism and capitalism.

KEYWORDS: Domestic Workers, employment, exploitation,

INTRODUCTION

Domestic work is one of the most important avenues of work for semi-literate or illiterate people.
In fact, it is the primary source of employment for women working in unorganized sector.
Increase in per capita income due to India’s economic growth leads to more families falling
under the category of middle/high income households. This significantly influences the demand
for domestic workers in the country. According to the report of an online job placement agency,
more than 2.5 million households are searching for domestic workers in just eight largest cities in
the country.
Despite, the huge upsurge in the number of people working as domestic workers in recent years,
domestic helps in India continue to be deprived of any protection under the labour laws.
Domestic helps in India are still seen as mere ‘servants’ doing menial tasks rather than as paid
professionals who are responsible for managing household chores. A vast majority of domestic
workers belong to backward areas and communities. The isolated and unprotected nature of the
work exposes workers to greater vulnerability. Several workers are trafficked and kept as virtual
bonded labour. Thus, the reality of domestic work in India is very different from the utopian
solutions that the State and International Organizations rallies for.

CONSTIUTIONAL FRAMEWORK: RECOGNISING RIGHT TO DECENT WORK

The Constitution of India is our grundnorm. All labour laws in India addressing the legal rights
or restriction on working people shall be in strict adherence to the provisions of the Constitution
of India. The need for safeguarding the interests of labour and importance of dignity of labour
has been enshrined in Part III and Part IV. The constitutional guarantee of equality, expressed in
the triumvirate formed by Articles 14, 15 and 16, seeks that there be equality generally as also
for especially disadvantaged groups who are allowed to benefit from positive discrimination.

Furthermore, the directive principles which are supposed to serve as guiding beacons for the
State, also prescribe labour equality and the end of discrimination. Articles 36 to Article 51 of
the Constitution of India reflect the socio- economic principles that are crucial to the governance
of the country. With reference to Entries 22, 23 and 24 of List III of the VII Schedule, the articles
have been given effect to. It is therefore a matter of public interest that for the domestic workers
which are a major chunk of the unorganized population constituting largely of women must be
assured regularity of employment and decent service conditions.

REVIEW OF THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK:

National Policy for Domestic Workers

The policy was drafted by the ministry of labour and organization, government of India to
safeguard the interests of domestic workers. The Act envisages a minimum salary of Rs. 9,000
per month in case of full time household helps apart from other benefits such as mandatory
leaves. With regard to the Indian domestic workers working abroad, the Draft National Policy
states bars India from offering more favorable treatment under bilateral or multilateral
instruments or schemes. This provision was incorporated following the suggestion given by the
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs that the national laws of the destination country will apply to
domestic workers who work abroad. Unfortunately, the policy is still under consideration and
still awaits to be tabled before the Union Cabinet.

Domestic Workers Welfare and Social Security Act, 2010.

The Domestic Workers Welfare and Social Security Act Bill, 2010 which was drafted by
National Council of Women aims to be a comprehensive Central Legislation dealing with the
working condition of the domestic workers. One of the important aspects is the provision for
registration. It recognises that domestic workers are an important segment of service sector of
Indian economy. It enables women particularly to maintain a healthy work life balance.
However, six years have lapsed since the National Council of Women drafted the bill; no
progress has been made since then.

Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008

Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 was enacted to provide social security to the
unorganized workers. Domestic workers are included in the definition of ‘wage worker’ to which
the Act extends. The Act has constituted the National Social Security Board which recommends
formulation of schemes for social security, viz. maternity benefits, old age security, and health
cover for the unorganized work force.

Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

The Domestic workers are excluded from the scope of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. They are
not covered under the occupations to which the Act applies. There is an exception to this general
rule in the form of amendments brought about by the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan in that they have set minimum wage rates specified for
domestic workers.

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna

The health insurance coverage provided to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families under the
National Health Insurance Program (Rashtriya Swathya Bima Yojna) launched in 2007, is
extended to the domestic workers and their families.

JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS:

National Domestic Workers Welfare Trust v. Union of India

In a petition filed by the National Domestic Workers Welfare Trust, several important issues
relating to the domestic workers were raised. The petitioner sought the direction from the apex
court to guarantee minimum level of protection to domestic workers in accordance with the
Constitution of India. The demands included:

· Enactment of a comprehensive legislation ensuring protection to the domestic workers

· Guaranteeing Minimum wages and other benefits such as weekly holidays

· Ensuring safety of women and children working as domestic helps

In response to this petition, the Central Government had argued that the Unorganized Sector
Workers Bill, 2004 will guarantee all these benefits and will include domestic workers. Previous
to the petition, the Domestic Workers were not included in the schedule of employment in the
Unorganized Sector Workers Bill, 2004.

In a pro employer decision by the Delhi High Court, the petition of a domestic help at the Mater
Dei Society who had been informally working for the nuns of the school for thirteen years was
dismissed on the ground that there was no formal employment letter, nor did any returns or
declarations filed by the institution before the Directorate of Education showed her name on the
records. Therefore, the petitioner whose services were terminated without retrial benefits that are
given to regular employees were merely a part time employee who allegedly tried to
misappropriate a humanitarian gesture for her own convenience. This case therefore, laid down
the requirement of formal proof of engagement as a regular employee for domestic work to be
the pre requisite for availing benefits that accrue to such employees. By virtue of such decisions
given by courts in India it becomes all the more imperative for there to be a non-cumbersome
formal mechanism of checks and balance with registration and regulation, minimum wages and
social security as the primary concerns

Supreme Court’s Role in Promoting Social Justice

The Supreme Court has taken active measures to secure the rights of labourers. In People’s
Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, Justice P N Bhagwati emphasized on the duty of
the courts “to enforce the basic human rights of the poor and the vulnerable sections of the
community and actively help in the realization of the constitutional goals.”

Further, the Supreme Court in Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan64 held that the State cannot be
permitted to take advantage of the helpless situation of affected persons and such persons cannot
be denied protection under labour legislations.

ISSUES OF DOMESTIC WORKERS IN INDIA

Under the ILO Convention 189, a domestic worker is “any person engaged in domestic work
within an employment relationship”. A domestic worker may work on full-time or part-time
basis; may be employed by a single household or by multiple employers; may be residing in the
household of the employer (live-in worker) or may be living in his or her own residence (live-
out). A domestic worker may be working in a country of which she/he is not a national. Nearly
90% of domestic workers in India are women or children (especially girls), ranging from ages 12
to 75 and it is estimated that 25% among them are below the age of 14. The majority of domestic
workers are illiterate. They are engaged in tasks such as cooking, washing, and cleaning, which
are traditionally seen as women’s work and considered subservient in nature. In India, the stigma
linked to domestic work is heightened by the caste system, since tasks such as cleaning and
sweeping are associated with the people belonging to the ‘so-called’ low castes. Domestic
workers are commonly referred to as ‘servants’ and ‘maids’ which has resulted in their feelings
of insecurity and inferiority. This has further added to the undignified status awarded to the
services provided by them. Domestic Workers are highly exploited and denied just wages and
humane working conditions. They are paid well below the minimum wages for unskilled or
semi-skilled workers. The vast majority of live-in domestic workers work a minimum of 15
hours a day, seven days a week. Part-time workers often work in 3-4 different houses for nearly
8-10 hours every day.The working hours of domestic workers can go from 8 to over 18 hours a
day. Wages, leave facilities, medical benefits, and rest time are at the employer’s mercy.
Moreover, they are often victims of suspicion. If anything is missing in the house, they are the
first to be accused with threats, physical violence, police interrogation, conviction, and even
dismissal. A great number of live-in domestic workers are recruited from rural or tribal areas.
They have to adapt to an alien environment, culture, and language.

SUGGESSION

A comprehensive labour law must be enacted for protecting domestic workers, encompassing
classes related to working hours standard minimum wages and other allowances, one time wages
etc., and among other matters making it imperative for the employees to register the names and
addresses of the domestic servant employed by them and the kind and quantum of work required
to be done by him/her as well as the conditions of work argued to etc., important points of the
same be publicly exhibited in all posh areas where domestic servants are employed. Refusal to
pay wages to domestic worker must be made a cognizable criminal offence in addition to it being
made a civil liability to pay 10 lines the amount due to be paid. Gratuity, bonus, L.T.C.,
C.L.M.L., E.L; etc., and all such other benefits applicable to other labourers should be made
applicable to domestic workers too. The government from time to time should also fix minimum
wages of domestic workers on the basis of the kind of work and the working hours and the same
should be published. As most of the domestic workers are tribal women, the National
Commission for SC’s and ST’s and the National Commission for women not only must see to it
that a comprehensive labour in enacted but they must also ensure that they are involved at all
levels they policy making, its executions and the follow up actions to be taken.

CONCLUSION

The domestic workers are educationally backward. The agency engaged in this particular slum
can arrange for adult literacy program for the domestic workers. Even though majority of
domestic workers, they don’t have any planned or well organized forum. So they can organize a
well formed forum. The domestic worker’s can discuss their problems and implement some
social actions through this forum. The local organization can create awareness among the people
about the domestic workers bill, as no one on this area is aware of the bill. Since the women
domestic workers suffer from more health problem local organization can arrange for health
camp. Even the college students (NSS) can give some awareness programme to the people with
regard to health. Loan facilities can be arranged by the organization for the domestic workers.