India’s domestic workers hit hard during pandemic, warns ILO

According to official figures, over four million people are employed as domestic workers in middle-class and affluent Indian homes. However, unofficial estimates put that number at a huge 50 million.

Istock. Credit: Bhupi

In a recent report, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned that working conditions for many of the world’s 75.6 million domestic workers had not improved since the adoption in 2011 of a convention entitling them to the same protections as other workers.

And the situation has been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit domestic workers – the majority of whom are women – far harder than those in most other professions.

The report warns that domestic workers were excluded from the economic and safety nets provided by the government. The report also highlights the appropriate occupational safety and health practices that could be implemented in the current pandemic situation.

The information was based on insights from domestic workers, trade unionists who work with them and experts in India.

The report focuses on wages, inequality, structural loss and income regulations to explain the how the rights of domestic workers in the unorganised sector need to be improved.

The report also reveals that 76 per cent of domestic workers in India are at risk of losing their jobs.

Working long hours for meagre wages, a significant number of domestic workers are women who work mainly to support their families. Most of these helpless, poor women are illiterate and choose domestic work due to the absence of other jobs offering better wages, rights and working conditions.

There is also a wage gap between male and female domestic workers, with males engaging in more skilled work, such as driving and gardening, compared to their female counterparts, who are mainly involved in cleaning and cooking in the same household. Many say that this gendered division of labour is the product of the patriarchal nature of Indian society.

Domestic work occurs in a primarily non-regulated and privatised environment, and most domestic workers negotiate employment terms and pay on an individual basis. This means they generally lack any social security benefits in terms of a provident fund, health insurance or pension.

The conditions of work and the poor socio-economic conditions of the workers also expose them to physical and sexual violence.

As their place of work is someone else’s private space, the violence these workers experience from their employer is often covered up or ignored because it is viewed as a personal and private matter. In most cases, domestic workers are unaware of the country’s existing labour laws, while laws such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 also fail to protect domestic workers.

India has only two laws that grant domestic workers ‘labour’ status – the Unorganised Labour Social Security Act, 2008 and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013. However, none of the laws talk about any legal framework regarding the rights of domestic workers.

Hrishikant Verma, vice president of the voluntary organisation Shakti Vahini, which campaigns to improve the rights of all Indian citizens, says: “Women and young girls working at homes are not even aware where to complain if they face any kind of harassment. These workers have no knowledge regarding any of the laws.”

Although India has signed the ILO’s Domestic Workers’ Convention, which specifically encourages governments to improve the legal rights and conditions of domestic workers, its rules have not been implemented in the country.

According to Anup Srivastava, program adviser for Labour and Industrial Relations at the FES India Office, a non-profit foundation that campaigns for social justice, the government is considering a draft national policy on domestic workers.

Among other issues this will reportedly focus on the inclusion of domestic workers in existing legislation, the right to register as workers, the right to form trade unions, the right to minimum wages, access to social security, the establishment of a mechanism to regulate placement agencies and a right for domestic workers to enhance their professional skills and career progression.

If realised, would be a step in the right direction.

Click here for the ILO report on the plight of domestic workers.