They may be holding together our home and hearth, but not many people will give them credit for that. The lot of domestic workers is a miserable one. People are yet to even realise how they live.
“I work the whole day for just Rs 700 a month. It is very difficult to manage a family of five. I belong to an unorganised sector of employment. Our needs are not taken care of, unlike in the organised sector, where increase in income is directly proportional to price rise,” says Rekha, a domestic worker who barely manages to make both ends meet.
Organising domestic workers is a Herculean task because there are no proper statistics available. However, there are innumerable civil society organisations that are taking the lead in highlighting the issues of domestic workers.National Domestic Workers Welfare Trust regional coordinator Father Chetan says, “We have organised several rallies as well as seminars in various districts of Jharkhand to create awareness about rights of domestic workers.”
He explains the chasm in culture, saying, “For the rich and influential, domestic workers are ‘paid slaves’. They miss no opportunity to rebuke this underprivileged lot. Quick action should be taken to create a State social security for domestic workers. The working condition of live-in domestic workers should also be improved.”
The Government is not apathetic to this segment, though not much action has been taken. “We are trying to contact all organisations in Ranchi who help domestic workers. We plan to organise an informal brain-storming session next week for improvement in working conditions. Every domestic worker will be urged to register with an identity card so they can get medical as well as social security. We will soon start the mechanism for 100 per cent verification and identity card certification of domestic workers,” said labour Commissioner Puja Singhal.
It is very difficult for domestic workers to sustain the huge price hikes in essential commodities. President of domestic workers Renu Ninda says, “I work at a house near Hatia Road and my employer pays me Rs 1,500 per month for doing chores like dusting, cleaning, sweeping, mopping, cleaning utensils and washing clothes. I ask my employer to pay me according to the rate card set for domestic workers.”
Unfortunately, most employers have a disdain for their maids. Working couples hardly have the time to see how much work piles up on the domestic help. Even children learn to take things for granted and show scant respect for the person doing their ‘dirty’ work. They toil like animals without any weekly offs and on measly wages.
The progress is slow and painstaking, but it remains a step in the right direction.