June 16th is International Domestic Workers Day, celebrating the 2011 passage of the International Labor Organization Convention 189 for Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

Since the adoption of ILO Convention 189 on decent work for domestic workers, many countries around the world have worked to improve their protection. In 2021, the ILO will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Convention 189.

In a significant move, on June 16, 2011, the ILO Convention C189 Decent Work for Domestic workers was won – which labour leaders and trade unionists across the world consider a huge and historic achievement.  “But India continues to be one of the very few countries that have absolutely not put any effort to better the conditions of domestic workers. Even smaller countries have done that.”

Rough estimates say women constitute over two-thirds of domestic work population. Most domestic workers are drawn from vulnerable communities including Tribals, Dalits and landless OBCs.

With the passing of the domestic workers (Registration, social security and welfare) Act 2008 every registered domestic Worker is now slated to receive pension, maternity benefits and paid leave that is a paid weekly off.

Apex Court Directions:

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre not to disburse any grants to the states which have not registered domestic workers under the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act. The top court was annoyed after it was informed that several states have not complied with its direction of January 11 in which it had directed starting the registration process from February. As a pilot project, it had earlier directed the Delhi government to take immediate steps to register  the domestic workers. 

A bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and M M Shantanagoudar issued notices to all state governments and asked the chief secretaries of each state or principal secretaries in the administrative departments to file a status report on action taken in compliance to its earlier orders.

The directions to the Centre came on a petition filed by NGO Shramjeevi Mahila Samiti, which had told the court that despite the Act coming into force in 2008 and framing of several schemes, no domestic worker has enjoyed their benefits.

It said this was on account of the fact that the domestic workers had not been registered for the purpose of the benefits.

The apex court had directed the Secretary of the Labour Department of the Centre to furnish a report in three months and ordered that the domestic workers should not only be registered but identity cards should also be issued to them.
The apex court had on March 24, 2017, directed the Centre to constitute a National Social Security Board as per the provisions of the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, enacted in the year 2008.

The Centre had set up the board on May 22, 2017 after which the court on August 4, last year, had directed the board to file a report regarding the steps taken for the welfare of the unorganised sector and in particular, the domestic workers, within a period of one month.As a pilot project, the top court had then directed the Government of NCT of Delhi to take steps forthwith to see that the domestic workers in Delhi are registered under the Act by eliciting cooperation on all stake holders.

Earlier, the Centre had informed the court that schemes like Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana, Janshree Bima Yojana, Aam Admi Bima Yojana and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana schemes have been notifified.
Domestic workers comprise a significant part of the global workforce in informal employment and are among the most vulnerable groups of workers. They work for private households, often without clear terms of employment, unregistered in any book, and excluded from the scope of labour legislation. Currently there are at least 67 million domestic workers worldwide, not including child domestic workers and this number is increasing steadily in developed and developing countries. Even though a substantial number of men work in the sector – often as gardeners, drivers or butlers – it remains a highly feminized sector: 80 per cent of all domestic workers are women.

Their work may include tasks such as cleaning the house, cooking, washing and ironing clothes, taking care of children, or elderly or sick members of a family, gardening, guarding the house, driving for the family, and even taking care of household pets.

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, thus referred to as a migrant domestic worker.

At present, domestic workers often face very low wages, excessively long hours, have no guaranteed weekly day of rest and at times are vulnerable to physical, mental and sexual abuse or restrictions on freedom of movement. Exploitation of domestic workers can partly be attributed to gaps in national labour and employment legislation, and often reflects discrimination along the lines of sex, race and caste.

ILO estimates India to have more than 4 million domestic workers, Trade Unions put the number at 10 million. Rough estimates say women constitute over two-thirds of domestic work population.  Tamil Nadu alone has around 1.5 million domestic workers. Yet the problems this unorganised sector face range from absence of dignity to minimum wages.

Rights For Domestic Workers

Coinciding with the World Day for Social Justice on 20 February, the Employment and Social Protection Task Team, led by ILO, launched joint advocacy and communication on the theme of Rights for Domestic Workers in February 2014. The theme stimulated public debate on the rights and equality issues of domestic workers including safety, working conditions, wages, social protection, employer’s expectations and employer-employee relationships with a view to collectively promote decent work for domestic workers.

 

INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTION:

According to the estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are at least four million domestic servants in India. Most of them are the migrants, women, many are minors, and belong to lowest end of Economic Spectrum.

India is a signatory to ILO’s 189th convention, known as Convention on the Domestic Workers; but has not ratified it yet.

Convention mandates that the domestic workers be given daily and weekly rest hours, their payment must meet minimum wage requirement, and that they should be allowed to choose place where they live and spend their leave.

Ratifying States are required to take the protective measures against violence against such workers and are required to enforce the minimum age for the employment purposes. However, since these provisions are not binding on those countries that have not ratified the convention, India is not obliged to enforce these recommendations.

STATES PROTECTION FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS

The state governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have taken several steps to improve the working conditions of domestic workers and to provide access to social security schemes. Seven states including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, and Rajasthan have introduced minimum wages for domestic workers. The state governments of Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu have also constituted Welfare Boards for domestic workers who are able to avail of welfare benefits by registering with these Boards. However, despite these efforts, a large majority of domestic workers remain outside the purview of labour laws even today. [1]

 

WAY FORWARD:

Only an integrated law can regulate Placement Agencies and conditions of Domestic Work and provide Social Security to them. Mere extension of the Shops & Establishments Act, to register the Placement Agencies as has been done in Delhi and which is proposed nationally, is not the real solution.

According to National Human Rights Commission (2002-2003), about 90 per cent of the trafficking in India is internal.

Non-availability of the jobs in rural or tribal areas, such as Jharkhand, facilitates continuous supply of the women workers to Delhi and the other cities. India is also a source and transit route for the trafficking women and girls to Middle East for the domestic work. In this process of migration there are risks, particularly because of the deceptive recruitment practices or abuses at hands of the workers’ employers.

Only Central Law can meet requirements of regulating the Domestic Workers sector since workers also frequently cross the inter-state boundaries. The Domestic Workers are also caught in trap of the agents who supply them to the placement agencies or even harass or traffic them for other forms of forced labour is a reality.

There is also a need to develop a separate piece of legislation dealing exclusively with Crimes committed against the Domestic Workers like Murder, Rape, Sexual Assault, Sexual harassment etc. Such piece of legislation should be brought into effect on the lines of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013  and the  Dowry Prohibition Act,1961 which exclusively deal with crimes committed against a particular section of the society. Thus, similarly Parliament should enact a law in relation to provide crime committed against the Domestic Workers where the workers are provided time bound and effective justice.

Government of India has developed an Integrated National Plan of Action against the Trafficking and is taking steps to put some remedial measures in place in form of Integrated Anti-Trafficking Units and Anti-Trafficking Nodal cells, but still there is a need for a more comprehensive legislation on the labour trafficking.

At the same time, Law regulating Interstate Migration, Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act,1979, will also require major amendments.

CONCLUSION:

 The women domestic workers are subjected to series of injustices, deprivations and indignities in modern society due to the absence of meaningful legal safeguards, welfare measures and other provisions for the empowerment of women. They are also socially weak, economically vulnerable and politically disadvantaged section of Indian society. They deserve proper care, protection and measures for empowerment in modern society on the basis of humanitarian considerations. The women domestic workers do not have support networks and civil society support under the existing circumstances. They experience exploitative situations and multi-faceted abuses. The national and international legal instruments are largely ineffective under the existing circumstances

By – C P Audichya,

Former Asst Labour Commissioner and Labour,Human Rights Adviser

Email:cpa_0101@rediffmail.com