The first day when I entered the office of Chetanalaya at Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, I was looking forward to being asked to visit and work in their Jahangirpuri Centre and probably identify an issue that needs immediate attention and work on the solution for the same. Well, that’s what I put together after I had spoken to a few people from the MA (Final) batch. So even though I was excited yet I felt I knew what was coming. But little did I know that there was something else in store for me.
I was asked by one of my agency supervisors to work for the Domestic Workers Forum (DWF), a project run by Chetanalaya under one of its many interventions: Promotion of Rights of Domestic Workers & Prevention of Trafficking. This suggestion came after the supervisor learnt that I was staying in Dwarka, one of the areas where DWF works. The Domestic Workers Forum (DWF) is a forum of women and men working as domestic help in different households in the city. The aim is to bring domestic workers, employers, placement agencies, human rights activists and government personnel together so that the rights and dignity of these workers are recognized and respected. Currently the project is being run successfully in different parts of the city with the help of several zonal coordinators, who were previously domestic workers themselves but with due training are now fighting for the cause and rights of domestic workers.
SOURCE: CHETANALAYA (http://www.chetanalaya.org.in)
• Description of fieldwork setting
Domestic Work was never considered as a ‘job’ per say. You know, like the ‘9 to 5’ jobs that people normally do. They are often not at all considered when one talks about a country’s workforce. Even when the unorganised sector is talked about, domestic work is largely ignored. For instance, this is how the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in its survey in 2009–10 described the Indian scenario of employment and workforce. “The total employment in the country was of 46.5 crore comprising around 2.8 crore in the organised and the remaining 43.7 crore workers in the unorganised sector. Out of these workers in the unorganised sector, there are 24.6 crore workers employed in agricultural sector, about 4.4 crore in construction work and remaining in manufacturing and service.” So one can see why and how domestic work is often considered the ‘grey’ area of the workforce. According to a United Nation’s report on ‘Rights for Domestic Workers’, the disregard for domestic work as a ‘job’ also stems from the fact, that unlike other forms of labour market activity, domestic work takes place in an unconventional place of work, i.e. the ‘household’. And gaining public acceptance of a household as a place of work is a challenge. Added to this, is the challenge of implementing labour laws such as minimum wages and regularized work hours, which are essential elements of any kind of work.
When it comes to domestic work, its nature is quite unique and complex as compared to other forms of work. This is because firstly, the sector lacks any effective means of regulating working conditions. And secondly, implementation of labour laws poses a daunting task for the government since the act of a labour inspector entering a private household and ensuring regulations does not bode well with privacy norms.
We are also well aware of how domestic workers are ill treated and how terrible their working conditions are. They are sexually harassed, tortured physically and mentally, made to work over time, no formal system of paid or unpaid leave, no medical cover and the list goes on. It just goes to show how the country, the economy, the government, the people and we in general take domestic workers and the work done by them for granted. Think about that one day when our ‘naukrani’ did not come for work. Wasn’t the entire household in chaos? I for one, cringe when the ‘didi’ employed at my home does not come for work. Because her absence meant that it would be my duty to do the dishes for that day. No, I’m not complaining. I realised that to make things easier for my working mom and dad, it’s the least I could do. But doing so made me appreciate the work domestic workers do and I always felt that they should be treated with due respect and dignity that any other working personnel gets.
As a social work trainee I have currently been assigned to the Dwarka field area, where I work with the area’s DWF zonal coordinator Ms. Bimlesh. This field is divided according to the various sectors where domestic workers live. In these various sectors several micro groups consisting of domestic workers themselves function productively by organising meetings on a regular basis. These micro group meetings serve as a platform for the workers to present their problems, talk about it, vent out their frustration, learn and be aware about their rights and laws. In Dwarka alone there are approximately 150-200 domestic workers that DWF works with.
• Perspectives applicable
Even though there is not much to say in terms of labour laws and legislations aimed specifically at domestic workers, several states have attempted a variety of approaches to protect their rights.
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 and Tamil Nadu have also constituted Welfare Boards for domestic workers, who are now able to avail 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. (UN Report on Rights for Domestic Workers)
Sr. No. States/Union Territories Minimum Wage (in Rs.)
Per hour Per day Per month Effective date
1 Andhra Pradesh 12.5 107 2800 10.12.2007
2 Bihar 17 132 01.10.2011
3 Karnataka 149.89 01.04.2011
4 Rajasthan 504 01.01.2011
5 Jharkhand 16 145.54 – 01.04.2012
SOURCE: Paycheck.in – Domestic Work in India
Apart from this several other legislations such as the Unorganized Social Security Act, 2008, Sexual Harassment against Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and Minimum Wages Schedules notified in various states have been amended to include domestic workers within their ambit. However, there remains an absence of a comprehensive and a uniformly applicable national legislation that guarantees fair terms of employment and decent working conditions. There is absolutely no reason why domestic workers should not be guaranteed the same terms of employment as enjoyed by other workers.
• Specific role
As an intern at DWF, I carry out administrative tasks, documentation work and other miscellaneous work like working on grant proposals and so on. At the field, I along with my field co-worker Ms. Bimlesh go around, visiting different sectors and field areas in Dwarka. Here, we visit the domestic workers who are members of DWF, enrol new workers into the forum and organise meetings. For me so far it has been to learn, build a rapport and to bring a sort of familiarity between myself and the workers. Also since Ms. Bimlesh can’t read and write I help her to write her reports and complete her other office related work.
I am also currently working on an impact assessment survey being conducted by DWF. As a part of the survey my co-worker and I went to different sectors filling up questionnaires, as Ms. Bimlesh explained the questions and I jotted them down quickly.
• Prospective role
As I go ahead with my fieldwork and continue working as a trainee with DWF, I hope to be completely aware of the rules and rights of domestic workers. This will empower me to work more effectively for the cause of the domestic workers.
During my field visits, one major problem that I came across which all domestic workers face is the absence of a recreational-cum-creche centre where domestic workers can leave their young children and go for their work without having to worry about them being alone all day long. It was a felt and a perceived need. After discussions with my department and agency supervisor I hope to work on this issue and come up with a sustainable solution/model where the domestic workers themselves will run the centre. I also look forward to be a part of research projects that DWF carries out.
• Integration of values, principles and theories related to social work
While working in any field setting, it is very important to keep in mind the various ethics and core values of the social work profession in mind. One of the foremost values while working with domestic workers in specific and others in general is the dignity and worth of a person. As social workers it is very important that we respect the inherent dignity and worth of a person. While working with domestic workers it is very important to respect the work and the workers themselves. Many people I know consider household chores to be a low level of work. But what they don’t realise is that by doing so, domestic workers ease the burden of running a household and enable women to pursue their career. This wouldn’t have been possible if they themselves had to look after their children as well as their homes. Another most important value is integrity and social workers must always behave in a trustworthy manner. One cannot give false promises to their clients. As a trainee, I was strictly told by my agency to act honestly and responsibly and promote ethical practices. They gave me an example of how one of their previous employees would lure workers and enrol them as members of DWF on the pretext of helping them get a ration card. There were members for DWF for sure. But there were no ration cards. For the agency, it was a tough task to repair the relationships that had been broken by one act of dishonesty. Further social justice is one very important value, which drives me, the team of DWF and Chetanalaya to work for the cause of domestic workers. After all, what is our role as social workers if we can’t strive for social justice and equality for all the members of the society?
References
1. 2016 Chetanalaya – Promotion of Rights of Domestic Workers & Prevention of Trafficking (http://www.chetanalaya.org.in/interventions/promotion-of-rights-of-domestic-workers-prevention-of-trafficking/)
2. WageIndicator 2016 – Paycheck.in – Domestic Work in India (www.paycheck.in)
3. (WIEGO) © 2016 – Domestic Workers in India (http://wiego.org/informal_economy_law/domestic-workers-india)
4. United Nations 2013 – Rights for Domestic Workers (http://in.one.un.org/page/rights-for-domestic-workers)
5. 2016 C-DAC – Unorganised labour force in India (http://vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/unorganised-sector-1/categories-of-unorganised-labour-force)