Most call them ‘maids’. Hardly anyone addresses them as ‘housekeepers.’ The children call them ‘didi‘. Different names but all are one when it comes to their utility.
Almost no one can do without them! The reasons are many. Working women, convenience- centric lifestyles, preoccupation with other pursuits, aversion to a certain type of work, and so on!
The domestics originate largely from the eastern part of the country. They migrate to Delhi in large numbers as the demand here far outstrips the supply. This gap has certainly given them bargaining power. From 24/7 to 12 hours to part-time, they choose jobs that suit them. Gradually but surely they have learnt to resist snubs and shabby treatment. With them operating as small pressure groups, two days off in a month has become an unwritten rule. They often go beyond this break attributing it to sickness, festivals, etc.
The foregoing study gives the impression that all is well with them. But try and grasp the following facts-
1. Most part-timers live in a cramped 10’×10′ room
2. No proper sanitation & water supply
3. Most employers do not allow them to use toilets in their home
4. Keep long hours and pick up more jobs than they should to make more money, affecting their health adversely.
5. They have to go home and attend to their own family’s needs too.
6. No leisure time at all
7. Blaming someone for a missing item starts with them
8. They are a part of almost 50 million such workers in the unorganized sector with no rights guaranteed by the govt. for long.
However, the Domestic Workers Act 2019 allows them a right to form their associations/unions, the right to minimum wages and access to social security, the right to enhance their skills, protection from abuse and exploitation, giving them access to courts and tribunals for grievance redressal!
National Platform for Domestic Workers has been pressing for central legislation as well as ratification of the ILO Convention 189, ‘ Decent Work for Domestic Workers ‘ passed in 2011.
Recently our colony saw an initiative suggesting a fair increase, say 10 %, from 1st Jan on the existing wages (which naturally differ from one household to the other) considering high levels of inflation! The response was by no means encouraging!
Isn’t it time that we all work for a relationship defined by fairness and empathy? The Western world shows where we are finally headed almost total absence of domestic help!
Will we change before we have to?
