“I have chosen to do this work,” says Anita Rokade, a domestic worker living in Badlapur, outside Mumbai. Anita, who lost her husband years ago, has to earn to provide for her children. But giving time to her children is her priority. Domestic work offers her the flexibility to attend parent-teacher meetings, drop her children off at school, and rush home in case of an emergency. While she does not mind the demanding physical labour that comes with her job, she is clear that domestic workers need laws for their protection and well-being.

This January, the Supreme Court, while hearing the case of a domestic worker from Chhattisgarh, mirrored Anita’s sentiments. The worker had been employed by a staff member of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, who allegedly locked her inside his house before leaving with his family. He left a key with a neighbour who gave her water and kept watch on her. A few days later, the worker managed to contact the police, who then rescued her.

In their judgement, Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said: “…we seek to affirm this important livelihood that is available to so many women, which brings them one step closer to financial security and the accompanying independence. Our concerns instead lie with the non-regulation of this crucial labour sector, which often leads to the aforementioned malignant results.”

The court pointed out that, over the years, multiple Bills to protect domestic workers’ rights were introduced in Parliament but never enacted. The judgement directed the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the Ministry of Law and Justice to jointly form a committee of experts “to consider the desirability of recommending a legal framework” to protect domestic workers’ rights.

Current laws don’t help domestic workers

India’s labour laws are neither directly related to domestic workers nor created considering their challenges and needs, says Geetha Menon. Geetha is co-founder of Stree Jagruti Samiti, an organisation which fights for domestic workers’ rights. “The most important thing in any legislation is the definition. And this is most critical in the case of domestic workers,” she says. From such definition stem answers to questions like who is a domestic worker, what kind of work comes under their ambit, what counts as a workplace, and more. 

The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, does cover domestic workers under the ‘wage workers’ category. “The problem is, the definition of social security, the benefits the workers are entitled to get, none of these are specified under the Act. So it is all very arbitrary. It’s left to the whims of the National Social Security Board, which is set up under the Act, to decide what schemes will be introduced,” says Gayatri Singh, a human rights lawyer practising at the Bombay High Court.

Under this Act, the central government has to formulate welfare schemes related to life and disability cover, health, maternity benefits and old age protection for unorganised workers. And state governments have to create schemes related to workers’ housing, their children’s education, employment injury benefit, provident fund and more. 

The Act mentions schemes for certain categories of workers, such as handloom weavers, but not domestic workers. It also lists some schemes for all unorganised workers. For example, the insurance scheme Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana — which has now been merged with the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) — applies to workers across sectors aged between 15 and 50 years.

However, Gayatri explains, “When this Act was enacted, the government said register first and then you will get the benefits. Several workers registered, and the result was that they got nothing. So people became disheartened and stopped registering.”

Separate from the Act, the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) scheme, introduced in 2019, does cover domestic workers. Under this scheme, the worker and the government contribute an equal amount monthly, so that the worker would get a monthly pension of at least ₹3,000 after the age of 60. But “it’s not working as it should, because people have not really accepted it,” says Geetha. Besides, workers have to enrol for the scheme via the e-Shram portal, but registration camps are not held regularly, she adds.

Read more: From India’s urban landscape: The aspirations and struggles of migrant workers

Besides social security, getting minimum wages is a challenge for domestic workers.

The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, applies only to the categories of work listed in the Act’s schedule. The Act doesn’t apply to domestic work since it is not listed. State governments can notify other categories of work under the Act, but only 13 states have notified domestic work. Among them are Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which are also the only states to pass the Domestic Workers Welfare Board Act that has provisions for minimum wages.

“With a pan-India law for domestic workers, states can frame specific rules. Otherwise states are not doing anything,” Gayatri says.

Both the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act and the Minimum Wages Act have been subsumed into the labour codes enacted in 2019 and 2020, which are expected to come into effect soon. Activists also raise several issues with the labour codes. For example, the Code on Wages, 2019, defines an employee broadly as anyone “…employed on wages by an establishment.” It does not mention domestic workers or the household as a workplace, says Gayatri.

No fair pay or working conditions

One of the foremost demands of domestic workers is to be counted as workers, particularly as their labour contributes significantly to the GDP, says Geetha.

Reiterating this, Anita points out that her employers can do their work because of her labour. She says, “I am given the status of a servant. But will our employers get clean clothes, meals and a clean house unless we work?”

Unfortunately, domestic workers are denied even basic courtesy and humane treatment. Anita recounts an employer once yelling at her for taking sick leave, not believing she was ill. When asked what she would like to see included in a law for domestic workers’ protection, Anita demands provisions for medical insurance and pension so that they do not have to work beyond 60 years.

Read more: Domestic workers face issues like wage theft, harassment, but have no one to complain to

Usha Deore, a domestic worker at three households in Navi Mumbai, narrates how exploitative employers can be: “They pay us for making one meal, but get us to cook both lunch and dinner. We end up spending more time at work because of this.” She says her employers send her videos of any work they think is pending, but are not as meticulous when it comes to salary hikes. They don’t give her an annual raise until she asks for it.

Lata, a domestic worker in Navi Mumbai, has had employers who cheated her, didn’t pay on time, or cut wages. Some employers don’t pay her for extra work, but cut wages if she falls sick. She says she cannot protest against such practices as she needs the work. “No one pays heed to us at the police station. There is no law to protect us,” she adds.

Geetha says a law for domestic workers should have provisions for employment contracts that cover pay slips, paid leave, regular pay hikes, and bonuses. Moreover, both domestic workers and employers should be registered in a database with the labour department, to ensure fair working conditions. The workers should also get a registration card and ID, adds Geetha.

Workers want dignity, safety

Imagine being frisked each time you enter and leave your workplace. It would lead to an uproar as people protest against the violation of their dignity. Yet this is the reality for many domestic workers.

Employers often treat them like criminals, asking them to undergo police verification. Registering domestic workers at the police station is not mandatory in India, but is encouraged. Some gated communities subject workers to bag checks. Anita recalls how an employer accused one of her colleagues of theft. The employer checked her bag, and even took her money claiming it was stolen. Further, they threatened to call the police.

Domestic workers face other forms of humiliation too. Some employers don’t allow them to sit in the building compound to eat lunch, or to use toilets. Such discriminatory practices are often caste-coded.

Read more: “Cities must give a lot more to informal workers they engage”: Public policy expert

Lata hopes that a law for domestic workers will provide her with a safe working environment and insurance cover for accidents. To illustrate her point, she shares a disturbing experience: the gas cylinder at one of her workplaces is leaking, but the employer refuses to make repairs, which puts Lata at risk.

The domestic workers Citizen Matters spoke to say some of their colleagues have experienced sexual harassment. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, does cover domestic workers. But the affected women do not complain due to fear of repercussion or character assassination, they say. The women are keenly aware that they can fall victim to predatory behaviour. Lata, for example, tries to prevent harassment by putting a condition in place when accepting a job — that no one should enter the kitchen while she works.

The need for a legal framework to protect domestic workers, informed by their demands, is urgent. For way too long, their concerns and difficulties have been ignored. Their labour, which enables people to hold jobs, contribute to the economy and live a fruitful life, has been invisibilised.

“The court’s orders must be followed, and this law should be created and implemented as soon as possible. The injustice against us must be addressed,” says Anita.

Also read:

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• Hidden, unsung, Mumbai’s piece rate workers toil away for meagre returns
• Without documents, most migrant workers’ children find access to education elusive