What women domestic workers want

Listen to these women domestic workers to learn about their issues and demands like pension, equality, scholarship for children and dignity.

RJ Priyanka and Geetha Menon of Stree Jagriti Samiti interact with some women domestic workers to understand more about their demands for basic things like ID cards, monthly pensions and humane treatment. These women were protesting at Karmikara Bhavana recently.

Geetha Menon spoke with representatives of Gruhakarmikara Hakkugala union which has been working with domestic helpers, both part-time or full time. Their demand is that domestic workers be treated in a humane manner and be considered as service providers not servants or slaves. They talk about harassments and disparities.

The four major demands that the workers were protesting for were:

  1. Registration and issuance of ID cards
  2. Reason for delay in issuing labour cards
  3. Concerns of migrant workers to be addressed without further delay
  4. Samajika Bhadrata Mandali (for promoting Social Security facility) was established in 2011.

Nothing has moved however. Clarity is needed regarding the same

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

The Saundarya story: Ahmedabad’s women-led cooperative presents alternative to modern gig work

Saundarya, a women's cooperative formed by organising marginalised informal workers, provides professional housekeeping services in the city.

Ten years back, Kamlaben Chavda was a stay-at-home mother of two children in the Gomtipur ward, at the far eastern end of Ahmedabad. Till one day, a neighbour and relative asked Kamlaben to accompany her to where she worked, the Saundarya Safai Utkarsh Mahila Sewa Sahakari Mandali Ltd. Today, thanks to that visit and the work she eventually found through Saundarya, Kamlaben says, “Now I have this experience where I can confidently go to any workplace and perform. And I can definitely say that I am standing where I am because of the support of my mandali (cooperative).”  Kamlaben is…

Similar Story

From Kovalam to Kokilamedu, livelihoods of hundreds threatened by proposed Mamallan reservoir

Citizen Matters travelled from Kovalam to Mahabalipuram to talk to fisher communities about the upcoming Mamallan reservoir dam project

With eyes closed, *Jayalakshmi wades in and weaves through the Great Salt Lake, in the Kovalam-Nemmeli backwaters, her fingers scooping up prawns and fish. From morning to evening, she fills prawns inside a bag punctured with holes at the bottom. For as long as she can remember, the 43-year-old, who belongs to the Irular community in Thiruvidanthai, Chengalpattu, has practised the art of catching prawns and fish, by hand.  “Everything depends on this aaru (the lake). We know exactly where the prawns are, beyond the thorns, snakes and seru(mud or mud flats ”she says. The salt burns her eyes and…