Better deal for domestic workers?

Instead of another law or policy, implement the existing ones

Earlier this week, the labour and employment ministry gave some good news to around five million domestic workers by proposing legal status to them. The draft, which has been put up for public feedback, plans to formulate a national policy that will ensure minimum wages and equal remuneration to the domestic workers. According to the notice, a national policy would facilitate recognition of part-time and full-time domestic help as “workers”, with the right to register with the state labour department.

In a wise move, the ministry has also proposed elaborate guidelines for private placement agencies. The absence of legislation in this area meant a thriving industry of illegal private placement agencies. According to a report commissioned by the ministry of women and child development, these agencies lure women from rural areas to cities promising them lucrative salary, lifestyle and benefits. Many of the victims are of tribal origin from poor areas and are often subjected to abuses, such as working around the clock, physical violence, sexual assaults and even threat to their lives. In most cases, these go undetected. This is the story of tens of thousands of domestic workers who work day in, day out, often in the shadows of others’ homes, without rights, entitlements or social protection.

No can deny that India’s domestic workers (according to estimates, an overwhelming 3.5 million are women) who perform tasks that are not recognised as “work” need help. But the question that lingers is will such a “national policy” help? After all, there is no shortage of legislation even now: Unorganized Social Security Act, 2008, and Sexual Harassment against Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, are just two examples. The former, which at least recognised domestic work as “work”, was passed in 2008 and mandated the formation of a state social security board to recommend, advise, and monitor social welfare schemes for unorganised workers (including domestic workers). The Act also provided for the formation of workers’ facilitation centres for registration of such workers.

None of this has been implemented in a large number of states yet. Then, there are scores of versions of Bills to “regulate and improve the condition of domestic workers”. These include provisions for compulsory registration of agencies, employers and workers and regulation of working conditions. Unfortunately, these Bills never made it past the draft stage. The other issue is labour is a state subject and a policy brought out by the Centre can at best be a moral persuasion.

There are other challenges, too. Even if you have a law in place, how does one implement and monitor it? According to United Nations, unlike other forms of labour market activity, domestic work takes place in an unconventional place of work, i.e. the household. Implementation of labour laws such as minimum wages and regularised work hours, which are essential elements of any kind of work, also remain a challenge. Such regulation is complex because the nature of domestic work is unique compared to other forms of work. The sector lacks effective means to regulate working conditions, for example, through streamlined job descriptions which could be offered through standard contracts, the UN says.

This is not to say that it’s a story of all doom and gloom. Some of the states such as Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have indeed taken several steps to improve the working conditions of domestic workers and to provide access to social security schemes. Seven of them have introduced minimum wages for domestic workers and at least three have constituted welfare boards for domestic workers who are able to avail of welfare benefits by registering with these boards.

But the fact still is that a vast majority of those eligible for these welfare measures still slip through the cracks. The government has done well in the past to extend the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana to cover domestic workers, entitling them, and three members of their families, to health insurance cover. The extension of such programmes can be a better option. It’s also not a bad idea to ratify the International Labour Organisation standards for employment of domestic workers setting limits on working hours and in-kind payments, ensuring a day per week of holiday and mandating clear terms and conditions of work.

In any case, these are better options than enacting yet another legislation that can be a frustrating process and worse, may not serve its intended purpose.