Delhi govt forms committee to solve problems of domestic help

To ensure better working conditions for domestic helps in the national capital, the Delhi government today set up a committee to look into their terms of employment including weekly holiday, minimum wages and other facilities.
The government's move came after representatives of 'National Platform for Domestic Workers' today met Delhi Labour Minister Gopal Rai and raised their issues before him on the "World Domestic Labour day".
According to government, Deputy Speaker of Delhi Assembly Bandana Kumari will head the Committee while the others members include parliamentary secretary Naresh Yadav, some officials of Labour Department and representatives of domestic workers association.

"This committee has been asked to give its report on minimum wages, social security, health benefit of domestic helps and it will also suggest ways to stop their exploitation by the employers," Rai said while addressing a conference organised on the "Rights of Domestic Helps" here.
The Minister also said the government would take all possible steps to implement suggestions of the committee.
"Government will soon make new laws to ensure that domestic helps get minimum wages, weekly holiday, social security and others facilities," the minister said.

We are also working for registration of domestic helps so that they could get benefits of all schemes run by the state government, he added.

"Despite being good numbers of domestic helps in the capital, they are deprived of labour rights due to which they are facing several challenges," Rai said.
Speaking on the rights of maids, the minister said that government was also committed to ensure legal security, maternity leave for maids and build creches for their children.