Domestic Help

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a comprehensive legal framework and enforcement of minimum wages for domestic workers, saying it cannot issue a writ asking the Centre and states to consider amending existing laws. The top court also observed that trade unionism has been largely responsible for stopping the industrial growth in the country. "How many industrial units in the country have been closed thanks to trade unions? Let us know the realities. All traditional industries in the country, all because of these 'jhanda' unions have been closed, all throughout the country. They don't want to work. These trade union leaders are largely responsible for stopping industrial growth in the country," Chief Justice Surya Kant said. "Of course exploitation is there, but there are means to address exploitation. People should have been made more aware of their individual rights, people should have been made more skilled, there were several other reforms which ...

Unprotected labour sector: Cases of abuse against domestic workers in India continue to be a reality. What does this informal sector look like and what laws are in place to protect them?

The complainants in the case withdrew their allegations, stating in court that they had been misled into signing statements they did not even understand

Private agencies providing domestic helps to households in the national capital will have to mandatorily undergo police verification to get licence from the Labour department, officials said on Saturday. These agencies have to register themselves on the e-district portal under the Delhi Private Placement Agency (Regulation) Order 2014, according to a notice issued by the office of the Labour Commissioner. The registration is without any fee and the process can be completed online. The move will not only regulate the largely unregulated placement services sector in Delhi but also do a lot of good by protecting poor men and women from other states who work in the city homes as domestic helps and do other menial jobs, officials said. According to an estimate, there are more than 20,000 placement agencies and at least five lakh domestic workers in the national capital, a majority of them coming from other states, they said. The officials said police verification will be mandatory befo

Amid a social media uproar over a pilot and her husband being beaten up for allegedly abusing a minor domestic help, IndiGo on Wednesday said it has derostered an employee from duties and the matter is being investigated. Without specifically mentioning about the case, an IndiGo spokesperson said it is aware of a video circulating on social media that allegedly involves an individual employed by the airline. "We are currently investigating the matter. Meanwhile, the employee has been derostered from official duties," the spokesperson said in a statement. A 10-year-old girl working as a domestic help at a couple's house in southwest Delhi's Dwarka was allegedly beaten up by the two on Wednesday, following which a mob manhandled the duo, police said. The accused Kaushik Bagchi (36) and Poornima Bagchi (33) have been arrested for assaulting the minor, they said. According to the police, the woman works as a pilot in a private airline while her husband is deployed as a ground staff

A 10-year-old girl working as a domestic help at a couple's house in southwest Delhi's Dwarka was allegedly beaten up by them on Wednesday, following which a group of agitated people manhandled the duo. The accused -- Kaushik Bagchi (36) and Poornima Bagchi (33) -- have been arrested in connection with the incident, they said. Police said the woman works as a pilot with a private airline while her husband is deployed with the ground staff in another private airline. After the incident came to light, the couple was confronted by the victim's relatives and others who also manhandled them. The minor girl was employed at the couple's house through the victim's relative who also works in a nearby house, they added. In a purported video, the alleged couple could be seen manhandled and beaten up by a mob. Some of the women were also seen slapping and pulling the hair of the accused woman who was in her uniform. Poornima was heard apologising in the video while Kaushik was seen shielding

Today is International Domestic Workers' Day. The sector remains unregulated, but a clutch of start-ups is trying to change that

Employers believe they pay enough, do not consider skills while setting the wage and favour "trustworthiness" over caste and religion, found a study of households in Bengaluru and Chennai

The 2020 lockdown and the partial state shutdowns have hurt millions of informal workers in India, with female workers bearing the brunt of the crisis

We've cheered "Essential Workers", as the light has been shone on the people in the shadows, who actually make the world go round

Women entrepreneurs are struggling to survive, women employed as domestic help in cities, at construction sites and in call centres, and in handicraft and retail units, have lost jobs

An Indian couple here has been jailed and fined up to 15,000 Singapore dollars after being found guilty of abusing their domestic helper from India, a media report said

Most domestic work is informal, leaving workers vulnerable, especially in times of crisis like Covid-19

Informal surveys indicate 85 per cent of these workers found themselves unceremoniously thrown out of jobs or forced to accept pay cuts during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown

While a few individual households have opened their gates to domestic workers, many of the societies/ apartments/ localities are yet to stop being sceptical about them in reality

Govt working on policy to regularise migrant workers, labour ministry puts out broad contours of the policy for public discussion