Chenamma, who once worked as a domestic worker, is struggling to find work. “I feel healthy mentally and physically when I work. However, because I am old now, no household or office wants me as a domestic help,” says the 60-year-old, adding that she does not enjoy borrowing money from her family.
Like most other people who work in the unorganised sector, Chenamma, has no financial backup. “I don’t have any government services like PF or ESI, and domestic work is the only way I can meet my daily needs,” she says.
Chenamma was one of the many women who participated in a public hearing focusing on the rights of female domestic workers’ rights, held at the St Joseph’s College of Commerce on Wednesday. Organised by the Domestic Workers Rights Union and spearheaded by activist Geeta Menon, the event sought to address hardships faced by these workers in the city, including poor working conditions and denial of wages.
Another participant was Lakshmamma, who was denied wages by her former employer. As union workers pointed out, that the labour laws of the county do not recognise domestic work as “work.” The negotiation of wages is often arbitrary and the decision of the employer is final, they added.
Other issues
Soni, a domestic worker from Jharkhand, spoke about the challenges she faced as a live-in migrant worker. “I was brought to Delhi by an agent from Jharkhand and then sent to Bengaluru,” says Soni, alleging that she was a victim of trafficking. The conditions she dealt with back then were horrific. “I lived with a family as a domestic help. I was allowed to rest only for three hours a day. My salary was very minimal and that too would be held by the employer,” she says, adding that it took her many years to escape this situation. She now lives independently and works for multiple employers.
Some of the other issues that were discussed at the event included workplace safety, health, protection, social security accident cases, health, post-COVID-19 issues, sexual harassment, theft allegations, domestic work in the gig economy, and more. Senior domestic workers also spoke about how the removal or non-inclusion of their names in smart cards or e-Shram cards has made it difficult to meet their daily needs.
A citizen jury, which comprised senior advocate B.T. Venkatesh, social-political activist Akkai Padmashali, environmental activist and ex-MLA Sowmya Reddy, retired IAS officer Renuka Vishwanathan and senior members of the Domestic Workers Rights Union, offered suggestions on combating these issues at the program.
A similiar attempt
A similar public hearing was conducted in 2021, where the domestic workers came together to form a jury and suggested measures to various government departments to address their issues. Some of the issues that were discussed, included the following: the need to treat domestic workers with equality, dignity, and respect, measures to establish better working conditions, and the necessity of forums between employees and employers, among other things.
However, since the union saw no response or change through the government departments, this time the union chose to engage with a citizen jury.
The Domestic Workers’ Rights Union currently works in three major cities of Karnataka -- Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Belgavi. In the past decade, the union has built up an active union of women workers to build ground leadership and a conscious identity of women workers.
