‘We need dignity and protection’: Domestic workers seek law, welfare board for Telangana’s 11 lakh-strong workforce

A dedicated instrumentality for home workers, the instauration of a payment board, societal information coverage, minimum wages and extortion from unit and exploitation were among the cardinal demands raised by astir 200 home workers arsenic they marked International Domestic Workers’ Day successful Hyderabad connected Tuesday.

The workers, represented by the Gruhakarmikula Union Telangana State (GUTS) and the National Platform of Domestic Workers (NPDW), submitted a memorandum to Telangana Labour and Employment Minister G. Vivek Venkat Swamy, urging the State authorities to enact broad authorities for the sector. Slogans, placards and banners filled the hall.

The memorandum highlighted the plight of much than 11 lakh home workers successful Telangana, galore of whom stay extracurricular the ambit of labour protections contempt playing a captious relation successful households and the municipality economy. It sought statutory designation of home workers arsenic workers, mandatory registration of workers and employers, a dedicated payment committee and fund, inclusion nether Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF) schemes, enforcement of minimum wages, regulated moving hours, extortion from harassment and entree to affordable housing.

“Before joining the union, I saw myself arsenic conscionable a home worker. I was not treated with respect, worked agelong hours and faced galore challenges and believed that was however beingness was. After joining the union, I became alert of my rights and realised that home workers merit the aforesaid respect and extortion arsenic immoderate different worker,” said Arundathi, a home idiosyncratic from NTR Nagar.

GUTS and NPDW president Varghese Theckanat said home enactment remains 1 of the largest employment sectors but continues to deficiency capable ineligible safeguards. “This is specified a ample assemblage employing a important fig of women and children, yet it has nary protection. Domestic workers person been neglected due to the fact that they enactment wrong homes dissimilar different workers who are disposable successful nationalist spaces,” helium said.

Mr Theckanat noted that the Supreme Court had precocious placed work connected State governments to guarantee the information and payment of home workers.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister said a committee would beryllium constituted to survey the issues raised and urge measures to code them. He besides said authorities would look into the revision of minimum wages and noted that respective categories of workers successful the unorganised assemblage look akin challenges.

“There are galore radical moving crossed antithetic unorganised sectors. We volition bring each unneurotic and enactment towards a broad instrumentality that covers them. I volition instrumentality up this contented and guarantee that the concerns raised contiguous are examined seriously,” helium said.

The memorandum called for the constitution of a Domestic Workers Welfare Board to administer benefits specified arsenic maternity assistance, old-age pensions and decease benefits. It besides projected earmarking 1% of municipal taxation revenues for home workers’ welfare.

The organisations further demanded yearly wellness check-ups, compensation for workplace injuries, play paid days off, strict enforcement of minimum wages and stronger mechanisms to code wage theft, verbal maltreatment and intersexual harassment. They besides sought authoritative individuality cards to assistance workers entree payment schemes and affordable lodging person to their workplaces.

“We impulse the authorities to represent a tripartite committee, comprising commercialized national representatives and labour rights experts, employers and authorities officials, to finalise and walk the draught authorities successful the upcoming assembly session,” the practice said.