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VOLUME 6, ISSUE 1(2), JANUARY 2017

LEGAL PROTECTION TO WOMEN DOMESTIC WORKERS IN

INDIA

K.Dhamodharan
Research Scholar (Ph.D) Law
Kalinga University,Raipur

Abstract

Domestic workers constitute an integral part of the labour force

worldwide.Despite domestic work spines to refurbishing and sustaining
life and is critically linked to social and economic development, it is not
regulated in many contexts. In the absence of protective legislations,
the domestic workers, especially women who dominate the dismal scene
are terribly affected throughout the world. The condition is even worse
in our country as incidents of human rights violation against women
domestic workers are often reported and many cases are filed against
the employers by the victims. The working conditions and conditions of
employment women construction workers are very pathetic and
hamper their growth and development. The legal rights of the women
domestic workers are violated in many forms as no protective labour
legislations lead them for overall growth and sustainable development.
This paper examines the problems of women domestic workers and the
importance of protective labour laws for their sustainable development.
Absence of protective laws also pave way to devalue the economic and
social contribution of domestic work to development, it also
exacerbates abuse and exploitation of workers which includes contract
substitution, poor wages, non-payment or delayed payment of wages,
very long hours of work, no break periods or rest days, restrictions on
freedom of movement and association, no access to collective
bargaining, inadequate food and accommodation, including lack of
privacy, sexual and gender-based violence etc. The paper concludes the
importance of legal protection in the context of development.

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Key words: Domestic worker, sustainable development, human

rights, working conditions,conditions of employment,

INTRODUCTION

The legal protectionto women workers is the basic foundation for the
sustainable development. Women workers must have adequate legal
protection for secured jobs and for leadership. Only by elimination the
legal obstacles and by providing advanced education and vocation
training the sustainable development for the future can be
accomplished as a remarkable contribution by the women workers
especially in unorganized sector helps in enhancing the GDP. If we take
a look at the current state of affairs of severe economic and social
change in the context of various ages that we have passed, we have to
understand that there have been issues regarding the development of
women workers. The recognition extended to the women by the society
in nation stands as a bench mark for sustainable development. A soft
arm that swings the tiny cradle signs and rules is the examples for
many women leaders around the globe. It is the need of the hour to
protect the women at places. Fortified women - sustainable future are
two sides of a same coin. In this backdrop the protective laws and its
way to sustainable development of women domestic workers are
discussed in this paper.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Thousands of complaints of exploitation and abuse were

received by various courts in India every year and most of them were
about unpaid wages, food deprivation and long work hours with verbal,
physical and sexual abuse against women domestic workers. “Many
cases are never officially reported, due to the domestic workers'
confinement in private homes, lack of information about their rights
and ability of the employer to deport/ relieve them before they can
actually seek help. Physical and sexual abuse against domestic workers

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is often reported in the media. Various studies and reports also reveal
that domestic workers are subjected to discrimination on grounds of
religion, caste and ethnicity. This is not only in India but globally
present with its manifestations. In his book “From Servants to
Workers” Ally integrates sociological insights with the often-
heartbreaking life histories of female domestic workers in South Africa
and provides rich detail of the streets, homes, and churches of
Johannesburg where these women work, live, and socialize.

According to Anderson (2000) the institutional setting of the

household (domestic worker) is very different from that of a
commercial setting. Often, these challenges are placed in a law and
order framework instead of a labour rights framework. Regulating
domestic work through legislation is the only way to address abuses
against domestic workers which could lead to sustainable development.
Data released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in
February 2014, published in response to a question tabled in the upper
house of Parliament, track reports of violence against domestic helpers
between 2010 and 2012. Overall, in India’s 28 states and 7 union
territories, there were 3,564 cases of alleged violence against domestic
workers reported in 2012, up slightly from 3,517 in 2011 and 3,422 in
2010.ILO has released two reports viz. ‘Decent Work for Domestic
Workers (2010)’ and ‘Moving towards Decent Work for Domestic
Workers’ that focus on children as domestic help/child labour. The
Reports highlight problems of domestic workers, child labour, forced
labour, conditions of work, wages, remunerations, migration of workers
and need for providing social protection, occupational safety and health,
regulating domestic work, setting standard for promotion of decent
work and enforcement of labour laws. There has been an incredible
growth in the demand for domestic workers which has led to the
trafficking and other forms of exploitation of millions of Women and
children. There are many placement agencies deputing domestic

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workers. Often these placement agencies exploit the situation and

mislead the women domestic workers. The women domestic workers
are trafficked and remain outside the purview of any legislative control.
Only 8 per cent in India are employed in organized sector have the laws
to protect them and 92 % employed in Unorganised sector are deprived
of the same.

Absence of legal protection, has led to severe exploitation

women and children which include depriving domestic workers from
minimum wages. Their working hours are not regulated and many of
them were found working more then 16-18 hours of work per day. Even
a considerable numbers of the women workers are were unable to get
proper food. Incidents of sexual exploitation by agent during transit, at
the office of agency and at the work place in houses of employers, were
reported frequently led to the necessity of protective laws. Women
workers constitute majority in unorganized sector. Women Domestic
workers are includes in the category of unorganized workers. The term
“domestic worker” means, a person who is employed for remuneration
whether in cash or kind, in any household through any agency or
directly, either on a temporary or permanent, part time or full time
basis to do the household work, but does not include any member of the
family of an employer: No official statistics are available for the total
number of women domestic workers. However NSSO (61st Round,
2004-5) reveals an approximate figure of approximately 4.2 million
domestic workers in the country. According to National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO) data, the number of women employed as domestic
workers increased fourfold from 1999-2000 to 2009-2010. There is no
disputing that the majority of domestic workers in India are women.

The contribution of women domestic workers are systematically

eliminated by the statistical authorities in India. Also the legislators
equally bounded the vulnerable domestic workers from benefits of
protective legislations. The Government of Tamilnadu included

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domestic workers in their Manual Workers Act, 1982. Maharashtra has

published a code of conduct. Under Section 27 (A) of the Maharashtra
State Public Service Conduct Act, 1997, the Maharashtra government
prohibits government employees from employing children below 14 as
domestic workers. Karnataka has notified minimum wages for domestic
workers and Kerala has followed suit

THE DOMESTIC WORKERS WELFARE AND SOCIAL

SECURITY ACT 2010

In Its preamble “the Domestic workers Welfare and Social Security Act
2010”.clearly stated the issue of exploitation of women and children
domestic workers. It was rightly stated that most of the domestic
workers remain as contemporary slaves. The preamble emphasizes the
fact that many women and children are trafficked and exploited by the
placement agencies, which operate openly without any form of
restrictions and regulations. The Act protects the employment of girl
under the age of 18 as domestic worker. The Act under section 8
provides for the establishment of District Board for Domestic Workers.
A separate Domestic workers welfare fund is to be created under
section 19 of the Act. The Act provides for the Central Advisory
Committee and State Advisory committee. The state Board supervises
the District Board. The District Board created under the DWWASS Act
2010 is charged with the registration of domestic workers. Under this
any women who above the age 18 and below 60 who engage herself as
domestic worker can register her name with the board. The registered
beneficiary are entitle to financial assistance in case of accidents,
financial assistance to children education, provision for medical
expenses for treatment of ailments of a beneficiary or his such
dependent, provision for maternity benefit to the women beneficiaries,
make payment of funeral expenses to the legal heir on the death of the
beneficiary; facilitate the settlement of disputes through conciliation,
renewal of registration certificate, issue of identity card for the

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beneficiaries, disseminate information on available social security

schemes for the Workers. Besides the above the registered women
domestic workers are entitled to get training and skills development
programs of the Government. The workers facilitation Centers are
authorized by the district board to collect contributions from the
workers and others as mandated under the Act and remit them to the
district Board. Domestic Workers Welfare Fund is to be created under
section 19 of the Act to defray the welfare measures or facilities for the
benefit of domestic workers /beneficiaries as may be decided by the
Board. To control the exploitation of domestic workers, the Act
provides for strict restriction that no service provider or a person
/agency shall carry on the business of providing domestic worker to any
employer unless the said service provider or agency or person is
registered under the Act. The service provider shall maintain the
records of all the domestic workers being contracted by them for
purposes of employment from any part of the territory of India and
provide the details on demand by the enforcement officials.As per the
provisions of the Act; no employee shall be required or allowed to work
in any household for more than nine hours in any day or for more than
forty-eight hours in any week. Provision is made the payment of
overtime wages, if any women domestic worker employed in any
household is required to work overtime; she shall be entitled in respect
of such overtime work, to wages at the rate of twice her ordinary rate of
wages. Rest interval is also to be provided and no period shall exceed
five hours and that no women shall work for more than five hours
before she has had an interval for rest of not less than half hour. The
Act also provides for the grant of one day weekly off. Every worker
irrespective of being a full-time, part- time, live-in, nights shift workers
will be entitled to a weekly day off. The wages of the women workers
are protected under the Act and the employers are obliged to make
payment of wages in time and in accordance with the Minimum Wages

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Act 1948. The Rajasthan government has implemented minimum

wages and standard working hours for domestic help, starting 1st
January 2016. This is a major step in fighting the widespread
exploitation of domestic workers not only in Rajasthan, but in India as
a whole. The Act orders the statutory obligations upon the employers to
register names with Board for employing domestic workers.Domestic
workers are included in the Unorganised Workers (Social Security) Act,
2008, and through its decision of the Government 26 June 2011,
domestic workers have come under the coverage of RSBY, paving way
for effective access to social protection for domestic workers and their
family members. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act,
1986 now prohibits employment of child labour in domestic work as
also the conduct rules governing government employees. Minimum
Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Contract Labour Act, Inter-state
Migrant Act, and Employee Compensation Act, and the Abolition of
Bonded Labour Act etc. are to be extended to domestic workers.

CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION) ACT,

1986.

Indian law prohibits the employment of children below 14 years age, in

certain occupations in accordance to the Child Labour (Prohibition &
Regulation) Act 1986. By 10th October 2006, the ban on child labour
included employment of children in domestic work.

THE UNORGANISED WORKERS’ SOCIAL SECURITY ACT

2008

Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act 2008 is an Act of the

Parliament of India enacted to provide for the social security and
welfare of the unorganised workers (meaning home-based workers, self-
employed workers or daily-wage workers) The act provides for
constitution of National Social Security Board at the Central level
which shall recommend formulation of social security schemes viz life

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and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection
and any other benefit as may be determined by the Government for
unorganised workers. As a follow up to the implementation of the Act,
the National Social Security Board was set up on 18 August 2009

ILO CONVENTION ON DECENT WORK FOR DOMESTIC

WORKERS (C189)

In 2011 the ILO adopted the Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189)
and Domestic workers Recommendation (No. 201) are milestones
towards improving the working conditions of millions of workers across
the world. The two have become the most important instruments in
terms of basic principles and minimum labour standards for the sector.
It is the first time that the ILO has adopted international labour
standards dedicated exclusively domestic workers. The Convention
affirms the fundamental rights of domestic workers and lays down
basic principles and measures regarding the promotion of decent work
for them. The instruments recognize that domestic workers have the
same right to benefit from social and labour protection as other
workers for sustainable development.

Many ILO instruments, including fundamental Conventions regarding

freedom of association, discrimination and the abolition of child labour
and forced labour, apply to all workers and hence already cover
domestic workers.

CONCLUSION

Extending the reach of labour law is a means of bringing domestic

workers within the formal economy and into the mainstream of the
Decent Work Agenda for a road to sustainable development. Providing
minimum legal standards for working conditions can help to overcome
the imbalance and protect the women domestic workers from dismal
working conditions and conditions of employment in future. In Western
Europe and Scandinavian countries, the working conditions of domestic

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workers tend to be regulated by special labour laws, with only a few

countries, such as France and Italy, having collective agreements on
domestic work. By contrast, the Eastern European labour law tradition
has not favoured dedicated norms for domestic workers.In Asia, where
migrant domestic workers are particularly exposed to the lack of legal
protection under the labour laws of host countries, sending countries
have reacted by demanding better protection for their workers and
have negotiated bilateral memoranda of understanding.76 Similarly,
labour laws in Arab states largely exclude domestic workers, who, in
this region, are to very large extent women migrant workers from Asia
and Africa. However, some countries have issued so-called standard
employment contracts for migrant domestic workers which regulate
basic aspects of the employment relationship.More recently, labour law
development for domestic workers has gained a new dimension, with
legal reform that favours domestic workers being increasingly
motivated by development and human rights concerns. However a
comprehensive labour legislation protecting women domestic workers is
yet to come. The present Domestic workers Welfare and Social Security
Act 2010 suffer due to many omissions. Act fails to incorporate many
provisions that are required for the protecting the vulnerable groups.
The constitutional guidelines and ILO recommendations 211 based on
convention 189 are to be considered in bringing appropriate
amendment for bringing overall development of women domestic
workers for sustainable development in future.In understanding
women’s experiences of domestic work, it is important to consider that
domestic workers may never feel a sense of satisfaction from their work
(Cock, 1989) unless and until they are legally protected.

Reference

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2. Anderson, B (2000) Doing the dirty work? The global politics of

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