ACT

1. Domestic workers are a part of global
workforce in informal employment or
unorganised sector
highly feminized sector: 80 per cent of all
domestic workers are women.
most vulnerable groups of workers
They work for private households, often
without clear terms of employment
excluded from the scope of labour legislation
Number of domestic workers
Worldwide: 67 million domestic workers (according to ILO)
India: 6-10 million domestic workers (studies presented like KPMG on
Draft National Policy)
It is a fast growing sector by 222% (Chandrashekar and Ghosh, 2007)

2. Domestic work
Full Time
Live –in
Stay at employer's house
for 24 hrs
Live –out
Work in one house hold &
go back to their family
Part Time

3. Problems
No decent wage &
working condition
No off Or leaves
No defined work
time
No social security
Violence, abuse
and sexual
harassment
No skill
development Or
career growth
Victims of
trafficking

4. 1. Migrant domestic workers are more prone to face
exploitation: Most of the domestic servants are migrants,
women, many are minors, and belong to the lowest end of the
economic spectrum. This makes them easy to replace, and easier
still to exploit. Indeed, hardly a week goes by without some news
report about a domestic help being abused by her employer.
Cases of torture, beatings, sexual assault, and incarceration are
common.
2. Insecurity at all levels due to absence of the proper laws &
legislations: Since they belong to the unorganized sector, there
are no laws safeguarding their rights – no minimum wage
requirements, no health or insurance benefits, and no job
security whatsoever. Neither the Maternity Benefits Act nor the
Minimum Wages Act or any of the scores of other labour laws
apply to domestic work.
3. Government negligence :The nexus of the state and the
market has managed to keep domestic work outside the realm of
economic regulation. (Although successive governments have
drafted policies, they are yet to become law.)
4. Job insecurity: Domestic workers can be hired and fired at
will. The employer has no legally binding obligations.

5. 5. Unrecognized nature of work: In a country where 93% of
the workforce is in the unorganised sector and therefore beyond
the purview of most labour laws, domestic workers represent a
new low in terms of disempowerment: they are not even
recognised as workers. Their work — cooking, cleaning, dish-
washing, baby-sitting — is not recognised as work by the state.
6. Domestic right’s are exploited: Apart from facing routine,
structural exploitation in the form of low wages, heavy
workloads, and long hours, domestic workers face graver
dangers, as is evident from cases of employers confining and
assaulting them coming to light with frightening regularity.
7. Work is not recognised as work: The inequality of domestic
workers’ circumstances is accentuated by the fact their
workplace falls within the privacy of the homes of people that
are invariably more privileged than they are.

6. • Unrecoginition of work :Their work — cooking, cleaning, dish-washing,
baby-sitting — is not recognised as work by the state.
• Domestic work as an economic activity is too vast and employs too many to
remain unregulated.
• Absence of laws and legislations: Neither the Maternity Benefits Act nor the
Minimum Wages Act or any other labour laws apply to domestic work.
• Job insecurity : Domestic workers can be hired and fired at will. The employer
has no legally binding obligations.
• Unorganization of domestic workers: Organising domestic workers has been
a huge challenge as the work place is inaccessible and multiple. As a result, the
demand for the better wages or working conditions through an organized union
has been weak
• India has not yet ratified ILO convention 189:India is a signatory to the
ILO’s 189th convention, known as the Convention on Domestic Workers; but
has not ratified it yet.
• Apart from the continue efforts, only little progress has been made : Little
progress has been made in passing Domestic Workers Welfare and Social
Security Act, 2010’ Bill.

7. • Exploitation of domestic workers at all levels : Certain categories of
domestic workers face specific working conditions that exacerbate the
disadvantages. Live-in domestic workers experience greater isolation,
less privacy and more limited mobility, work longer hours and receive
a larger share of payments in kind (such as board). Living conditions
are frequently sub-standard. They are also more vulnerable to
physical/sexual abuse by employers.
• Legislation to ensure protection to domestic workers: Migrant
domestic workers often live in the employers’ home, facing not only
the challenges of live-in domestics but also abuses within the
recruitment system and from police and immigration authorities,
including advance commission fees, withheld wages and passports,
and verbal, physical, or sexual harassment. To protect migrant
domestic workers, laws and regulations are needed at the
international level and in both sending and receiving countries.
• Protection from trafficking & Right to safe migration: Trafficked
domestic workers face the challenges of migrant domestic workers,
but these are compounded by the “extra-legal” operations of their
recruiters and the near-bondage conditions they may live in. Some
recruiters keep the workers’ passports.
• Minor domestic workers need special attention: Finally, child
domestic workers need special attention

8. 1. Domestic Workers (Conditions of Service) Bill, was introduced as private member bills in
Lok Sabha in following years: 1958, 1972 & 1977
2. The House Workers (Conditions of Service) Bill of 1989 & again in 1990 was introduced in
Lok Sabha – the main aspects of this bill was, it dealt with full time domestic workers and
the contribution from every employer for House Worker’s welfare fund.
3. The house maid and domestic workers(condition of service and welfare) Bill, 2004
4. Domestic Workers (Regulation of Employment, Conditions of Work, Social Security and
Welfare) Bill, 2008 by National Women Commission
5. The Domestic Workers Employment Rights Protection Bill, 2004 by SEWA- Kerala
6. Domestic Workers Regulation of Work and Social Security Bill 2017 prepared by National
Platform for Domestic Workers (NPDW) — a coalition of more than 20 organizations
working with domestic workers in over 15 states

9. 1. Union ministry of labour had created a Task
Force to Daft a National Policy for Domestic
workers in 2010-2011. but the policy was held
up by the parliamentary Standing Committee.
2. RSBY (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana) was
extended to domestic workers in 2011
3. Union ministry of Labour launched a pilot
projects to include domestic workers in ESI
(Employees' State Insurance)
4. Domestic workers are included in two ACT:
a. The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008
b. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

10. State legislations
1. Tamil Nadu Manual Workers (Regulation
of Employment and Conditions of Work)
Act, 198
2. Maharashtra Domestic Workers Welfare
Board Act 2008
3. Private Placement Agency and Domestic
Workers (Regulation) Act, 2016
States have included ‘Domestic
Workers’ as a scheduled employment .
These states are:
1. Andhara Pradesh
2. Bihar
3. Jharkhand
4. Karnataka
5. Kerala
6. Ordisha
7. Rajasthan
8. Punjab
9. Tamilnadu
10. Tripura
11. Haryana
12. Dadra Nagar

11. • Work with dignity and respect;
• Recognition as workers
• Formal employment relationship
• Registration and with the Labour
Departments or board
• Ensuring minimum wage for domestic
workers as per their skill level.
• Wage Payment limit in kind .
• Wage to worker only in cash or in
bank accounts.
• Fix hours of work, overtime
payments , and adequate rest period
during the working hours and weekly
off;
• Leave ( Annual and Sick- should paid
leave)
• Social security coverage through
programmes of central and state
governments.
• Safe and healthy place to work
• If worker stay (insure privacy of
worker), and sufficient food to live-in
worker,
• Protection against sexual harassment
at the place of work as.
• Rescue of victim DW.
• Ensuring the protection, security, and
care of workers as well children
rescued from forced labour and child
labour, including victims of trafficking
for labour under existing legal
frameworks,
• Back wage recovery law,
• compensation and access to decent
employment and/or education and
skills, as appropriate.
• protection from hazards and
accidents at workplace;
• Pursue skills development and
professional training/studies or
distant education programmes at
her/his leisure time.
• Access entitlements, schemes and
benefits which are available or will be
made available to other categories of
workers.
• Freedom of Association and
Collective Bargaining;
• Access to justice, dispute resolution
and grievance redressal by suitable
mechanism. May be through the
board etc.

12. minimum standards set by ILO
•Basic rights of domestic workers
•Information on terms and conditions of employment
•Hours of work
•Remuneration
•Occupational safety and health
•Social security
•Standards concerning child domestic workers
•Standards concerning live-in workers
•Standards concerning migrant domestic workers
•Private employment agencies
•Dispute settlement, complaints, enforcement
Convention No. 189
Decent work for domestic workers

13. Convention No. 189
Decent work for domestic workers
What is Convention No. 189 about:
Convention No. 189 offers specific protection to domestic workers. It lays down
basic rights and principles, and requires States to take a series of measures with a
view to making decent work a reality for domestic workers.
Definitions under ILO Convention No. 189
Domestic work: “work performed in or for a household or households” such as
cleaning the house, cooking, washing and ironing clothes, taking care of children, or
elderly or sick members of a family, gardening, guarding the house, driving for the
family, even taking care of household pets.
Domestic workers: “any person engaged in domestic work within an employment
relationship”. A domestic worker may work on full-time or part-time basis; may be
employed by a single household or by multiple employers; may be residing in the
household of the employer (live-in worker) or may be living in his or her own
residence (live-out). A domestic worker may be working in a country of which
she/he is not a national.
Employers: a member of the household for which the work is performed, or an
agency or enterprise that employs domestic workers and makes them available to
households.

14. Ratified by countries
25 countries :
1. Argentina
2. Belgium
3. Bolivia, Plurination state
4. Brozil
5. Chile
6. Colombia
7. Costa Rica
8. Dominican Republic
9. Ecuador
10. Finland
11. Garmany
12. Guineca
13. Guyana
14. Ireland
15. Italy
16. Jamaica
17. Mauritius
18. Nicaragua
19. Panama
20. Paraguay
21. Philippines
22. Portugal
23. South Africa
24. Switzerrland
25. Uruguay
Convention No. 189
Decent work for domestic workers

15. • Comprehensive legislation :
• Right to register as a worker:
• Fair terms of employment, social protection and labour welfare:
• Model Contracts:
• Defining periods of work and rest:
• Wages:
• Right to skills development:
• Protection of domestic workers who seek work abroad:
• Regulation of recruitment and placement agencies:
• Grievance and Dispute resolution:
• Employers’ obligations:
• Registration of Workers’ Unions:
• Implementation Mechanism
• Amendment of legislations:
• The Trade Union Act 1926,
• The Payment of Wages Act, 1936,
• The Minimum Wages Act 1948,
• The Equal Remuneration Act 1976 ,
• The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment &
Conditions of Service) Act 1979.
• The Maternity Benefit Act 1961,
• Employees State Insurance Act, 1948
• Employees Provident Fund (MP) Act, 1952
• Industrial Disputes Act,1947
• Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention,
Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013.
• Hazardous list under the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act 1986.

16. • Mobilization
• staianing
• Project oriented approach
• Concept of one rupees per day
• Other sources
• union membership
• Responses to cases
• Leadership quality
• Finding leadership
• Individual cases fighting
• Networking- without resources issues handling
problem
• Recognatsation of work.
• Safety of staff ( rescue)
• Mechanism to help org in
• Networking with NGO but their roles they will see
• Small Size of unions
• Poor finance
• Multiplicity of union
• Lack of enlightened labour force
• Politicise

17. Listening
&
Spearing your time