What can I do to safeguard the rights of domestic workers in my home?
What provisions does the ILO Convention 189 (C189) make for domestic workers?
• Set a minimum wage for domestic workers that is not lower than the established minimum wage for workers generally
• Inform domestic workers of their terms and conditions of employment
• Protect domestic workers against all forms of abuse, harassment, and violence • Secure fair terms of employment, decent working conditions, and if applicable, decent living conditions for domestic workers
• Ensure domestic workers are allowed to keep their travel and identity documents in their possession
• Provide equal treatment between domestic workers and workers generally in terms of working hours, overtime compensation, daily and weekly rest where weekly rest is at least 24 consecutive hours, and paid annual leave
• Guarantee that domestic workers enjoy the same social security protections and general conditions as available to other workers
• Take measures to ensure fees charged by private employment agencies are not deducted from the remuneration of domestic workers
What can you do to safeguard the rights of domestic workers in your home?
Connect with the Self-Employed Women’s Association or the National Domestic Workers Movement and support your domestic workers to register with them. They have been supporting domestic workers for decades and demonstrate the power of collective action. Different states also have domestic worker registration portals which provide access to protection schemes. If you’re in Maharashtra, try this one.
Build a safety net for domestic workers in your home by registering for a pension scheme for unorganised workers (Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana). The website includes an option to ‘Sponsor a Pension’ that allows you make the premium contribution on behalf of a domestic worker.
Encourage domestic workers to register on e-Shram to gain access to employment and social security schemes.
Support your domestic worker to access government insurance schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana which offers ₹2 lakh of accidental death benefit or the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana which has ₹2 lakh of term cover for ₹330 a year. Buy them from a public sector general insurance company like LIC or a bank.
Understand the rights of domestic workers by reading the ILO Convention 189 (C189). No national comprehensive legislation for domestic workers exists in India, so read up on the laws in your state by visiting the state labour department website.
