Shillong, May 2: All Meghalaya Domestic Workers Union which is under the umbrella of National Domestic Workers Movement, wanted all domestic workers to register with the former.
Addressing a press conference on May 1, the key person of the union, Rachell Mawthoh said that the union is ready to take up the plight of the workers.
She cited the case of harassment to a lady worker in Nagpur.
“Recently, in April we came to know through social media an incident in which a domestic worker from Meghalaya working in Nagpur was physically abused by her employer. It was reported to the KSU Delhi unit by her husband. Through the intervention of KSU the victim was able to get her rights”, Mawthoh said reminding the domestic workers to register with the workers’ body.
“Therefore we invite all the domestic workers to register with the All Meghalaya Domestic Workers’ union for safety, protection and welfare”, Mawthoh said.
The union was registered on November 15, 2012 with the Labour Department.
“The union in Meghalaya is committed to stand for the domestic workers, for their rights, dignity, justice, to empower them to stand for their rights, social protection, fair wages, decent work, recognise the contribution they make towards the development of the society”, she added.
The demand of the union is to have separate welfare board for domestic workers. More than 2500 domestic workers -local and migrant- are registered under the union.
“There are many domestic workers who move out of state but they should make sure to register with the union and seek guidance for their social protection. Those domestic workers who are under the union are given awareness on labour rights, social protection, social security and training on different skills; eg: cooking, housekeeping, hospitality management, child & elderly care etc… through which the domestic workers can expertise their work and be treated with dignity and justice in their work place”, Mawthoh said.
Six million domestic workers of the world face multiple barriers in enjoying legal coverage and effective access to social security.
Quoting reports, Mawthoh said around 76.2% (57.7 million) of domestic workers are women.
Covid-19 pandemic has further widened the social protection gaps.
In India, the Unorganized Workers Social Security Act 2008 now subsumed in the code on social security 2020 is the primary National Law and Policy frame work for domestic workers.
This legislation mandates state government to formulate social security and welfare schemes for all the unorganised workers.
The welfare schemes includes
1. Life and disability schemes
2. Health and maternity
3. Old age protection
The policy also focuses on including domestic workers in existing legislation, ensuring their right to register as unorganized workers, and granting them the right to form union.
It also aims to protect them from abuse and exploitation, provide access to minimum wage and social security and enhance their skills and decent working conditions.
According to the minister, national policies have a profound impact on all aspects of society while some progress have been made in protecting domestic workers through laws and policies, significant challenges remain in ensuring their right and decent working conditions.
“A comprehensive national law coupled with effective implementation and enforcement, is crucial to address the issues and ensure that domestic workers receive the recognition and protection they deserve”, Mawthoh said.
The All Meghalaya Domestic Workers Union wanted the employers to provide different skills to domestic workers so that they would perform their duties as per the employers’ expectations. Moreover, the relationship between the employers and employees would be better.
