Topic – RIGHTS OF DOMESTIC

WORKERS IN INDIA FROM THE

LENS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Student Name: AKSHITA KAUSHIK

Date: 1/9/22
Class: Ballb 3
Section: A
Subject Faculty:
Subject Code: LLB 308
 Introduction:

• The term “ domestic workers” has been defined u/s 2(f) of the Domestic workers Welfare and Social Security
act of 2010 as :
“Domestic Worker” means, a person who is employed for remuneration whether in cash or kind , in any
house hold ‘or similar Establishments’ through any agency or directly, either on a temporary or contract basis
or permanent, part time or full time to do the household or allied work and includes a “Replacement worker”
who is working as a replacement for the main workers for a short and specific period of time as agreed with
the main worker;
• The Domestic Workers convention,2011 , a United Nations Treaty providing international standards
aimed at improving the lives of domestic workers around the world defines “Domestic worker”
as anyone engaged in domestic work within an emplyoment relationship and EXCLUDES those
who perform domestic work on ocassional basis and not on occupational basis
• “Countless households around the world rely on migrant domestic workers. This contribution to
society should not only be acknowledged and valued but it is also time for States and private
employment companies to protect, respect and fulfil the human rights of all migrant domestic
workers, including of the most vulnerable ones,” said Urmila, Bhoola, UN expert on contemporary
forms of slavery.

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 The rights of Domestic workers

 A report published by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI){nonprofit

international non-governmental organisation which works towards the practical realisation of
human rights} indicated that while the pandemic has demonstrated how integral domestic care and
assistance is, this has not translated into an alleviation of the situation of domestic workers. The
report found that  the astounding lack of overarching legal or policy provisions in India to
safeguard their wellbeing has meant a dire downward spiral for men and women in this sector in
the last year
 But more importantly, governments do not appear keen to resolve this either. Only six out of 54
Commonwealth countries have ratified the Domestic Workers Convention (C189) – 10 years after
it was brought to ensure decent conditions for domestic workers. India is not one of the six.
 The report thus looks at the situations of domestic workers in five Commonwealth nations that are
yet to ratify the C189 but are in some way considering it or are under pressure to consider it.
Along with India, it studies the United Kingdom, Uganda, Papua New Guinea and Dominica. It
also looks at the situation of South Africa, which has ratified the C189, and Jamaica, which is
close to doing this.

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 In India, challenges in gauging the depth of domestic workers’ problems arise at the very start – for instance , when
it comes to determining how many people are engaged in domestic work, . While according to official statistics,
there are 4.75 million domestic workers in India, three million of whom are women, the International Labour
Organisation, along with others are firm that the real number is much more, ranging from a wide 20 to 80 million.
 This is a problem also for countries like Dominica and Papua New Guinea, the report recognises, where lack of
data or uncertainty in numbers acts as a problem while attempting to gauge the extent of domestic workers’
challenges

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 rights of domestic workers in
India
• in India, the Ministry of Labour and Employment,
Government of India, has acknowledged the importance of
domestic work to households and the need to improve
welfare and regulatory measures for promoting decent
work for domestic workers. Also, for the very first time,
domestic workers have been recognized as workers in the
Unorganized Sector Social Security Act, 2008.
• Certain legal provisions that deal with rights of domestic
workers in India are -

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• section 22 of Domestic Workers (Registration Social Security
and Welfare) Act, 2008,-as per this section a domestic worker
living in the house is entitled to annual leave with wages for at
least 15 days during the year.{Right to annual leave}
• Section 23 of  Domestic Workers (Registration Social Security
and Welfare) Act, 2008 -any person who sexually harasses
domestic worker or child will be punishable with imprisonment for
not less than six months and which may extend upto period of 7
years or with a fine of Rs. 50000, or both{Right against sexual
harassment}

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 Reasons for ineffectiveness of the rights

1. No uniform policy
Till 2021 individual states were to formulate their own protections and maintain
their own databases with respect to unorganized workers(which includes domestic
workers as well as per the unorganized social security act ,2008) .
2. State protection is neither consistent nor uniformly implemented and in
some cases even non existent

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 Remedies

However, to date, 25 countries have ratified the Domestic Workers Convention No. 189 , another 30 or so
have adopted laws or policies extending protections to domestic workers, and only 
25 countries have ratified the Forced Labour Protocol . Governments, employers and workers, as well as
individual households, all have a role to play to ensure protection of domestic workers from violence and
harassment.

But with the recent launching of the “e-shram” portal by the

Recent measure :-
government in 2021 , more focus is being laid upon creating a comprehensive
database in India that provides information of workers in unorganized sector
( including domestic workers)

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Conclusion of the Topic

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