People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

Domestic Workers’ Achieve

Partial Benefits through Struggles

Ashalata

THE Sneha Domestic Workers Welfare Organisation, affiliated to AIDWA, was formed in Andhra Pradesh in the year 2001 to work on the problems facing the tens of thousands of domestic workers in the state. Around 90 per cent of the domestic workers are women, who due to rising unemployment and rising prices of essential commodities are forced to migrate from rural areas to cities like Hyderabad in search of livelihood.

Most of these women take up jobs as domestic helpers in houses for very meagre wages. Only by working in more than one house can these women earn around Rs 2500 per month, which is hardly enough to manage their household expenses like house rent, ration, children's education and medical expenses. Besides, they have to bear the conveyance (bus) charges to go to work places.

Apart from economic hardships, many women domestic workers face sexual harassment, which goes largely unreported. If they demand increase in wages they face removal from service. Even the police harass these workers whenever false cases are foisted on them. In multi-storeyed apartments, there is this arrangement where both husband and wife work for the flat owners by living in a small one-room provided at the ground floor. The wife works as domestic servant for some of the owners while the husband works as watchman for the apartments. Usually they are on the beck and call of owners for day and night.

The DWA has been continuously taking up these problems of domestic workers with the concerned authorities in the government by way of demonstrations, dharnas, submission of memoranda etc. Some of the important demands that have been taken up so fare include issuing of identity cards and inclusion of their names in government records; increasing their wages according to the existent price index; issuing ESI cards; issuing white ration cards and 18 litres of kerosene per month; granting four holidays per month; providing adequate safeguards against sexual harassment and false police cases; providing maternity benefits etc.

As a result of the sustained struggles by the Association, the state government issued a G.O. in the year 2008 prescribing the following minimum monthly wages: Rs 136 for half an hour work; Rs 245 for one hour work; Rs 465 for one and a half hour's work and Rs 3660 for eight hours of work.

After more struggles, another G.O. was issued in the year 2011 improving the above mentioned benefits. The new corresponding rates were: Rs 284 for half an hour work; Rs 656 for one hour of work; Rs 848 for 3 hours of work; Rs 4821 for 8 hours work.

The Association also demanded setting up of a Board in 2012. Although the Board was set-up they kept out our representative. Also, the wages fixed in the above mentioned G.O. are far below the demand made by Association. As far as the demand for four holidays in a month, the government has not acted so far.  Despite these negatives, the struggles so far have helped in realising the following demands: recognition of domestic helps as workers; issuing of I.D. cards; government’s matching contribution of Rs 100 for LIC coverage for the workers; payment of scholarship of Rs 200 per month to two children for two years; payment of compensation of Rs 30,000 to Rs 75,000 in cases of accidents depending upon the nature of injuries and disability and Rs 1 lakh in case of death due to accident.

Although these are significant achievements, much more needs to be done to achieve other demands. And struggle is the only way forward.