WHO ARE DOMESTIC WORKERS?
Domestic work, ambiguous in its definition, includes household work such as cooking, cleaning, babysitting and other such tasks. With increasing urbanization and the opportunities of work for middle class women on the rise, there is a vast majority of women migrating from rural parts of the country to take over the work which was erstwhile reserved for these women.
But the work performed by these 'maids' is not recognised because the household space resists the category of an industry. Domestic workers, often unwilling to negotiate their terms of contract, are paid a meager sum in return for their work. The problem gets amplified because of the absence of paid leave, healthcare or social security benefits or any legal redressal in addressing the unsafe workplace.
The Domestic Workers' Project goes out to workers living in different parts of the city, listening to their stories and experiences, in an effort to understand their lives. Alongside, it charts the legal journey of the attempts in formalizing domestic work, particularly after the ILO convention was passed in 2010-11, to protect the rights of workers in this profession.
The project aims to support the ongoing fight of domestic workers.