A Survey of Literature
Shambhu Ghatak*
It is well understood that policy prescriptions often fail because of lack of accurate numbers. This is so because without an estimate, the magnitude of problems or the impact of any policy remains muddled in guesswork. In order to provide an estimate, one needs to have a proper definition and methodology so as to enumerate the number of persons belonging to an affected group. We often see how experts differ among themselves regarding various estimates but that is inevitable in a way because different groups of people use different methodologies. In the following article we are trying to make sense of the estimates available to us from the credible sources.
Various Estimates of Domestic Workers
A report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) entitled Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statistics and the extent of legal protection (2013) says that there are various estimates regarding the number of domestic workers in India, which range from 2.5 million to 90 million workers. Obviously, that range is so huge that it is not very useful for policy work!
An estimate by the National Sample Survey (NSS) in 2004-05 shows that there were 4.75 million domestic workers in the country, of which almost 63 per cent comprised women working in urban areas.
An analysis by the ILO of the micro-data of the 61st round Employment and Unemployment Survey that was conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) shows that the number of domestic workers in the country was 4.2 million in 2004/05, comprising 1 per cent of total employment. Women constitute the majority of domestic workers (almost 70 per cent) and some 2.2 per cent of all employed women were domestic workers (as compared to 0.5 per cent for men), as per the ILO estimation.
The ILO report says that most female domestic workers are employed as housemaids or servants, whereas men work mostly as gardeners, gatekeepers, servants and also in ‘other’ occupations (which includes, for example, butlers and chauffeurs).
In their research paper entitled Paid care workers in India: Domestic workers and Anganwadi workers, which was prepared for United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), based on household survey data Palriwala and Neetha (2009) have estimated that there were only 2.5 million domestic workers in India. As mentioned in the ILO report, their study focuses solely on paid care workers and excludes gardeners, gatekeepers, watchmen and the residual category of “other workers” employed by private households from the definition of domestic workers.
Based on a survey of 1,00,957 households (59,129 in rural areas and 41,828 in urban areas),covering 4,59,784 persons (2,81,327 in rural areas and 1,78,457 in urban areas) during July, 2009 to June, 2010, the NSS report entitled Key Indicators of Employment and Unemployment in India 2009-10 shows that only 0.8 per cent of workers fell under Section P — “Activities of private households as employers and undifferentiated production activities of private households” of National Industrial Classification-2004 i.e. NIC-2004.
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Based on a survey of 45,859 households in 28 states/ UTs, the Report on Employment & Unemployment Survey (2009-10) from the Labour Bureau shows that 2.7 per cent of all workers were employed by private households (termed as ‘employer households’) as maids, watchmen or cooks.
The First Report of the Task Force on Domestic Workers states that there were 6.4 million domestic workers as per the Census 2001.
According to a report entitled Human Resource and Skill Requirements in the Domestic Help Sector
(2013-17, 2017-22), which was prepared by KPMG for the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the size of domestic workers is expected to grow from 6 million in 2013 to 7.79 million in 2017, and further to 10.88 million in 2022. In that KPMG report, the domestic worker sub-categories include general domestic help, cook, gardener, office assistant and babysitter.
Various studies show that there have been underestimation of the number of domestic workers in India due to various reasons, the chief among them being domestic work not treated as ‘real’ work. It is mainly women who are employed for domestic work and, therefore, low status is granted to this occupation (as compared to other occupations). As a result, domestic work remains invisible and unaccounted for. Domestic work is slow to receive recognition as professional work.
There are instances when part-time domestic workers do not report domestic work as their main occupation.
National statistics across different countries usually fail to count domestic workers as a separate category. However, they register these workers under headings such as “community, social and personal service activities”. There are varying definitions of domestic work in national statistics. Sample surveys to enumerate such workers are not carried out in domestic workers intensive inhabitations that are located in certain pockets of slums.
Approaches to Measure the Size of Workforce
There are several approaches to measuring the population of domestic workers in a country, namely task-based approach, status-in-employment approach, household-roster approach and industry-based approach.The industry-based approach in measuring domestic workers is considered as superior compared to other alternatives that rely on tasks and occupations, the status in employment or the household roster, according to the ILO report entitled Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statistics and the extent of legal protection (2013).
Under the industry-based approach, a domestic worker is considered as one who is being employed in or by a private household or households i.e. she/he is in an employment relationship with a private household (even though it might sometimes be disguised), says the ILO report. The International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC, Revision 3.1) groups “Activities of private households as employers of domestic staff” in Division 95.
Defining Domestic Workers
The ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), has defined “domestic workers” in Article 1 in the following way:
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the term “domestic work” means work performed in or for a household or households;
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the term “domestic worker” means any person engaged in domestic work within an employment relationship;
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a person who performs domestic work only occasionally or sporadically and not on an occupational basis is not a domestic worker.
As per the Draft National Policy on Domestic Workers (as provided in the Final Report of the Task Force on Domestic Workers: Realising Decent Work), “domestic worker” means a person who is employed for remuneration whether in cash or kind, in any household through any agency or directly, either on a temporary or permanent, part time or full time basis to do the household work, but does not include any member of the family of an employer.
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As per the Draft National Policy on Domestic Workers, based on the hours of work and nature of employment contract, domestic workers can be classified into:
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Part-time worker i.e. a worker who works for one or more employers for a specified number of hours per day or performs specific tasks for each of the multiple employers every day.
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Full-time worker i.e. a worker who works for a single employer every day for a specified number of hours (normal full day work) and who returns back to her/ his home every day afterwork.
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Live-in worker i.e. a worker who works full time for a single employer and also stays on the premises of the employer or in a dwelling provided by the employer (which is close or next to the house of the employer) and does not return back to her/ his home every day afterwork.
Chief Characteristics of the Sector
According to the Draft National Policy on Domestic Workers, as provided in the Final Report of the Task Force on Domestic Workers: Realising Decent Work (2011), domestic work sector is characterised by lack of job security, decent wages, proper work conditions, defined work time and weekly holidays. Domestic workers undergo loneliness, violence, abuse, and sexual harassment at workplace, victimization at the hands of traffickers / placement agencies, forced migration etc. The work they perform is generally undervalued and the majority of such workers remain overworked, underpaid and unprotected.
There is limited access to skills development in domestic work, which results in career stagnation and no significant increase in the well-being of the workers.Domestic workers are insufficiently covered by social protection measures, such as health insurance, maternity protection, old-age security and accidental benefits.
The placement agencies, which bring domestic workers from various states to work in the metros are mostly unregulated, says the KPMG report entitled Human Resource and Skill Requirements in the Domestic Help Sector (2013-17, 2017-22).
The major clusters supplying domestic workers in the country include West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Odisha, Assam, and the Northeast. The migrants from neighbouring nations like Bangladesh and Nepal also form part of this workforce.
The majority of domestic workers migrate to metropolitan cities such as Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In Delhi, most domestic workers are migrants from the villages of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh, says the KPMG report.
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The report from KPMG states that domestic workers witness labour rights abuse in terms of long working hours, physical abuse by the employer, improper sleeping facilities, sexual harassment and no leave or holidays over a long period. The low level of wages paid to domestic workers can be attributed to factors such as: (i) Lack of recognition of their contribution or productivity; (ii) Illiteracy of workers reduce their bargaining power; and (iii) Absence of legislations at the state and national levels to protect their rights/ interests.
The majority of domestic workers lack financial capacity to pay for their skill upgradation and training. On top of that, clients do not take interest in spending money for their training. Since workplaces are inaccessible and the sector faces high rate of attrition and instability, it is difficult to provide skills to domestic workers, says the KPMG report.
Around 90 per cent of workforce in the sector comprises women, says the KPMG report. Since more and more educated women are joining the labour market, their dependence on domestic help has increased. Rapid urbanisation and rise in the number of nuclear families have accentuated the demand for domestic help.
The report shows that a majority of the domestic workers are usually educated up to Class 5 (almost 60 per cent) and fall in the age group of 28–40 years (nearly 65 per cent). KPMG’s primary interactions/ survey with domestic workers indicate that most of them earn less than Rs. 1,000 per month in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities. Such workers usually work in multiple households on a part-time basis. However, workers earn upto Rs. 6,000 a month in metropolitan cities.
Based on research, it is said that by the same report that only 2 per cent of domestic workers earn more than Rs. 10,000 a month. Such workers are employed on a full-time basis with a single employer and provide niche services such as geriatric (elderly) care.
Existing Laws for Domestic Workers
While giving reply to a written question regarding a policy on domestic workers, the then Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shri Kodikunnil Suresh said in the Lok Sabha on 5 August 2013 that the Central Government had already formulated a policy on domestic workers. In his reply, the minister said that the Central Government enacted the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 for social security of the unorganized workers that includes domestic workers. Various labour laws such as the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Employees Compensation Act, 1923, the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Act, 1976 are also applicable to domestic workers.
In her article entitled Domestic Work, Unpaid Work and Wage Rates (2013) published in Economic and Political Weekly, Kamala Sankaran says that at the central level, a recent legislation that also covers domestic workers is the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Despite the presence of exiting legislations that applies to domestic workers, there is no comprehensive law that covers all aspects of their working conditions.
Civil rights activists and trade unionists, who work among informal sector workers, have been demanding for a Wages Code Bill, through which the Union Government would be able to fix minimum wages for the unskilled across the country, among others.
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It must be noted that presently the minimum wage rates is notified by the Union Government for organisations, departments or areas that come under its ambit. Similarly, state governments can fix minimum wage rates for its various departments or sectors.
A document prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2012 based on an online discussion shows that some states like Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Rajasthan have set minimum wage rates for domestic work. While such state-level initiatives give domestic workers the official status of a worker within a legal framework, the wage fixed in a real world is insufficient to meet the needs of domestic workers and their family.
The KPMG report entitled Human Resource and Skill Requirements in the Domestic Help Sector (2013-17, 2017-22) says that the Domestic Workers Welfare and Social Security Act (2010) helps to counter exploitation of women and children working as domestic servants especially by the placement agencies.
Although the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was extended to cover domestic workers in the year 2011, only a few states such as Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana have implemented it, says the KPMG report. Only the three states of Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have each constituted Welfare Board for domestic workers.
According to the ILO report entitled Indispensable yet unprotected: Working conditions of Indian Domestic Workers at Home and Abroad (2015), the Inter-State Migrant Workmen’s (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1978, which was amended in 2011 to make it gender neutral, is meant to regulate the employment of interstate migrant workers, to safeguard their interest and to provide for their conditions of service and related matters. The provisions of the amended Interstate Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1978 are applicable to every establishment in which five or more interstate workers are employed and to every contractor, who engages five or more interstate migrant workers.
The amended Central Civil Service Conduct rules prohibits civil servants from employing children below the age of 14 as domestic workers, says Jayashri Ramesh Sundaram (2016) in an article published for Hard News media. Domestic workers have been included in the Manual Workers Act in Tamil Nadu and the state has created a separate board too. Under Section 27 (A) of the Maharashtra State Public Service Conduct Act, 1997, the Government of Maharashtra prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years as domestic workers.
According to Jayashri Ramesh Sundaram (2016), domestic workers are the most vulnerable because they face unclear and lopsided terms of employment and are excluded from most labour laws. In her article entitled Modern day Slaves, Sundaram says that the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and Recommendation (No. 201), promoted by the ILO, have provisions for benefiting domestic workers, which includes promotion and protection of human rights, fundamental principles and rights at work, terms and conditions of employment, working time, remuneration, occupational safety and health and social security. Her article says that ILO has recognized the risks faced by child domestic workers, live-in workers and migrant domestic workers.
References
International Labour Organisation (2015): Indispensable yet unprotected: Working conditions of Indian Domestic Workers at Home and Abroad,
International Labour Organisation (2013): Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statisticsand the extent of legal protection, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/—publ/documents/publication/ wcms_173363.pdf&embedded=true
International Labour Organisation (2011): C189 - Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), Convention concerning decent work for domestic workers, Adoption: Geneva, 100th ILC session, 16 June http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C189
KPMG: Human Resource and Skill Requirements in the Domestic Help Sector (2013-17, 2017-22), prepared by KPMG for the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Volume-7, http://www.nsdcindia.org/sites/default/files/files/Domestic-Help.pdf&embedded=true
Ministry of Labour & Employment (2013): Policy on Domestic Workers, Press Information Bureau, 5 August, http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=97652
Ministry of Labour and Employment (2011): Final report of the Task Force on Domestic Workers: Realising Decent Work, 12 September
http://nirmana.org/pdf/national_policy_on_domestic_work_2011.pdf&embedded=true
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (2011): Key Indicators of Employment and Unemployment in India 2009-10, NSS 66th round, June, https://ideas.repec.org/p/ess/wpaper/id6759.html
Ministry of Labour and Employment (2010): Report on Employment & Unemployment Survey (2009-10), Labour Bureau,
http://labourbureau.nic.in/Final_Report_Emp_Unemp_2009_10.pdf&embedded=true
Palriwala, R and Neetha N (2009): Paid care workers in India: Domestic workers and Anganwadi workers (Geneva, UNRISD).
Sankaran, Kamala (2013): Domestic Work, Unpaid Work and Wage Rates, Economic and Political Weekly, 26 October, vol xlviii No. 43
Sundaram, Jayashri Ramesh (2016): Modern day Slaves, HardNewsMedia.com, 17 March, http:// www.im4change.org/latest-news-updates/modern-day-slaves-jayashri-ramesh-sundaram-4679046.html
UNDP (2012): Synthesis of important discussions on Livelihood and Microfinance issues of Domestic Workers, Solutions Exchange
Domestic Workers in India, WIEGO,
http://wiego.org/informal_economy_law/domestic-workers-india
Centre goes slow on national policy for domestic help, PTI, 1 February, 2016, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/ story/centre-goes-slow-on-national-policy-for-domestic-help/1/584935.htmlInt
*Shambhu Ghatak is a Senior Associate Fellow, Inclusive Media for Change
