Status of Domestic Workers in India: A Tale of Two Cities

Abstract

Using data from a primary survey of 524 domestic workers in the cities of Ahmedabad and Kolkata, this paper critically assesses the status of domestic workers. It includes analyses of various characteristics of the domestic workspace such as employer–employee relationships, wages and working conditions, institutional sup ports, aspirations and collective bargaining keeping the legal provisions of social securities and other labour rights in India. The characteristics of informality include the absence of a written contract, social security, conventional bargaining method of wage determination, presence of multiple household employers, very little government intervention, distressed livelihood option and lack of decent work environments. The inferences drawn in this paper reinstate the abysmal status of domestic workers in India. Findings from the data from these two cities do validate the vulnerability of domestic work as an occupation and the lack of legislative protection. Despite few dissimilarities, the basic findings are in conformity with the primary characteristics of domestic work in India.