Telangana: Domestic Workers Seek Basic Labour Rights
Officials deny that the number of domestic helpers exceeds two lakhs.
Hyderabad:Associations representing domestic workers urged the government to look into long-pending demands of extending basic labour rights to them such as ESI and housing facilities.
According to Prabhavathi, a domestic worker and a member of a domestic workers' union, “No one understands the plight of domestic workers. We work without rest, and employers often try to extract the maximum amount of work from us.”
Rajitha, a resident of Dammaiguda, explained, “We have attended several meetings, but we are not receiving any help from the government, apart from the benefits provided by the white ration card. Most of us live in rented houses. Many are single mothers, and some women have bedridden husbands. Our demands are basic.”
Officials deny that the number of domestic helpers exceeds two lakhs. To support this claim, the e-Shram portal, launched on August 24, 2021, shows that as of now, 60,667 domestic and household workers have enrolled. Of these, 36,184 are cooks, 23,409 are domestic and retail helpers, 807 are kitchen stewards, and 267 are pantry workers.
When contacted, the authorities explained that the state government’s intent in launching the e-Shram portal is to support domestic workers and others in the unorganised sector. Once enrolled, workers are eligible for insurance coverage — `2 lakh in case of death and ₹1 lakh for disability resulting from an accident.
“ESI is a central government scheme. To include domestic workers under its coverage would require structural changes, as current ESI norms do not permit their inclusion,” officials added.
