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India: Efforts of domestic workers striking for their rights

India: Efforts of domestic workers striking for their rights

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by IDWFED published Aug 06, 2013 12:00 AM
The National Platform for Domestic Workers organised a national event on July 31 2013 in the Indian capital, New Delhi. This was a truly national programme as there were over 3000 domestic workers from 12 states represented. All the states had done a massive work of mobilisation for this event which officially commenced on June 16 when we celebrated International Domestic Workers' Day in various cities and launched a signature campaign to get support for the memorandum. More than 100,000 signatures were collected. The Platform will now follow up this work with the Parliament and keep up the organisational momentum by enlarging the membership in the Platform and working on the state governments to move ahead declaring minimum wages for the domestic workers and including them on the schemes already floated for them by the Central Government.

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INDIA -

The National Platform for Domestic Workers organised a national event on July 31 2013 in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

This was a truly national programme as there were over 3000 domestic workers from 12 states represented. All the states had done a massive work of mobilisation for this event which officially commenced on June 16 when we celebrated International Domestic Workers' Day in various cities and launched a signature campaign to get support for the memorandum. More than 100,000 signatures were collected.

    

Prior to this, in February 2013, a large representative group of the Platform members met to agree on the demands. This was basically a set of ‘non negotiables’ that we wanted to see in a Comprehensive Legislation that we would demand from the Central Government.

In May, a group met in Delhi to personally meet members of Parliament who were on the Petitions Committee and the Standing Committee for Labour and leaders of the Political parties in parliament to give them this memorandum and explain the need for supporting it in Parliament.

At the national meeting domestic workers from all the organisations spoke about their various issues and demands and the progress or problems they faced in their states. One of the national Convenors also explained the main contents of the Comprehensive Legislation that was demanded. Basically it is for registration of workers and the employers through tripartite Boards which would regulate work and deliver social security. The Boards should also have a help line and mechanism for grievance redressal. These Boards would also regulate the placement agencies. There was great energy as the workers also sang their songs and shouted their slogans and flouted their organisation banners.

Several Parliamentarians also attended the meeting and felicitated the workers and promised to take the memorandum with signatures to the Parliament. Two representatives also took the memorandum with signatures to the Prime Ministers office and the Ministry of Labour.

The Platform will now follow up this work with the Parliament and keep up the organisational momentum by enlarging the membership in the Platform and working on the state governments to move ahead declaring minimum wages for the domestic workers and including them on the schemes already floated for them by the Central Government. 

The National Platform for Domestic Workers was formed at the IUF/IDWN National Domestic Workers Meeting in Chennai, 2012.

Source & Photos: SEWA

More information:

  1. National Platform for Domestic Workers - To pursue a Comprehensive Legislation for Domestic Workers in India | CRIB
  2. National Platform For Domestic Workers FACEBOOK

Source: Nalini Nayak/SEWA

Story Type: News

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