Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Domestic workers face untold hardship, says forum

Staff Reporter

Forum wants to bring them under Minimum Wages Act

MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers' Union has urged the Government to bring domestic work under Minimum Wages Act and fix minimum wages for workers.

A resolution to this effect would be adopted at its third State convention to be held here on March 20 and 21, State coordinator P. Clara told presspersons here on Monday.

Kerala and Andhra Pradesh had announced minimum wages for domestic workers but the Tamil Nadu Government was yet to respond to numerous appeals from the union, she said.

Pointing out that domestic workers were subjected to untold hardships as they did not have any legal or job security, she said that several atrocities were committed against them.

The workers were leading a life of bonded labour as they were forced to work for long hours for low wages. In some places, they were fired without any valid reason.

Though the State Government had declared a separate welfare board for domestic workers, it had not allocated funds for it, she said.

There were more than 15 lakh domestic workers in the State. But, only 10,000 had registered their names so far with the union. So, the union would try to create awareness among the public, especially among women, of the necessity to become members, Ms. Clara said. The third convention would be used as a platform to attract more members into the fold, she said.

The two-day convention would appeal to the board to set up district-level complaint committees to identify cases of sexual abuse and implement relief and rehabilitation measures for the victims.

The union would demand 15 per cent reservation in education, besides different welfare schemes such as pension, Employees State Insurance and housing,. More than 5,000 members were expected to participate in the convention, and a rally would be organised in support of these demands, she said.

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