The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Caught in a vicious cycle

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Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Caught in a vicious cycle

Meera Srinivasan

Women domestic help trapped in a morass of debt and more borrowing

These women work seven days a week, both in the morning and evenings, and seldom get a day off

Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Hard days Women domestic help discuss their problems

The double digit inflation has impacted cruelly on women who are employed as domestic help. These women, in many cases, are the primary bread-winners of their families. The soaring prices of commodities have not been matched by any increase in their salaries, which has been stagnant for the last few years.

These women work all seven days, both in the morning and evenings. They wash, clean, go to the grocer’s and sometimes even cook for their employers.

Govindamma, for instance, works in three houses and earns Rs.1,500 every month. Her husband, who is into mosaic tile laying, gets daily wages on the days he finds work. “His is not a regular job and it’s hard to find work during the rains,” she says. Though two of her three children work at a textile store, their salaries don’t add up to much.

S. Banu, who has two school-going children, says it is not easy to run a family with her income. “We don’t get weekly offs. Even if we ask for leave to attend an important family function, our employers insist that we come in for at least some time.”

Adilakshmi earns Rs. 300 per month. “I have two sons going to school. When school reopens, we end up borrowing from lenders in the neighbourhood who charge exorbitant interest. We have no other go,” she says. One of her former employers asked her why she put her children in a good school if she couldn’t afford it. “Don’t our children deserve to study in a good school? We want them to have a better,” she says.

Additional expenses such as school fees or doctor’s charges and medicines means more borrowing.

Employers are very reluctant to increase the salary. “Even if we ask for a 50-rupee hike, they don’t agree. They say they can’t afford to increase our salaries,” one of them points out. They can’t afford to press for a salary hike, because there is always someone who is willing to work for less. “We have no choice,” Ms. Adilakshmi says.

A majority of those who work as domestic help buy just enough rice, dal and vegetables for the day. “If we bought in bulk, it would be cheaper, but we don’t have the money to do so. We buy about a quarter kilo of rice, some dal, 100 grams of one vegetable and half a litre of milk for the children,” she says. And on some days, even this is possible only if she borrows money.

“Earlier, we had money to buy and cook meat occasionally. Now, we have almost given it up,” Ms. Banu says. She points out that borrowing locks them into a vicious cycle: by the time they finish paying their daily and monthly interest, they have to borrow from someone else to return the principal.

“We don’t get paid extra for working overtime. In fact, even if we are given additional work such as dusting, wiping fans or cleaning windows, we don’t get a penny more,” Ms. Banu adds.

The women also rue the fact that few employers bother to give them food. They’d rather waste or even throw away excess food than give it to them, they lament.

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