Improving working and living conditions of domestic workers Reflections from research and practice

Описание: August 11 2023 seminar
Speakers: Antara Rai Chowdhury, Divya Ravindranath, Kinjal Sampat, Nidhi Sohane, and Rashee Mehra (Researchers at School of Human Development), IIHS Geetha Menon (Joint Secretary of Domestic Workers Rights Union (Karnataka)) & Meva Bharti (Secretary of Rajasthan Mahila Kaamgaar Union (Rajasthan))

Abstract: The School of Human Development at the IIHS, since 2018 has published with the support of the ILO, three studies on domestic work. The studies have examined working conditions and financial resilience - wages and increments, terms of termination, social protection, informal non-wage benefits, and employers’ practice and perception of these. But uniquely and with good reason the engagement has gone beyond to include examinations on health, especially maternal health, housing conditions, and mobility. We reflect on our findings and the experiences of unions in two Indian states to suggest strategies and approaches to the mobilization of domestic workers and the design and framing of policy and legal frameworks for the sector. This aids in underlining the existing gaps among state actors and state capacity to understand, engage and intervene with domestic workers.