Welfare group urges State government to enact law to protect domestic workers

Members of the Tamil Nadu Domestic Workers Welfare Trust (TNDWWT) on Thursday urged the State government to enact a Domestic Workers Safety Act for their protection.

Celebrating Decent Work Day at the Government Arts and Science College in Perumbakkam, the association put forth various demands including the importance of decent work ensuring fair wages, safe workplaces, social protection among others.

Speaking at the event, Minister for Labour Welfare and Skill Development C. V. Ganesan said, “Domestic workers play a vital role in the lives of the people. Without you, there is no house, there is no office and no happy atmosphere.” Stating that the workers must encourage their children to pursue studies, he said the children must continue with education even if they were disinterested. “Do not stop their studies because they are bad at it or they say so. Make them study so that they can move forward socially,” he urged the workers.

Putting forth a set of demands, chief functionary of TNDWWT Josephine Amala Valarmathi said that it is of utmost importance to enact a comprehensive central legislation for domestic workers, ensuring decent work, fair wages, social security, and legal rights. “It is also important that the workers are included under the protection of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013,” she added.

The association also demanded that the existing minimum wage be revised to ₹100 per hour, domestic workers made eligible for Employee State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF), in addition to existing welfare board benefits, and establish clear regulations and monitoring mechanisms for domestic worker recruitment agencies to prevent exploitation.