Data from National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) 2011 round shows that domestic workers fare worse in comparison with others employed in the informal sector
Mumbai: On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke down at a Facebook Inc. townhall recalling his mother’s toil as a domestic help. For decades, the poor condition of domestic workers has been a reality in India.
Data from the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) 2011 round shows that domestic workers fare worse in comparison with others employed in the informal sector. For instance, female domestic workers in urban areas earn almost half the wages of their peers in other informal sectors. For men and women in both rural and urban areas, domestic workers earned consistently less.
NSSO classifies the following occupations as domestic labour: housemaid/servant, cook, gardener, gatekeeper/chowkidar/watchman, governess/baby-sitter, tutor, driver and “others”.
Women dominate this sector, with their culturally conditioned roles as domestic caregivers fitting well with these occupations. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that close to 53 million people worldwide were employed as domestic workers in 2010, with 83% of them being women. An ILO analysis of 2004-05 NSSO data shows that in India, female housemaids/servants form the largest sub-category amid domestic workers.
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