CHENNAI: More than 500 domestic workers and activists staged a demonstration at Valluvarkottam to commemorate International Domestic Workers Day on Saturday, a press release from the National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM) said.
International Domestic Workers Day is celebrated to recognise the contribution of domestic workers and give dignity, respect and empowerment to them.
Activists spoke about the rights of domestic workers and the need for State and Central legislations to protect these rights.
Among the demands put forth at the demonstration was the need to guarantee a minimum wage of `75 per hour.
The women demanded that the State government should fix the minimum wage and announce it in the Assembly.
“Even though India is home to the largest number of domestic workers in the world, making it the largest sector of employment of women workers in urban India, they are not brought under the labour laws of the country,” said M Valarmathi, State coordinator of NDWM. “Given the large number of workers and their special conditions of work, they need to be protected under a special Act of Parliament.”
The demonstration highlighted a number of other demands such as ratification of ILO convention, one per cent house tax for welfare board of domestic workers, cancellation of new labour code, ratification of convention on work place violence and safeguarding the rights of domestic workers.