BANGALORE: More than three hundred domestic workers gathered at Town Hall to observe Domestic Workers Day on Monday. Labour Minister B N Bache Gowda who was suppose to attend the event, failed to turn up.
Karnataka Domestic Workers Movement organised the event. Demotivated by the absence of the minister, many workers left the place. The workers demanded the state government to include them in the welfare board by registering them in the Labour Department and issue ID cards so that their grievances and related issues could be settled. They also asked for inclusion under the ‘Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill’ of the Union government.
Speaking at the event, Nisha, state coordinator, Karnataka Domestic Workers Movement said, “There is huge disparity in the incomes earned by the domestic workers and most of them are women. Women are working in such a poor condition with a pay of just Rs 700 to Rs 1,000. It is sad that most of them do not even get a day’s off in a week.”
She alleged that there was absolutely no dignity of labour in the profession.
The workers also expressed their grief that they were working in such a pitiable state by losing their dignity. They urged the state government to take measures to make their sector an organised one as with that status they can derive social security and other benefits for the welfare of such women.