Detailing the various challenges in organising women domestic workers, Geeta Menon describes the Stree Jagruti Samiti`s efforts to create a society free of exploitation by looking beyond familiar organising models, intervening in the placement of workers and using various methods of `symbolic politics` to make their issues more visible.

Stree Jagruti Samiti (SJS) is a mass organisation in Bangalore that emerged in the 1980s and comprised mainly of young men and women committed to working to build a society in which there will be no exploitation of man over man, man over woman, and man over nature. Its vision is to build an equal society-one that is without class, caste, gender discrimination, hierarchies or violence. In the course of pursuing this dream, it has been consistently involved with issues of oppression and exploitation of women, within the home, in society and at their workplaces. Members of SJS have struggled with women, who are marginalised by class and caste-construction workers, garment workers, domestic workers or small vendor-sall part of the ever growing informal economy and the unorganised working class.

The focus on domestic workers was based on the premise that domestic workers are neither servants nor machines. They are workers, part of a productive economy and their identity as workers must be recognised, respected and protected. SJS also seeks recognition for the value of this work. Domestic workers contribute Rs 4 million a year to the economy. Following this, in 2006, the Domestic Workers Rights Union was set up and began to spread awareness to collectivise workers, to increase bargaining power, to struggle for decent wages for decent work.

Employment Situation of Domestic Workers

The gendered notion of housework must be kept in mind when organising these workers. Very little value is given to housework. Therefore, domestic workers doing these tasks in others` homes receive no recognition. The first step in organising is to build a database of their employment, taking into account all the categories of domestic workers.

Live-in, full-time workers are the ones that are most likely to be in bonded labour situations, to be trafficked and be most vulnerable to sexual abuse. It is very difficult to protect them because very little is known about what happens inside households. These workers work in the households all through the day and every day; it is, therefore, often difficult for anybody to contact them or for them to get the time to leave the household for meetings.

Full-time workers, who do not live in, usually work from 7 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. Other workers, especially part-time workers, may be employed to perform only one kind of task, such as only cooking, only cleaning or only child care. Often the task allocation has a caste basis. In other situations, the tasks for which the worker is responsible may not be properly defined in the beginning, making it easy for the employer to allocate extra tasks, usually with no gratitude or recognition.

Part-time workers, often work in several houses every day to make a minimal living. Their wages are as low as around Rs 300-500 a month for a basic task. This includes four categories of work- sweeping, mopping, cleaning utensils and washing clothes. There is no regulation of their work. They get no holidays, support or recognition. They are entitled to no leave, not even sick leave. If they do get sick, their pay is usually deducted for the time taken off or the work just piles up for the next day.

Piece rate workers work on particular tasks, and get paid by the task, for example, clothes washers or dhobis, in Bidar charge a rate of Rs 50 per person for washing clothes. This is a monthly rate! In urban areas, it varies. Monthly rates are fixed at, say,      Rs 200-250 per task. Most payments are in cash; in some areas, cheque payments are made. Usually, in Bangalore, domestic workers are not paid in kind. But a large number of live-in domestic workers, including the child domestic workers brought in from outside Bangalore city, are paid in kind. Paying in  kind means providing them with a place to stay, food, electricity and water. The demand is to get payment in cash, even if the amount is meagre.

Strategies for Organising

Keeping these facts in mind, it is obvious that strategies for organising will vary. The part-timers and full-day workers, living in the slums of Bangalore, are contacted directly through cultural programmes, awareness programmes, membership drives and through the existing NGOs and CBOs in different residential areas. Public sittings, information surveys and street corner meetings are held in these areas. Some volunteers have been working in colleges to sensitise the students to their own domestic help. One of the important, but not necessarily easy, ways of reaching domestic workers in their residential colonies is through NGOs working in these areas. SJS has, through several meetings with NGO staff and with the Self Help Groups that they have helped form, spread awareness on issues faced by domestic workers, as well as held membership camps. Leadership committees in the slums, some affiliated to political parties and political groups such as youth clubs, are also potential contact points.

The strategies to organise residential or live-in domestic workers have been evolved by trial and error. These workers are the most difficult to organise, and getting information about their numbers or contacting them is sometimes impossible. So the practice adopted has been to survey apartment complexes, to stand at the gates and gather information from the other domestic workers. The child and the adult live-in workers are contacted in parks or gardens when they bring the children to play. Information is also gathered indirectly through existing members, who work in the same apartments and have access to these apartments. Another strategy has been to talk to the Residents Welfare Associations, which have, in many cases, responded favorably to efforts to work on the issue of child labour.

But the response has been slow and not very favourable in the case of adult domestic workers. Often, employers simply look down on workers and do not consider the possibility of working issues out with them. SJS tried out an experiment in one of the apartment blocks. A forum, which functioned like a grievance cell, was formed by the employers and the employees. This allowed for dialogue between employer and employee. The process also enabled the mechanism of record keeping, and identity proof of the domestic workers. An attempt to form such a forum was initiated in Wilson Gardens, a housing society in Bangalore. However, it had to be stalled because permission was not given by the president of the Residents Welfare Association. But the attempt to form such a forum is being strongly followed up by SJS.

The situation demanded a strategy different from unionisation. Hence, a placement cell was set up. This provided members of SJS scope for dialogue with employers, and both-the employer and the employee-had a sense of accountability and responsibility. This strategy did help to contact more domestic workers but it did not necessarily translate into them becoming members. Also because of the limited members and infrastructure, SJS did not run the placement cell as a professional placement agency. However, this whole process led to a more careful investigation of the placement agencies in Bangalore, in order to map the live-in workers. More work remains to be done.

SJS has also thought of skill development as a strategy to reach domestic workers. It conducts small trainings in housekeeping and cooking so that, with these upgraded skills, domestic workers can earn more money.

SJS also works through the medium of culture, using symbolic politics as a strategy. For example, during Dussehra, on one day of the festival, the implements people work with are worshipped- commonly garlands are put on buses and rickshaws and the carpenters` tools. SJS conducted a pooja in which the broom is worshipped. A broom is considered very `dirty` and some women objected to the practice. They were then told that all work is dignified. To further this thought through a symbolic act, a dalit lady did the aarti (customarily done by higher caste). This was done to prompt discussion.

In order to involve the husbands, as well as to work with what is available, SJS has been spreading awareness in the welfare board set up for construction workers. The work with (male) construction workers is a strategy or entry point because it often allows SJS to work with their wives.

Impact

The impact of the effort to organise domestic workers is certainly being felt although it may not be clearly visible and defined. There are noticeable changes in the women between the time they joined the union and the today. This is evident in the small assertions made by the women and the recognition they have received. An example of this is that the women boldly raised the issue of caste at their workplace. In most households in India, women face discrimination because most of them belong to the dalit caste. Very often, employers give them food in a glass and plate (plastic) that is specially allocated for them. One domestic worker broached this issue with her employer saying, "I am not an outcaste. I clean and wash your house, vessels and clothes. We both have the same blood. I will not drink from a separate plastic cup." Her assertion helped her to claim her dignity.

Similarly, other women have shared how their employers have begun to see them in a new light. Many of the domestic workers now have a weekly off, get some extra money as bonus and some have even got an increase in salary! The women too have realised the value of collective strength and have managed to voice and take up issues collectively. Many a time, women have themselves handled issues of allegations of theft and have also negotiated for themselves. Many domestic workers have expressed how their being a member of a union has given them new respect in the police station. They have gained courage in their own lives.

Women`s rights are at such a premium in our country that even a few hundred individuals raising their voice and trying to break the culture of silence is of immeasurable value. Every voice counts because women have to surpass class, caste and patriarchy controls to gain visibility and dignity.

Recognising Domestic Work

It is heartening to see that the ILO, decades after its birth, is willing to recognise domestic work as decent work. This gives the invisible nature of domestic work a visibility and, therefore, the push for all of society to take the notion of domestic work and the workers seriously. The setting up of a Convention will help to establish the notion of domestic work as productive work and, therefore, to be regulated, recognised and protected. It will also push the governments to sit up and pay attention to the plight of domestic workers, who have so far been ignored and treated as though they do not exist and are not human beings.

The proposed Convention will also be of help in pushing for a national legislation, which is needed because the working conditions and realities of domestic workers are very different from that of other unorganised sector workers. The employer-employee relationship and the nature of employment too are very different and are grounded in social realities. Domestic workers are a huge, neglected workforce, comprising mainly women, who are an invisible, productive part of the economy. The nature of the workplace, the lack of access to the households for negotiations and the non-worker identity of domestic workers require not only separate laws but also very different implementation mechanisms.

The Road Ahead

There are miles to go, and the struggle is tough and arduous. However, it is certain that, one day, the domestic worker will march with dignity, head held high, claiming a rightful place in the listing with other workers, earning recognition, protection and justice.

One of the most important and urgent giant steps to be taken is to build a database (through the national census) of domestic workers in our country, which will  enable us to ascertain the magnitude of the domestic work sector. Stree Jagruti Samiti insists during its regular work or in public sittings that domestic workers share all their workplace details, so that it is documented. The second task is to draft a comprehensive legislation, or at least push for a reference point of action, for example, a code of practice for both employers and employees.

Third, a lot of time, money and energy have to be expended to sensitise the many stakeholders in this sector-the employers, employees, Resident Welfare Associations, police, media, youth, and general public. The importance of the domestic workers and the need to treat them with respect is the consistent message. There is also tremendous need for documentation of the issues involved in this sector, covering all the categories of workers, with different kinds of case studies, and practices, in order to arrive at sustainable processes for a future with dignity for all domestic workers.