Over 400 domestic workers from all over Karnataka took part in a protest meeting organised by the Joint Action Committee of the Domestic Workers’ Unions here on Thursday on the occasion of International Domestic Workers Day.
Sharing their experiences, Radha, a domestic help, said, “Where I used to work earlier, they didn’t even allow me to enter the kitchen because of my caste. They kept all the used utensils in the washroom area so that I can clean them from there. I was not allowed to use the washroom which I used to clean. Are we not human beings?” Jahira, a domestic help from West Bengal, working here for the last 12 years, said, “During the pandemic, we were treated like carriers of the infection. On top of that, almost every week, the police would come to our slum, even at midnight, asking for ID cards.” Kapila, Munilaxmi, and other domestic help raised their voices for weekly holidays, bonuses, the dignity of labour, and other social justice as they were joined in with the slogan, “We are not slaves, we are not servants, and we also have the right to decent wages and recognition.”
Geeta Menon, chairperson of the committee, said, “Every year, on International Domestic Workers Day, we stage protests, but India, till today, has not ratified the ILO convention which will pave the way for a strong legislation at the Central and State level.”
