The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) , trade union affiliated to Communist Party of India (Marxist), has demanded that Urban Company should ensure minimum wages for domestic workers it’s offering to clients to avoid their exploitation.
The new service for domestic “maids” offered by the Urban Company which “promises” to make available domestic services within 15 minutes for ₹49 per hour is yet another example of the continuing exploitation and dehumanisation of paid domestic workers in our country, the CITU said in a statement.
Expressing apprehension, the trade union said that it is well known that such platforms charge a commission to the workers, which successively increases over time, leading to severe exploitation of such ‘gig’ workers.
“It is therefore unlikely that workers will get even the amount that has been advertised as the cost to the customer, which in any case is far below the minimum wages of at least ₹100 per hour that CITU has been demanding for some time now,” the CITU stated.
The issue of safety at the customers’ homes is critical especially when several other women providing beauty and other services by such platforms have complained of sexual harassment, the trade union statement read.
It should be noted that these companies continue to flout the law of the land and refuse to implement the POSH Act by falsely claiming to be ‘aggregators’ and not employers, it charged.
“We strongly condemn the pejorative term “maid” that has been used by the Urban Company. It shows its arrogance and wilful ignorance of the long–drawn struggles, both national and international, of domestic workers, against stigmatisation and for their dignity and status as workers,” CITU insisted.
The trade union stated that it is ironical that the service has been launched just when the Supreme Court has recently, suo moto commented on the vulnerability of domestic workers and the non-regulation of this crucial sector that employs lakhs of workers, primarily women.
We call upon the Government of India to take heed of this order and take steps to enact a comprehensive law that will regulate the working conditions of domestic workers and accord them their legitimate rights as workers, it observed.