SHILLONG: The All Meghalaya Domestic Workers’ Union (AMDWU) has sought the intervention of the state government in fixing wages and setting up a welfare board for domestic helps.
Members of the union have met Chief Minister in this regard.
Addressing the media on Friday, AMDWU joint secretary Wanpynhun Kharsyntiew said the chief minister has assured that the government would ensure that domestic workers are given their rights.
“He (CM) also urged us to submit our suggestions so that the matter can be discussed in the Cabinet,” she said and informed that the union had submitted the proposed amount to be paid to different categories of workers, besides requesting for a wages card.
The union has categorised domestic workers into part-time, full-time and live-in (those staying with employers).
Kharsyntiew said the monthly wage for part-timers (those working for an hour) should be Rs 1,800 per month. Their work will comprise washing clothes and utensils, cleaning, gardening and marketing.
Those who are engaged for cooking and school duty should be paid Rs 2,000 per month.
“Baby-sitting and caring for the aged entail a full-time job and therefore their wages has been fixed at Rs 8000 per month,” she said. For the live-in domestic workers, the union has recommended Rs 5,000 per month (including food, accommodation and toiletries). They will also be allowed “period of rest and weekly day-off”.
According to Kharsyntiew, who is also the advocacy coordinator for the North East Regional Domestic Workers’ Movement, the decision to come up with the proposal was because there is no uniformity in wages.
“The domestic workers are finding it difficult to make ends meet through their jobs as the daily wage of Rs 180 per day is too less,” she said and added that the estimate arrived at by the union on the requirement of a domestic worker to run her family is Rs 330 per day which comes to around Rs 9,000 a month.
The union has been fighting for the rights of domestic workers and had raised its demands with the previous government too.