Empowering an invisible workforce

In the bustling metropolis of Bengaluru, female domestic workers form the backbone of countless households, ensuring the smooth functioning of daily life. Domestic workers enable millions of working individuals, especially women, to participate in the labour market by taking over household responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, childcare, and elder care.

In recent years, there has been a rise in both supply and demand for domestic workers in India. Economist Jayati Ghosh identifies two overarching reasons. Economic sectors that were offering jobs to informal workers, especially women, such as construction, agriculture, and manufacturing, have become inconsistent and reduced labour intake. Secondly, India has seen a growing number of middle-class families that can spend more and hire domestic workers. Although inadequately compensated, domestic labour provides rather stable daily employment, frequently including meals and lodging for live-in personnel.

A significant number of domestic workers possess minimal or no formal education, hence constraining their opportunities for higher-paying or skilled employment. For them, domestic labour represents one of the limited employment opportunities in urban areas. The increase in the number of domestic workers is exacerbated by industrialisation and urbanisation, resulting in a growing surplus of unskilled labourers migrating from rural economies to urban areas.

The majority of these workers belong to the informal urban economy, especially within the rapidly growing services sector. Karnataka has roughly 600,000 to 700,000 domestic workers, predominantly concentrated in Bengaluru – only a small portion of this population is officially documented.

According to the latest data, 232,916 domestic workers in Bengaluru are registered with the e-Shram platform. Nonetheless, 2,473 labour ID cards have been distributed in Bengaluru Rural and 9,519 in Bengaluru Urban, highlighting a significant disparity in formal acknowledgement. The prescribed minimum salary for domestic workers in Karnataka varies from Rs 12,241 to Rs 14,711 per month. Conversely, numerous workers earn between Rs 2,000 and Rs 13,000, requiring employment in multiple households, to achieve the minimum wage standard. These data are sourced from the official website of the Karnataka State Unorganised Workers Social Security Board.

A considerable proportion of domestic workers lack awareness of their rights to minimum pay, and the enforcement tools are inadequate. The informal characteristics of domestic labour, frequently devoid of formal agreements, intensify this problem. Most of Bengaluru’s women domestic workers are hired verbally with no written agreement on wages and working hours. They are often excluded from schemes like ESI (Employee State Insurance), PF (Provident Fund) or maternity benefits. Employers can dismiss workers without notice or compensation.

Furthermore, women often earn less than men for similar household tasks. Some employers delay or deny payment and exploitative working conditions lead to long working hours – many of them working for 10-12 hours across multiple homes or as live-ins. There is often no provision for sick leave, holidays, or a weekly day off. Repetitive labour-intensive work leads to chronic back pain, joint issues, and fatigue.

To worsen things, social discrimination and stigma create caste and class bias; domestic workers (often from Dalit or Adivasi communities) face discrimination and are denied access to utensils, toilets, or even kitchens. There is a lack of representation and an official forum to report abuse or exploitation.

App-based models such as Urban Company and Snabbit can improve the situation of domestic workers. These apps can connect workers to a larger pool of clients quickly, reducing their dependency on word-of-mouth or middlemen. Many platforms offer fixed or transparent rates per service (e.g., Rs 300 for house cleaning and Rs 500 for deep cleaning) which can reduce wage exploitation.

Workers who do well can build a strong profile and get more jobs through positive ratings. Some platforms allow clients and workers to rate each other, promoting accountability. Workers can sometimes choose their shifts or locations. Some platforms include background verification, GPS tracking, and helpline numbers for emergencies, improving worker safety to some extent.

State support imperative

Yet, while technology may offer short-term safeguards, it cannot replace the long-overdue structural recognition of their rights. From 2021 to 2023, female employees affiliated with Urban Company in cities such as Delhi and Bengaluru conducted protests, expressing their dissatisfaction regarding unregulated working conditions, inadequate safety protocols, and exploitative commission frameworks, with certain platforms withholding up to 30-35% of their earnings. One main issue is the rating system: a single bad customer review can lead to instant suspension or account deactivation. Protesters are demanding clear contracts, real ways to file complaints, and recognition under labour laws.

Karnataka’s State Domestic Workers Welfare Board began operations in 2004, with the goal of formally registering domestic workers, ensuring fair wages and working conditions, and providing access to health, education, housing, pensions, accident insurance, skill development, and legal aid. It has had very limited reach: of the estimated 600,000-700,000 domestic workers, only a small fraction are registered, and minimal awareness campaigns were conducted. Understaffed and underfunded, relying largely on central schemes rather than dedicated state resources, the board remains largely symbolic, failing to improve pay, work conditions, or recognition, especially for women working part-time in multiple households, many of whom are still unrecognised by the government.

Kerala’s Domestic Workers Welfare Fund Board is a strong model: workers contribute Rs 50-Rs 100 a month, matched by the government, and receive benefits such as pensions from age 60, health and maternity cover, accident/fatality pay, and education for children. NGOs and trade unions help register workers, and support includes helplines, legal aid, and mediation in issues such as wage theft or wrongful termination. If Bengaluru adopted a similar legally backed state board, thousands of informal domestic workers could gain access to social security, regulated employment, training, and collective representation. This would shift domestic work from a precarious, informal sector to one based on dignity, rights, and stability.

(Amrita is a PhD scholar and Maya is an assistant professor at the
Department of Economics, Christ Deemed to be University, Bengaluru)