Centre brainstorming on social security for domestic workers

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They are underpaid, have no social security, no retirement benefits, not governed by any labour laws and form one of the most helpless and fragmented sections of the country’s vast unorganised labour force. They are domestic helps and workers. Ahead of the general elections, the Centre is brainstorming ways to extend some form of social security for them under the extant legislations, The Economic Times reported.

A few benefits that might be extended to this category of workers include minimum wage, pension, medical insurance, maternity benefits and provident fund. Right now, the administration seems to be busy garnering the number of workers in this sector in the country.

“We are considering all options but a final call will be taken after we have an exact number of domestic workers in India,” a senior government official told the newspaper under conditions of anonymity.

The Social Security Code 2020 which is yet to be rolled out features domestic staff under the ‘wage worker’ category. If implemented it could mark a step towards universal welfare payments as envisaged under code. The code was drafted in 2019-20 but all the states have not framed the rules under the code.

The implication is clear: if the code is implemented, domestic helps and workers could claim wage-related benefits or wages laid down under the code.

Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF & MP) Act, Employees State Insurance (ESIC) Act and the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act and other benefits are embedded in this code.

The official also said that the scheme that is being worked upon will detail the benefits, the rate of contribution and the share of the beneficiary, employer and government to the total amounts.

A survey to determine the details of domestic workers in the country was held earlier. The Union ministry of labour and employment, through its arm Labour Bureau is now finalising it. Officials will set to work on the cost implications before finalising the contours of the social security programme.

The Aadhaar-seeded e-Shram portal also includes a database for unorganised workers that also subsumes domestic employees. Since this portal was launched in 2021, over 29.2 crore unorganised workers have registered on the e-Shram portal up till December 15 last year.

Unofficial data put the number of domestic workers at more than 5 crore. About three-fourths of them are women. According to the National Domestic Workers’ Movement, the estimate is 42 lakh.

However, some experts don’t see this proposed scheme coming off easily. Labour economist KR Shyam Sundar said, “There is no clear definition of domestic workers under the code, which has clearly defined building workers and platform workers for the purpose of social security benefits. This means that domestic workers are not entitled to social security benefits provided under the code.