Gurugram to draft charter of rights for domestic help days after illegally employed teenager rescued

Gurugram deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav said that a committee will be set up to create framework of regulations for hiring domestic help

Three days after a teenager was rescued from a house in Sector 57 in Gurugram, where she was illegally employed as a help and allegedly tortured by her employers, the city’s district administration has decided to draft a “charter of rights for domestic helps”.

Yadav said the committee will also spell out the minimum number of meals the employer must provide to the help. (HT Photo)

On Tuesday, Gurugram deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav said that a committee will be set up by Wednesday, comprising legal experts, social activists, and district officials, who will create framework of regulations for hiring domestic helps, and the minimum wages they will be paid. “We are seeking legal opinion before releasing the charter. It will define the working hours of domestic helps, and minimum wage, which is currently ₹10,000 a month... We will ensure that no minors are hired in the district, and strict action will be taken against anyone who is seen flouting these rules,” said Yadav.

Yadav said the committee will also spell out the minimum number of meals the employer must provide to the help each day, the leaves they should get, means of communication with family members, and details of the medical expenses to be borne by the employers.

“Regular medical camps, in coordination with the Civil Hospital or private hospitals, will be set up in all residential areas every month, and it will be mandatory for all employers to get their helps medically checked,” Yadav said.

Read Here | ‘Fed biscuits like dog, given food once a day’: Gurugram minor help's mother

He said that the charter of rights will be released this week and shared with all resident welfare associations (RWAs), who will then have to implement it by next week. “We have decided to give the responsibility to RWA members of each society to maintain records and check on the domestic helps hired directly or through any placement agencies. A register will be maintained with the help’s name, mobile number, permanent address and the mobile number of a family member in case of an emergency,” Yadav said.

A district administration official, who asked not to be named, said that 60% of the domestic helps who are employed in Gurugram are registered with the local police. The rest, however, have not undergone any police verification. According to the district administration, employers have to get domestic helps verified once they are hired.

“There are hundreds of domestic workers living in Gurugram, who come here from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Assam. Several cases of exploitation have come to the fore. Though we step in wherever we receive a complaint, due to the lack of a set template, a majority of the helps don’t know what their rights are, and how they should be treated. The charter of rights of the domestic help will address these issues,” said Yadav.

Officials from the district administration said RWA members will be directed to meet the domestic helps at least once a month to gather information about their working conditions.

Read Here: Minor girl working as domestic help in Gurugram sexually assaulted, says Police

A team will be formed by the district administration led by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) that will conduct surprise visits to residential areas to check the records being maintained by the RWAs.  The administration is also working on placing an official at the mini secretariat  for the welfare of the helps and to resolve any conflict between the employer and the employee.

The police are yet to arrest a woman and her two sons who allegedly held the teenaged domestic help captive and tortured her at their home in Sector 57 for around four months. A first information report (FIR) was registered against them on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the teenager’s mother cited her daughter’s ordeal and alleged that the woman used to feed her daughter biscuits like dogs by throwing them at her, uprooted her hair, poured cleaning acid on her daughter’s palms, and gave her food only once a day.

Yadav said that in a majority of cases in which the domestic helps have been exploited, it has been found that they were being underpaid. “That’s why we have decided to set a minimum wages’ bar,” he said.

Read Here: Gurugram RWAs seek security for domestic helps

Maya John, convener of Gharelu Kamgar Union, a workers’ body said that 24x7 live-in work contracts should be made illegal as they “reduce the domestic worker to a position akin to slavery”. 

“In such cases, exploitation at the workplace is greater because the private employer controls your very being by tying you physically to the employer’s residence. Work hours and the quantum of work are very fluid, with the employers’ dictating terms. Live-in domestic work contracts are harder to regulate by any public agency,” John said. 

A member of the union said that such incidents are repeatedly being reported from Gurugram, and that the union has written to the district administration several times about the need for a comprehensive survey to identify and rescue helps who are being exploited.

“We have put the 24x7 work contract under legal review, and will be released once it’s ready. An agreement between the placement agency and an employer is signed before hiring a domestic help. This contract too will be redesigned to avoid any further harassment of the workers,” Yadav said.