Your space: In times of coronavirus, Punekars give paid leave to domestic helpers

As a response to avoid the spread of Covid-19, software professionals and other white collar employees have been allowed to work from home. What about our domestic helps, drivers and other such workers? Will you pay them their salary if they are forced to stay at home? Here is what our readers have to say...

Help those who work for us

A gardener is seen tending to plants while wearing a mask as a preventive measure against Covid-19 spread. (HT/PHOTO)

We have informed our domestic help and cook to take a break from work till the end of the month. We are not going to cut down their wages. Once the situation gets back to normal, we will ask them to start working again. This is the least we could do for them at this stage. We all are a part of the community and we must step up to help those who work for us.

Santosh Krishna

Educate and encourage

We must treat our domestic helps and other unorganised workers, the way we would like to be treated. We all are in this crisis together. Grant them paid leaves and encourage them to stay at home, whenever possible. We must also educate and encourage cleaning staff and those working in essential support to take all the necessary precautions while providing services. We must come together to do our part to contain the spread of this pandemic.

Shailendra Birthar

Look after your family

We often do not address our house helps, drivers by their name, but instead, address them as Tai (sister), Mausi (aunt), Kaka (uncle) and they too often address us as Didi (sister), Bhaiya (brother). This proves that they don’t merely work for us, they’re a part of our families since that is the way we address them. Crisis befalls almost all households the day they fail to turn up. We must aid our family members in this time of need. Pay them fully for their services and grant them leaves. Such gestures will go a long way in building our homes. Everyone who can afford this, must follow it. Let’s hope for the situation to become normal as soon as possible.

Chandrasekaran ar

Self quarantine, a must

In the society I live in, as a collective decision from the most of us, we have granted paid leaves to our maids till March 31. We will be reviewing this decision every week, considering the circumstances. Some of the members of the society have requested the maids to come once a week, depending on the situation, however, that number is very less. Personally, I feel we must strictly impose self quarantine and not take this pandemic lightly. Symptoms only surface between 4 to 14 days after infection.Thus,the actual problem escalates only after 8 to 10 days, which most countries, like China, Italy, have been unable to cope up with. I hope we do not mirror the situation in India.

Kiran Vadgama

Question of salary deduction must not arise

Drivers, maids, cooks, house helps must be given compulsory leave, if under any circumstance there is a risk of infection or one is in self quarantine, as precautionary measure. Give them compulsory leave and the question of deducting their salary must not arise. Since the new mantra is to “break the chain”, any step taken towards it shouldn’t attract penalising any working staff. It’s for the overall benefit.

Swapna Narayan

Practice social distancing

As a response to Covid-19, while software professionals and other employees have been allowed to work from home, I feel that we can easily do without domestic help and drivers for a week or ten days. This will also give us an opportunity to practice social distancing. In fact, I feel that they should be at least given 10 days break with pay, as after all, we too earn paid leaves.

Vikas Kamat

Protect your domestic workers

Domestic workers hail from financially weaker sections of the society and are often mostly illiterate. In India, we do not have adequate legal and policy framework that protects our domestic workers. They do not have fixed salaries, provident funds and pension. Without them our daily lives become twice as hard. We are invariably dependent on them and therefore, it is our moral obligation to pay them their full salaries while granting them leaves. They are in no position to cut down on expenditure like we do.

Anoop Panjwani