Under the provisions of Minimum Wages Act, 1948, both the Central and State Governments can fix/revise minimum wages in the Schedule employment in their respective spheres. Since domestic workers fall under the purview of State sphere, some of the States have included domestic workers as a schedule employment. These States include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. On the basis of information available, the hourly/daily/monthly rates of wages fixed for domestic workers by these States are as under:
|
The Government has enacted the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 for the social security and welfare of unorganised workers which includes domestic workers. The National Social Security Board constituted under the Act has constituted a Sub-Committee of the Board to explore the extension of Social Security Schemes for unorganized workers. The said Sub-Committee recommended domestic workers as one of the categories to be considered for social security. Accordingly, the Government has set-up a Task Force to evolve a policy frame work for domestic workers in the context of regulatory mechanism and providing social security. The Task Force has been examining various issues such as extending coverage of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), health and maternity benefits, life and disability benefit, old age pension, etc., to domestic workers. It has held three meetings on 13th January, 2010, 1st February, 2010 and 25th February, 2010. The Task Force is likely to submit its Report soon.
Also Check: Other Paycheck Articles