Why we need to treat domestic help better

The recent case of a well-educated, ex-IAS officer’s wife in Jharkhand ill-treating her tribal domestic help grabbed headlines. While the matter is still being investigated, the accusations are horrendous and hence I will not repeat them here. This case is clearly not the norm, but rather an extreme example when it comes to ill-treatment of domestic help. However, there is no denying that millions of Indians who work as domestic help have little official rights. People employing them, the middle and upper middle classes of India, have no prescribed code of conduct or best practices when it comes to how their domestic helpers are treated. It is about time we as a nation think about having a set of rights for domestic workers, as well as a code of conduct for the people employing them. The case is Jharkhand is a criminal one, most Indians are not doing that. However, as our nation develops, we should ensure that every Indian’s rights and dignity are protected and that includes our domestic staff. Here are some suggested best practices and potential new laws for employers of domestic workers.

1. Minimum wage – it is about time we have a minimum wage regulation for people employing domestic staff. These wages can vary by cities and states, depending on the cost of living. However, there is an inherent power imbalance in the employer-domestic help relationship, and having no floor on wages creates a lot of potential for exploitation.
2. A day off per week – Domestic help are humans too. Imagine if your office never gave you a day off. Imagine if weekends meant nothing, as there was no break in your life. That’s the life of most Indian domestic helpers. Please, give a day off to your helpers. It helps them unwind, recover, do their own errands, and have some leisure time. It’s just more humane. It will also allow kids in your house to do their own work the one day that the helper has an off. In many cities – Singapore and Hong Kong for instance, domestic help must be given a day off by law. While we have no such laws here yet, the onus is on you to give your helper a weekly off. We Indians believe in Karma, and being kind and humane will serve us all well.
3. No rudeness – It’s heart breaking to see so many Indians shout and yell at their helpers. Or to never thank them. Or to ignore them as they come and serve you food. Privilege is blind to the people who have it. If you have human beings in your life whose job is essentially to serve you and make you live your life better, you are extremely privileged and fortunate. Please, be grateful for that and do not be rude to your helpers. Acknowledge them, thank them and be generous towards them. That’s the minimum philanthropy you can do. Incidentally, this applies to serving staff at restaurants as well.
4. Don’t call them ‘servants’ – While symbolism and nomenclature has limited impact, it is about time we did away with terms like ‘servants’ and ‘naukar.’ Calling them ‘helpers’ or ‘domestic staff’ is much better. It’s a job they do. They are not slave servants from Victorian times.
5. Decent living conditions – If you have a live-in help, ensure they have a decent place to live and sleep. A clean bed, at least a fan if the weather is hot, adequate quilts or a heater if it is too cold, drinking water and decent toilet and shower facilities may sound like basic advice, but it is astonishing how many domestic helps do not have access to all this. Some might say providing all this is too expensive. Well, if it is too costly to provide a dignified living, do not hire a live-in help. You are not entitled to a full-time help in life, really.

We recently surpassed the UK in terms of the size of the overall economy. A lot of our national objectives are around GDP and per-capita income growth. However, along with economic growth, developing as a nation also means better treatment of its citizens. There’s no point having a hundred more billionaires and a thousand more unicorns if millions of our domestic help work in sub-human conditions. Let this case in Odisha be a wake-up call for Indians to do what is long overdue. It is time to do the right thing. It is time to help our helpers.