Remarkable Move: Rajasthan Govt. Sets Minimum Wage & Working Hours For Domestic Helps

Image Source: theguardian

In a remarkable move and first of its kind, the Rajasthan Government has set Rs. 5642 as the minimum wage for domestic help. Implementing labor reforms in the unorganised sector, the state labour department has taken steps in this direction.

“Domestic workers were included in Scheduled 27 of the Minimum Wages Act eight years ago. But, we have now fixed the number of working hours for them to ensure they are paid well, ” said Dhanraj Sharma, Additional Labour Commissioner as per a report by DNA

Few of the key points of the reforms are:
■ Minimum wage is set at Rs 5,642 per month for an entire day’s chores – including cooking, washing, baby sitting and other work.

■ The minimum wage is exclusive of food, clothing, accommodation or any other benefits.

■ For just washing dishes and laundry, Domestic help will be paid a minimum Rs 705 per month for a household of four people. If the households consists of more than four people, 10% extra will be paid over the minimum.

■ If an employer is already paying more than the prescribed minimum wage, then he or she must continue to pay the higher amount.

■ Employers will have to pay workers double the minimum fixed per hour for each hour beyond the mandated eight hours.

■ Labour inspectors will carry out surprise checks to see if the norms are followed.

The Logical Indian appreciates Rajasthan government for coming up with this move. In India, people working in unorganised sectors have been recieving end of expoitation but no govt. tried to help them. It is time the rights of people working in unorganised sectors need to be talked about.