Domestic child workers living in abysmal conditions

The working hours total 15 hours a day and most of the time they get an hour's break. The children are often given poor diet and have to ask for permission to have food. They suffer all kind of abuse, physical, emotional and sexual.

CJ: Jyoti Sonia Dhan

Sat, Nov 14, 2009 09:27:55 IST

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india news :

NOBEL LAUREATE Professor Amartya Sen said about child domestic workers that “it is not economic poverty but rather political poverty that is depriving children their rights to education and pushing them to the labour force. Our actions should aim at attacking this political poverty to bring education to the reach of children and free child domestic workers from the bondage.”

The child domestic labour is common and traditional form of child labour in India. Child domestic workers are referred to children engaged in domestic chores in a home outside the families for a wage in cash or kind. There are 12.6 million children in such work in India. Statistics from the UNICEF says that there are 35 million child labourers, out of which 20% to 40% do domestic work. About 86% of child domestic workers are girls and below 14 years of age. A report from the UNDP also says that 40% of child domestic workers are girls of age below 14 years especially employed in the metro cities. Each household has domestic tasks like cleaning, washing, laundry, food preparation, shopping, swabbing, or taking care of children. These tasks are performed by child workers.

What causes child domestic workers? There are a few major reasons like poverty, lack of alternative livelihood, parental attitude to female education and “demand from the middleclass for domestic workers”. While defining poverty, there are few things like the source of income is less as compared to the number of mouths to be fed. The repayment of debt; families do not make enough money from agriculture which results in child domestic workers. The agriculture land feeds them for eight months and for four months families go to work as labourers. The situation worsens when there is drought or flood. In such an adverse situation the parents prefer their children to go to work rather than sending them to schools. The girls especially are not sent to school rather made to work as domestic workers. Besides, the failure of the governments’ programmes and welfare benefits results in food insecurity, which force children to work.

The alarming issue is the demand of domestic workers among the middle class. The contemporary trend of women working outside the homes, there is necessary of ‘hired paid help’. But, this alone do not justify as it was observed that, families where women do not go outside the homes had also child domestic worker. The families prefer children as they have to pay less than adult for the same amount of work. They are perceived to be easier to be managed which means they are obedient and can be easily trained to conform to the requirement of the employers. They are more submissive and hardworking. They also give company for employer’s child. They are unable to organize to form unions and do not have the bargaining power.

This middleclass family generally approaches the relatives who were residing proximity to villages who can provide them cheap labour specially the girls. The monthly pay circulates around 200/- to 1500/- depending upon the city they send. If happens to be metro the price will be high and for district town bit lower then metro. Even the parents of the child are ready to send their daughter to such families who will pay them high. The campaign for “education to all” by Government does not interest sending their daughter to school. The reason behind is gender biasness. Parents are acquainted with the demand among the middle class for domestic workers therefore; they do not hesitate to send their daughters to work. New Delhi has a regular flow of girls from Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal. The children come from remote tribal villages to get employed -- from Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti, Gumla and Simdega of Jharkhand, so it is with other states.

There are innumerable placement agencies for child domestic workers. They negotiate with both the parties, the employer of the child and parents of the child. These agencies move around the village area and identify the families who are most needy. They influence them by narrating the benefits of sending their daughter to work. Thus, starts the journey of a little girl from the village to a town. The families do not even know where their daughters are sent. The agency gets one month’s salary from the employer of the child. The middleclass families in the cities are ready to accept children as domestic workers, since; they don’t want to pay more for domestic work.

The children face violence in the hands of employers. They are treated like bonded labourer. There are instances of child domestic workers in Lohardaga district of Jharkhand, where the children from tribal families work as bonded labourers in non tribal families. The reason behind is clearance of loans taken by the child’s parents.

The question is why a middleclass educated family does not have sensitivity towards these children. Is it that they only think of pay and work? The domestic child workers are treated as elders at the tender age of 8 or 10 years. The working hours totals 15 hours a day and most of the time they get an hour’s break. The children are often given poor diet and have to ask for permission to have food. They suffer all kind of abuse, physical, emotional and sexual. Do the educated think that if they hire a child then they can be treated according to their wishes?

The educated (middleclass) families should address this problem. If a family sends their children to work; out of poverty, then it is the role of the educated class to stretch out its hands to help. While bringing them home for work they should not be deprived of education and nutrition. This will help support the children’s poverty driven families and also provide protection to the child who would have been lost in flesh trade.

On the whole the government should have come up with stringent Acts on domestic workers and full implementation of programmes at the grassroots level which tends to pull more children as labourers due to poverty. Will a day come when these children will be celebrating Children’s day on November 14?

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