Anguished by the years of abuse an impoverished tribal woman from Chhattisgarh suffered as a domestic worker in the national capital and neighbouring cities, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) directed the Union government to work on bringing a law to protect this burgeoning but unorganised workforce from exploitation.
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“The simple reason for this harassment and rampant abuse, which seems to be prevalent throughout the country, is the legal vacuum which exists vis-à-vis the rights and protection of domestic workers… As a result, they frequently endure low wages, unsafe environments, and extended hours without effective recourse,” the court observed in a judgment.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan ordered the Centre to form an inter-ministerial committee to “consider the desirability of recommending a legal framework for the benefit, protection and regulation of the rights of domestic workers”.
The committee must comprise experts from the Ministries of Labour, Women and Child Development, Law and Justice and Social Justice and Empowerment. The report of the committee must be placed before the Union government in six months, after which the Centre would decide on the necessity of a law for domestic workers, who were mainly women.
Justice Kant, who wrote the judgment, said the lack of a Central law was indeed a vacuum.
State laws
The court drew attention to States like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala which had not waited for a Central law but took the initiative to enact their own laws to safeguard domestic workers. These three States had constituted specialised bodies under their respective laws to administer various social security benefits, maternity and childcare, education assistance, and medical expense reimbursement, minimum wages, lawful payment for workers, etc.
The court noted that multiple attempts were made in the past to bring a Central law to protect domestic workers, from The Domestic Workers (Conditions of Employment) Bill of 1959 to The Domestic Workers (Regulation of Work and Social Security) Bill of 2017. None of these proposed laws were enacted.
Justice Kant said the demand for domestic workers was mounting in India in consonance with rapid urbanisation. However, this indispensable workforce remained the most vulnerable to abuse.
“Domestic workers often belong to marginalised communities, such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Economically Weaker Sections. They are compelled to undertake domestic work due to financial hardship or displacement, further reinforcing their vulnerability,” Justice Kant noted.
