Maid In India: A finance professional takes up cudgels for domestic help

Like any industrious Mumbaikar, 43-year-old Savita Mhambre also works from dawn to dusk to earn a living.

However, unlike other professionals, Mhambre is not entitled to privileges such as holidays, weekly day off or sick leave. She works eight hours a day, seven days a week. If she takes a day off, her employers threaten to cut a day’s salary. Her increments and bonuses also depend on their mood. Last Diwali, after a lot of pleading, her pay was increased by Rs125.

Mhambre says that her meagre salary of Rs3,125, earned after washing utensils and clothes, and mopping floors, is just not enough to meet the needs of her five-member household every month.

However, now help is at hand for Mhambre and nearly 10 million unorganised sector workers that include maids, nannies, carpenters and drivers.

Ashish Goenka, a Mumbai-based finance professional, has started Maid In India (MII)—a platform for unorganised sector workers—to provide them financial security. MII was started in March last year with help from UnLtd India, a venture for social entrepreneurs. MII not only gives this sector a professional appearance but also helps workers upgrade their skills.     

“Maids often complain that they are not treated fairly by their employers. They have to literally beg their employers for a pay hike and a day off. On the other hand, there is a persistent demand for maids in an urban set-up,” says Goenka. He juxtaposed that demand with the crippling socio economic status of maids to set up this venture. The idea originated when he saw his own maid suffer when she had to repay a loan to a local moneylender.

“My maid was just not able to repay the heavy interest which the moneylender was charging. I helped bail her out, but that’s when I genuinely felt that these people need much more than just their minuscule monthly incomes,” says Goenka.

MII provides maids with access to life and health insurance. Goenka helps them open bank accounts. “So besides their salary, they get some other kind of security. When maids are aware that they are getting more than just an income, they become more responsible towards their jobs and start taking things seriously.”

The venture is looking at imparting formal training to maids with respect to hygiene, child-care and communication. At present, Goenka’s family helps train the maids in an informal setup. He also wants them to learn some basic English. “I feel that if their skills are built, they can command a better pay,” says Goenka.
MII works on a model, wherein employers pay the venture, and the venture pays the maids their monthly salaries on a stipulated date. “In return, MII ensures that employers get good and timely services, with replacements provided when a maid is on leave.”

MII started with Goenka’s own maid and those of his relatives. Through word of mouth, it has managed to rope in 30 maids. Goenka now has an ambitious target of reaching 500,000 maids in probably the next 10 years. “I get calls from people looking for maids all the time. But the basic challenge is that there needs a mindset change. Maids find it difficult to accept that a platform like this will work to their advantage.”

Goenka wants to work toward a scenario where all maids will get about 25 days paid leave annually as well as some sick leaves. “But for that we need more maids who can replace the existing ones during their vacations.”

He feels this venture can be extended to include other workers of the unorganised sector such as drivers, nannies and geriatric care providers in the future. “I have to see how this venture works before extending it to other segments,” says Goenka.