No more just a 'bai'

Without the “bai”, or domestic maid, much of Mumbai would come to a halt. These ubiquitous maids provide a much needed support system to working couples and middle-class families, allowing them to carry on with their white collar jobs. Regrettably, these maids are also often exploited.

Come February, however, these domestics could move from being just generic “bais” to becoming urban professionals with rights and HR perks. Hectic lobbying by organisations representing domestic maids over the last decade has finally paid off and the government has agreed to set up a group in February which will consider a possible workers’ rights legislation. The bill, if passed, will codify new regulations that will give domestics dignity as well as better working conditions. For starters, it will disallow the terminology ‘bai’ or ‘servant’ and require employers to refer to maids by their name or as a ‘domestic worker’. And it’s not so much about political correctness, as it is about affording labour some dignity.

The changes discussed address concerns of increasing minimum wages, paid leave, annual bonuses, weekly offs, medical access and even retirement and pension plans. Apart from these much-needed rights, the bill will help create a safer environment in which labour may function. The All India Democratic Women’s Association has observed that where professional insecurity rises, so does the chance of sexual exploitation. Risks to the domestic worker range from exposure to abuse, violence, to loss of pay, lack of leave and exploitative work hours.

Importantly, the bill will help to reduce child labour and stabilise what has otherwise remained a vicious economic cycle—less than subsistence wages force families to put children to work, and in turn the availability of children to perform adult chores at less pay, pushes down the minimum wage.

These measures are long overdue. India cannot claim to be moving towards becoming a globalised economy if its labour force continues to function in a medieval manner.

Real wages of the professional class have shot up in recent years, but at the bottom of the working ladder, conditions have not changed. Improving their lot will also create the space for a more professional class of domestic. Middle-class families often complain that their domestics give them a tough time; from now on, if you want to retain Kantabai, you better look after her.