Kolkata, Days after receiving the trade union certificate from the West Bengal government, thousands of domestic workers on Friday rallied here demanding just wages and social security.
The rally, organised by ‘Sramik Suraksha Kendra’ (Centre for Labour Protection), a state based forum that works on labour issues, began from central Kolkata’s Sealdah, and culminated at Rani Rashmani Road, two km away.
Nearly 2,700 housemaids, housekeepers, and cleaners from the city and a number of districts accompanied by members of civil society, trade unions, employers and academicians participated in the rally called ‘Griha Shramik Adhikar Abhijan’ with banners and placards demanding a parity in minimum wages for the domestic workers across the nation.
“We are fighting for the rights of domestic workers since 2014. We demand a legislation protecting their rights and other facilities. Also a welfare board should be formed to look after their problems,” Subrata Kar, joint convener of the forum, told IANS.
“Domestic help from Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Bardhaman and certain districts of north Bengal participated in the rally. We also invited the employers of domestic workers in the rally. Many of them have supported our demands,” he said.
The Paschimbanga Griha Paricharika Samiti (PGPS-West Bengal Domestic Workers Society), an organisation for domestic help, that has been fighting for trade licence since 2016, received the trade union certificate from the State government on June 17.
