Bring domestic workers under labour law

Sultana Kamal, former adviser to the caretaker government, speaks at a dialogue on the rights of domestic workers at Cirdap auditorium in the city yesterday. On her right is Shirin Akhter and on her left is Abdul Matin Master. Domestic Workers' Rights Network organised the event.Photo: STAR

Rights activists yesterday called on the government to bring domestic workers under the protection of Labour Law 2006, which is currently being revised.
They also demanded quick progress in the code of conduct for employers, currently being drafted by the labour ministry to promote the rights of domestic workers and curb violence against them.
The rights activists made the call at a dialogue organised by the Domestic Workers' Rights Network (DWRN) in association with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at CIRDAP auditorium in the city.
They said domestic workers are considered informal labourers and there are no rules that can be applied to their employers. So, the employers can easily exploit domestic workers without facing legal actions.
They suggested that the government should fix a minimum wage, working hours and other benefits for domestic workers.
They also demanded action against employers responsible for physical or mental torture and sexual harassment of domestic workers.
There are no national data on domestic workers in Bangladesh. Different NGOs working with the issue often put the number in between 20 and 30 lakh. Of them, about 80 percent are women and girls.
Sultana Kamal, former adviser to the caretaker government and executive director of Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK), said majority of the domestic workers, being young female, are more prone to exploitation. So the situation is directly linked to gender-based violence.
She said most domestic workers are deprived of basic rights. They often live an isolated life.
Shaheen Anam, executive director, Manusher Jonno Foundation, said domestic workers remain outside the protection of the labour law, as they are not recognised as formal labourers. The state is clearly not playing its role to protect them.
Stressing the need for tough punishment to employers abusing the workers, she said most incidents of violence against domestic workers are settled with meagre amount of money and the perpetrators go unpunished.
Md Israfil Alam MP, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Labour and Employment, said domestic workers are treated as modern-day slaves.
He said the standing committee made suggestions to bring them under the law. However, it is hard to establish standard rules in this regard.
Shirin Akhter, chairperson of Karmojibi Nari, Advocate ZI Khan Panna, chairman of Human Rights Committee, Bangladesh Bar Council, Kazi Saifuddin Ahmed, Labour Adviser to Bangladesh Employers Federation, Md Zafrul Hasan, joint secretary general of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), and Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, coordinator of DWRN, also spoke.