Abstract
This empirical study explores the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on migrant women domestic workers. The tools which employed in this study are in-depth interviews, informal conversations, flash discussions conducted with five domestic workers who are currently working for a society (apartment compound). Based on the interviews done, this paper centres on narratives and experiences using a qualitative ethnographic approach. Safety measures; support from employers; reduction in household income are some of the important themes of this study. It is found that the lockdown has affected their work and income. Even when the lockdown was lifted, they were not able to return to work immediately due to restriction in movement. The fear of the disease spreading was a major issue for all. To protect their identity and privacy, all the names used in the article are anonymised through pseudonyms.
Introduction: Life in Pandemic (narratives)
For ten years Lakhimi Das has been cooking for several families in Barsapara[1]. She came from Nagaon[2]in search of work after her husband died. When the pandemic started to spread and restrictions on mobility were introduced across the country, housing complexes and localities temporarily banned the entry of domestic workers. Lakhimi is the sole bread winner for her ailing mother and a teenage son. This pandemic brought a big change in the financial situation for her. Upon asking about the life during the on-going pandemic, she said: “my life became very difficult with no income and no savings. I work for three houses now and looking for some (sic). I cannot go back to nagaon, I have to work here.”
For Himani DebRoy who lives near the railway station in Panbazaar[3], the pandemic was hard. She lost all her jobs. She uses the bus to go to work as the distance is far from her place. Since she lives in a slum area, the employers chose to close the doors for any domestic workers. She explains her situation thus: “…my employers thought since I travel from a slum area, the chances of[COVID-19] infection might increase. Suddenly one day all the four houses where I work told me they do not need me anymore (sic).” Along with her cousin she came from Silchar[4]to work in the city and earn a living. It was in early 2020 when they came in search of work and by April the scenario changed.
Jaya while taking the stairs with me said “I am a domestic worker according to my employers, but I am a care giver to a special child of my employer; I cook for them, do the chores and stay all day but now everything has changed, if this continues I will return to my village in north Guwahati.” She mentions that her employer’s change in behaviour was not welcoming. There was a time when she used to be treated well and now she is considered as a potential carrier of the virus and is sprayed with disinfectant all over before being allowed to enter the house.
Likewise, both mother and daughter, Leena and Pujacame from Hojai[5] in search of job three years ago. According to them city life has more options and choices if one is doing hard work. For three months during lockdown, they didn’t work at all. They explained that,“…for those three months, life was very difficult. Whatever we earn, we used for our household so when lockdown started, we had no savings left”.
Although, all the five respondents stated that they got their due payments but in absence of work, the employers refused to pay anything. This plunged them into poverty and they fell into debts. Due to their weak bargaining power, they could not raise their voices and ask for monetary help during those times.
Reflections on the Impact of COVID-19 in Assam
COVID-19 has brought most of the world to a halt. It has brought an entirely new human experience. It has also fundamentally altered global human mobility. Some are comparing the current pandemic to the “Spanish Flu” of 1918.
In the context of India, caste, religion and gender dimensions also play a major role in determining the features of domestic work as well as nature of exploitation (Raghuram, 2001) which also influences the bargaining power of the domestic workers. In Delhi, domestic workers complained of reduced wages and non-payment during March-April 2020 (Goel et al., 2020; Yadav, 2020). Similarly, a research study in Kerala showed that absence of formal registration with social security boardhad denied women domestic workers of any government relief during the pandemic times whereby 51 per cent had difficulty buying essential food items and 36 per cent had difficulty with health care access (Institute of Social Study Trust, 2020).
There were no specific studies conducted to understand the plight of domestic workers’ condition in Assam during the initial phases of the lockdown. However, from the data collected it was clear that the domestic workers who could not show proper documents were left out from getting the access to ration.
Support from the state government
In view of the rising COVID-19 cases and its effect in Assam, the state government decided to provide essential commodities worth 2,000 rupees per month to the poor living in containment zones. This announcement gave some relief to the state’s poor population. However, in March 2020, the Assam government decided to provide ration to the poor. Even the Orunodoi scheme proposed to provide a sum of 830 rupees to economically backward households. This initiative got a positive response from the masses. But few of the urban poor and the respondents of this study were of the view that doing paper works and standing in the long queue for ration was tough. Many fair price shops[6] asked amount from them to get the ration. Even to get enrolled for the scheme people offered their help but in lieu of some amount. Thus, for few, these state support did no help. The respondents viewed this as waste of time to follow the guidelines. They preferred to search for jobs which will give them more security. Cost of living in a city is not going to be covered by 830 or 2000 rupees as said by one of the respondents.
For most of the domestic workers and other migrants, the story might sound similar. However, for the migrant workers, it becomes a little difficult when they go out in search of employment be it within the State or outside. Across the country the migrants were stranded and struggled for livelihood. The employers do not trust people coming from different places and thus the domestic workers lose out on good income source. Once the rapport is built and they become familiar, the city is seen a less difficult place to live (study findings). Many people like Lakhimi, Himani and Jaya lost their jobs and had financial problems during the pandemic. Today, even as the lockdown has been gradually lifted in India many domestic workers continue to struggle for earning a living. Their decision to move again and return to their place of origin is due to the lack of attention given by authorities and their employers.
Conclusion
Migrant domestic workers provide indispensable services to the society. The lack of proper recruitment criteria and wage regulation pushed them to do jobs where they cannot bargain with their employer. The International Labour Organisation viewed the need to improve labour and migration laws and policies and came with a Convention and Recommendation-Convention concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers, 2011 (No. 189) and Recommendation No. 201 to support its constituents in achieving decent work for domestic workers. As part of this strategy,the migrant domestic workers might seek to expand knowledge, raise awareness, promote exchange and dialogue and develop policy tools to ensure effective protection of their rights.
Migrants employed in the domestic work sector play important roles in taking care of children, sick, and elderly as well as the maintaining household chores. All these helps prevent the spread of the virus. However, despite their enormous contribution to the functioning of households they are neglected and affected by the crisis. The IOM has released a set of guidelines for employers and businesses to enhance migrant worker protection during the COVID-19 pandemic, with specific recommendations to address the vulnerabilities. However, it will be interesting to see how India and the states regulate the laws to recognise the rights of the domestic workers. The study thus recommends that the government must work on the registration of domestic workers to ensure that they are protected from social and economic vulnerabilities.
[1] Barsapara is a locality in Guwahati, India.
[2]Nagaon is a municipal board in Nagaon district of Assam (India) and 121 kilometres from Guwahati.
[3] Panbazaar is a locality in Guwahati, India.
[4]Silchar is the headquarters of the Cachar district of Assam (India) and 343 kilometres from Guwahati.
[5]Hojai is a town and a municipal board in Hojai district of Assam(India) and 171.1 kilometres from Guwahati.
[6]Fair Price Shop means a shop which has been licensed to distribute essential commodities by an order issued under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to the ration card holders under the Targeted Public Distribution System.
References
Goel, S., Sen, P., Dev, P., & Vijayalakshmi, A. (2020, June). During coronavirus lockdown, women domestic workers have struggled to by essentials says surveys. Scroll. https://scroll.in/article/963519/during-coronaviruslockdown- women-domestic-workers-have-struggled-to-buy-essentials-shows-survey.
Institute of Social Studies Trust. (2020). Impact of COVID 19 national lockdown on women domestic workers in Delhi. Working Paper. https://www.isstindia.org/publications/1590124768_pub_ISST_-_Domestic_Workers_Final_compressed.pdf.
Raghuram, P. (2001). Caste and gender in the organisation of paid domestic work in India. Work, Employment and Society, 15(3), 607–617.
Yadav, A. (2020, April). India: Hunger and uncertainty under Delhi’s Coronavirus lockdown. Aljazeera.
Bhowmick Piyali is a PhD scholar at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati Off Campus, India. She obtained MPhil degree in 2016 in Social Sciences from TISS Guwahati campus. She has done MA in Sociology in 2014 from Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi. Her areas of interest include- Labour Process, Manufacturing Industry, Sociology of everyday lives, Migration, Family and Kinship, Migration and Social networks.