Maid in India

Maid in India
Low wages
Because of on-going deliberations between trade unions and manufacturers, there is no
established minimum wage for workers in the textile and garment industry in Tamil Nadu. In 2008
the Tamil Nadu State Government set the minimum wages for apprentices in the mills at Rs. 184
(€2.83) a day with the view to end the exploitation of young women working as ‘apprentices’. 26
There are no minimum wages for regular workers. But following the logic that more experienced
workers earn more than apprentices; the assumption is that wages should increase when the
apprentice period has ended. Compensation for overtime (double wages according to the law) is
seldom paid.
Limited freedom of movement
Workers that stay in dormitories are severely restricted in their freedom of movement. In their free
time female workers are not allowed to leave the hostel accommodation freely. Male workers do
not experience this limitation in freedom of movement. Outside working hours men are free to leave
the factory/hostel grounds. In most cases, when female workers leave the hostel they are
accompanied by a guard. Leaving unaccompanied is difficult in a tradition of protecting unmarried
girls. In some factories, however, female workers are now allowed to go out in groups, usually once
a week or once a month.
Parents and other family members are allowed to visit their daughters on free Sundays, but only if
a photograph of these family members has been submitted to the factory management.
The use of telephones is restricted. Sometimes workers are not allowed to use mobile phones. In
most hostels there is a common phone, often in the warden’s room, which can be used by workers
to speak with their parents. Workers can make calls to their parents with the permission and in the
presence of the warden. All incoming calls will be received by the warden and given to workers
after confirming that the caller is parent of the concerned worker.
Occupational health and safety
Accidents happen frequently because workers lack training and instructions to properly work the
machinery. Fatigue due to excessive overwork is another element contributing to work place
accidents.
Harassment
Workers are physically and verbally abused by male higher-caste supervisors. This occurs if they
fall asleep or if their work pace is going down after having worked long hours. Sexual harassment
is reported as well, although it is hard to establish how common this is as the willingness to talk
about this is very limited.
In a study published in 2010, Verité describes how the brokers network that recruits girls to work in
the mills and garment factories, intersects and sometimes overlaps with a network of sex
traffickers. According to the Verité report, a system of sex trafficking of girls involved in the
Sumangali Scheme is entrenched within the networks of supervisors, factory workers, company
managers, staff at hostels and other labour suppliers. The girls, who have no freedom of movement
and very little contact with their families, are forced into the sex trade. They work during the day
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The minimum wage for 8 hours of work is 110 Rupees. To this amount a dearness allowance is added to compensate for
increasing costs of living. The dearness allowance is set at 74 Rupees.