To,
Shri Narendra Modi,
Honourable Prime Minister, India
And
Shri Bandaru Dattatreya,
The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, India
Respected Sir,
We are a part of ADDA, India’s leading online Software for Social Networking, Management, Billing and Accounting in Apartment Communities. Our software is being used by residents of more than 7500 housing societies across India. We thus represent a growing sector of urban population with nuclear families, belonging to middle, upper middle and well to do class, and for whom domestic help is a very essential & integral part of life.
Sir, referring to the news article on Economic Times, dated 6th August, 2015, titled “MAID IN INDIA, Govt. Shield for domestics soon”, we are writing this letter to convey our appreciation, to you and your ministry, for working on a national policy for domestic helps. An estimated 3 crore people are presently employed in India as a part of this unorganised sector. We wanted to congratulate you on your efforts to organise this sector so that the workers can avail benefits which society today offers to members of the organised service and manufacturing sector.
The cost of basic amenities like healthcare and education are increasing every day. As people who work as domestic help are a part of an unorganised sector, they are very often deprived of the benefits which are enjoyed by people having full time jobs in various government or private organisations like insurance cover, easy access to education loans, etc. Therefore, during any medical emergencies or when children of domestic help try to pursue higher studies, they are faced with distressing situations. Bringing the domestic help workers under an organised policy would bring about stability in their lives, consistency in their income, better working conditions and will help in building their respect in the society. Also, it will define their terms of working with defined policies, roles, responsibilities and expectations. These will bring about a sea change to their lives and in how we look at and treat our domestic help. We think it is a welcome change and a definite step towards betterment of our society.
Also referring to The Times of India article on 17th August, 2015, titled “New Policy for Rs. 9k minimum pay for servants”; on one hand though we believe that there is need for a legislation which will uphold the rights of the domestic help, on the other hand, it is also important to make the policies fair for the employers and not make it a financial burden for them, so that people adopt the policies and not resort to corrupt practices to circumvent them.
Sir, it would be a pleasure and absolute privilege if we can in any way become a part of the social revolution you are planning to bring about. Apartment dwellers in India, typically belong to an educated, and skilled working class who are opinion leaders and influencers and also are a major employer of domestic help. ADDA, being the software of choice for catering to all their needs related to their apartment, apartment complex and neighbourhood, has unique access to this segment. In case you want to release the draft version and gather people’s opinion on the policies, apartment residents are a perfect target group. We can also help in spreading the word of change to this group and to garner any support you might need for passing and successful implementation of the Bill.
Hoping to see a speedy drafting and implementation of the bill.
Yours Sincerely,
ADDA team