Domestic workers should join hands for their rights, says CPI

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 22

Amarjit Kaur, national secretary of CPI and All India secretary of AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress), on Sunday said all domestic workers in the country should join hands to get their genuine rights.

She was speaking during a rally of domestic workers held at the Kabir Park market located opposite Guru Nanak Dev University here.

Addressing a large number of domestic workers from different parts of Punjab, she said it was the duty of the governments to fix rates of labour in the unorganised sector of domestic workers. She pointed out that the government should evolve a system to pay maternity benefits to them. She said successive governments at the Centre and in the state failed to make some policy due to which they were facing excesses and injustice in society.

To form a national-level union of domestic workers for taking up their issues with governments, a two-day conference was being held in Amritsar. She said representatives of domestic workers’ unions from different parts of the country were participating in the conference. She said after nominating a national-level body of the union, a charter of demands would be prepared, which would be forwarded to the Central Government for consideration.

She pointed out that domestic workers should be ready for a long struggle and make every sacrifice to get their genuine rights and justice. She asked them to participate in the All India convention of all trade unions slated to be held in Delhi on September 30.

Amarjit Kaur said due to wrong policies, including demonetisation and the GST, small and medium traders suffered a lot and they were forced to shut their businesses.” This also affected the domestic workers,” she said.

Former MLA Hardev Arshi said trade unions and their constitutions in the country were being targeted in the current dispensation at the Centre. He said the people were being divided on communal lines. He said the people should be aware of this and join hands to launch a struggle against such policies dividing societies.