Socio-Economic Study of Domestic Workers in Pune City
Author : Dr. Shashikant Bharat Shinde and Jayshree Uttam Chintakindi
Abstract :
Domestic work constitutes one of the largest yet most under-recognised segments of the urban informal labour market in India. In rapidly urbanising cities such as Pune, the expansion of nuclear households, rising female workforce participation among the middle class, and an ageing population have together fuelled a sustained demand for paid domestic help, drawing large numbers of migrant and local women into cooking, cleaning, cooking, child-care, and elder-care work. Despite their indispensable contribution to urban households and, indirectly, to the wider urban economy, domestic workers remain largely outside the ambit of formal labour protections, social security, and collective bargaining. This paper examines the socio-economic condition of domestic workers in Pune city on the basis of a primary field survey of 150 respondents drawn from Kothrud, Hadapsar, Aundh, Wanowrie, and Pimpri-Chinchwad localities, supplemented by secondary data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the Census of India. The study analyses the socio-demographic profile, migration pattern, nature of employment, wage structure, working hours, and the social security status of respondents, and identifies the principal problems they encounter, including wage irregularity, absence of written contracts, lack of paid leave, and vulnerability to exploitation. The paper concludes with policy suggestions centred on registration, minimum wage enforcement, and extension of social security schemes to domestic workers in Pune and comparable Indian cities.
Keywords :
Domestic Workers, Informal Sector, Urban Labour Market, Socio-Economic Status, Pune, Social Security, Women Workers.
