It was raining heavily yesterday while I sat down to write about my own experience for the Alochona magazine on the topic of "Women at Workplace." All of a sudden as I sat there, I heard my voice from the past saying, "Hasinar ma give a cup of tea" and my brother from the other room shouted " Hasinar ma send me nashta…."

Have I ever recognized her work?

Domestic workers are an indispensable part of our life. We not only refuse to recognize their work, we hardly notice them. Bangladesh is an over populated country. It has a wealth in labor force, but mostly they are unskilled. Mostly they are women with little or no skill and a lack of literacy who enter the labor force as domestic workers or kajer bua. Most of the middle class and upper middle class families keep domestic workers. The domestic workers could be part-timers or full-timers. In my opinion, both types are exploited and we, the educated society, are so busy with our problems that we do not have time to hear their pleas.

There is no official data for domestic workers. Their work is considered part of the informal sector. The activities that these women perform in this sector are quite unmotivating in terms of wages and job satisfaction. The work involves lengthy hours of work for very low returns. They possess very low levels of education, skills and training. The skills associated with their jobs are often acquirable and duplicated. In this sector, women labors lack all kinds of social security measures such as funds, maternity benefits, childcare facilities, health care facilities, health care and safety.

In my paper, I shall try to raise a few of issues, which can be asked of our conscious to rectify. We, as conscious citizen, can solve the problem. The citizen of Bangladesh has relied on the Government for the last 30 years. In this process of relying, we have killed our morality.

When a domestic worker enters into a household, she (which is the majority) considers the house as her workplace. After a certain period of time, she achieves efficiency in her duties and becomes quite skillful. As there is no job description, the employer’s expectation rises and often creates chaos. They are often targeted and humiliated for minor reasons. The employer becomes the owner of the worker.

2. Can domestic workers have a provision for minimum wages?

Domestic workers’ pay scales range from $0 to $100. Some families provide food, shelter and other daily necessities, but no salary. It all depends on their vulnerability or experience. If a domestic worker has an expertise in cooking, she can have say in getting a minimum wage, but there are no provisions for others. A person with maximum work and minimum rest sometimes do not have a say on their salary. Are we doing justice to them? A person who is devoting her time and energy for household work should know the worth of her work.

A few days back, I heard from a friend of mine that a few of the drivers provide a contract paper to their employer. Before they start the job, they get it signed and keep a copy with them. Can we not do the same for the domestic workers? There is no job security; a person can be thrown out anytime for minor reasons.

Domestic workers are often subject to torture, sexual harassment, beating, and violent punishment. Various studies reveal that the number of violence is quite high. The law enforcement committee has failed to provide legal support to the helpless and poor domestic workers. Can we not restrain ourselves to commit such crimes?

It is undeniable that domestic workers are part of our families. It is up to us to pay their dues. As a conscious member of the society we should not forget that.