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Article

30 Dec 2016

Author:
Rina Chandran, Reuters

India: Digitisation of domestic workers’ services could entrench a culture of low incomes, insecurity and discrimination

A booming digital market matching Indian domestic workers with employers may offer benefits for some housemaids but won't end low wages and discrimination and may exclude the poorest women who don't have smartphones, according to new research...On the back of the popularity of taxi-hailing mobile apps such as Uber and home-grown Ola, a handful of companies have launched apps that offer domestic workers on demand...This 'Uberisation of domestic work' can offer some benefits, (but) it also risks further entrenching a culture of low incomes, insecurity and discrimination," according to a study by the UK's Overseas Development Institute (ODI)...A draft domestic workers' bill in 2015 had proposed a minimum salary of 9,000 rupees (RM592) per month for skilled, full-time household help, along with benefits such as social security cover and mandatory time off. That bill was not passed.