Domestic help to soon get minimum wage, old-age pension, maternity benefit

Govt working on policy to regularise migrant workers, labour ministry puts out broad contours of the policy for public discussion

In a move that might increase its appeal among the migrant worker community in urban areas, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has come out with a policy to formalise the domestic workers and extent social benefits to them.

The Union labour ministry on Monday put out the broad contours of the policy for public discussion. The four key takeaways are recognition of these people as “workers”, guaranteeing them a minimum wage, permitting unionisation, and devising a dispute-resolution mechanism.

The policy seeks to give these workers equal remuneration, minimum wages, fair employment terms, and a mechanism for redress of