New Delhi, July 05 : If everything goes as planned by the city government, Delhi and its suburbs would get trained domestic helps in the next few years.
Launching the skill development of domestic workers programme a joint initiative of the Centre, state government and International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Saturday, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit also advocated for fixing minimum wages for domestic workers and said this could be worked out based on the number of hours they worked for.
Speaking on the occasion, she said that her government would work out the issue with the labour department. She also said that since domestic helps have become an integral part of urban households, society should be sensitive to their emotional needs. “I would request all to refer to them as `didi’ (sister) in recognition of their contribution to the well-being of the family,” the chief minister said.
According to official sources, the initiative aimed at improving services of domestic workers and enhancing their employability, living and working conditions will train about 250 workers on pilot basis in Jehangirpuri and Defence Colony.
Dikshit said 90% of the approximately one lakh domestic help workforce in the capital received no formal education and training. A government release claimed that under this initiative they would be trained in maintaining personal hygiene, intra-personal communication skills, understanding components of urban meal, managing urban kitchens, serving cooked food in formal environment, handling domestic pets, handling kitchen gardens, electricity and electrical appliances and providing first-aid.
An estimate by ILO suggests a six-fold increase in the demand for domestic helps in the Delhi region alone in the next five years. ILO officials said that under this programme, all the trainee helps would be registered and a card mentioning their skills and bio-data would be issued to them. This would not only help employers find domestic helps with the right skills but would also help legitimising the status of domestic workers.
Senior government officials said the skill development programmes would be imparted by training institutes such as Prayas and TMI-Academy. The fees of the programme would be refunded to the trainees once the programme is over.
—Agencies