The Labour Law 2006 (of Bangladesh) clearly states that a worker has the right to rest and recreation during and after work hours. In fact, the law ensures the workers security, the right to take his or her employer to court in case of an offence, compensations in case of accidents, weekly and yearly holidays, a proper salary fixed by the government and in some cases, education facilities for young workers. In a nut shell, the compliance law has played a significant role in developing the lives and maintaining the self respect of these workers.

The law, however, does not apply to individuals working in sectors other than the RMG or similar industries, for instance domestic workers. An age-old norm in this part of the world, every household employs domestic help to do the cleaning and the cooking. For decades, this informal sector has been growing and today there are more than 20 lakh domestic workers in urban homes of Dhaka and Chittagong alone. Despite this burgeoning sector, domestic workers are considered informal labourers. Moreover, the government does not recognise them as workers with rights, as in the case of factory workers. “Domestic workers are not included in the Labour Law 2006,” says Nazma Yesmin, the Programme Officer of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS). “They have no fixed amount for salary or working hours. There are no rules or regulations which can be followed by the employer or the domestic worker.” Obviously, one of the biggest secters in the country is in a mess.

A majority of these home-workers being young and female, they are much more prone to exploitation.

It is mainly because of this exemption from law, that domestic workers are exploited each day. For one thing, these workers are not provided with the basic necessities. A majority of these home-workers being young and female, they are much more prone to exploitation, sometimes even sexual harassment.

Source: The Star

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