Domestic work and its quest for recognition

A recent analysis highlights the persistent struggle of domestic workers in India to achieve legal recognition, formal employment protections, and social sec...

What Happened

A recent analysis highlights the persistent struggle of domestic workers in India to achieve legal recognition, formal employment protections, and social security coverage equivalent to workers in organised sectors.
Despite constituting one of the largest segments of the informal workforce, domestic workers in India remain excluded from the primary framework of India's four consolidated Labour Codes enacted between 2019 and 2020.
The debate has intensified around India's continued non-ratification of ILO Convention No. 189 (Domestic Workers Convention, 2011), which sets minimum international standards for the sector.
Women and girls — who make up approximately 90% of domestic workers — bear a disproportionate burden of the sector's structural vulnerabilities, including wage theft, sexual harassment, and arbitrary dismissal.
Advocacy groups and the National Domestic Workers' Movement (NDWM) continue to press for a dedicated central legislation or explicit inclusion in existing Labour Codes.

Static Topic Bridges

ILO Convention No. 189: Domestic Workers Convention (2011)

The ILO Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189), adopted on June 16, 2011, is the first binding international instrument to establish global minimum standards specifically for domestic workers. It is accompanied by Recommendation No. 201 for implementation guidance.

Convention 189 requires signatory states to ensure domestic workers enjoy: minimum wage coverage, limits on working hours, weekly rest periods (at least 24 consecutive hours), freedom of association, protection from forced labour and child labour, and safe working conditions.
As of 2026, over 30 countries have ratified Convention 189, including Philippines, South Africa, Germany, and several Latin American nations.
India has NOT ratified ILO Convention No. 189, despite having supported its adoption at the ILO General Conference in 2011.
Recommendation No. 201 encourages written employment contracts, regulation of placement agencies, and inspections of private households.

Connection to this news: India's non-ratification is a central policy gap that domestic worker advocates highlight; ratification would require legislative changes to extend formal labour protections to the sector.

India's Four Labour Codes and Coverage Gaps

Between 2019 and 2020, India consolidated 29 central labour laws into four Labour Codes: the Code on Wages (2019), the Industrial Relations Code (2020), the Code on Social Security (2020), and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020). While the Codes represent a significant rationalisation, their implementation and coverage of domestic workers remains contested.

The Code on Wages (2019) technically covers domestic workers within the definition of "employee," but enforcement mechanisms in private households are practically absent.
The Code on Social Security (2020) includes provisions for unorganised workers and gig/platform workers but does not create a specific, mandatory social security scheme for domestic workers.
The four Codes have not yet been fully notified/implemented as of 2026; states are required to frame their own rules.
Some states — including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu — have notified minimum wages for domestic workers, but enforcement is limited.

Connection to this news: The structural absence of domestic workers from enforceable formal labour protections under the Codes is the legislative gap at the heart of the recognition debate.

Constitutional Framework: Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights

The Indian Constitution provides the normative basis for labour protections through Fundamental Rights (Part III) and Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV).

Article 14 (Right to Equality) and Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) have been judicially interpreted to encompass dignified working conditions and protection from exploitation.
Article 23 prohibits forced labour and human trafficking — directly relevant to bonded domestic labour situations.
Article 39 (Directive Principle) directs the State to ensure equal pay for equal work and that the health and strength of workers are not abused.
Article 42 directs the State to make provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
Article 43 directs the State to endeavour to secure, for all workers, a living wage and conditions ensuring a decent standard of life.

Connection to this news: The exclusion of domestic workers from formal protections is arguably inconsistent with the constitutional vision embodied in Articles 39, 42, and 43, providing a rights-based legal argument for legislative action.

India already has the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008, which was specifically intended to extend social security coverage to workers in the unorganised sector, including domestic workers.

The Act mandated the Central and State governments to formulate welfare schemes for unorganised workers covering life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, and other benefits.
Implementation has been uneven; the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and PM-SYM (Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan) scheme extend some coverage to eligible unorganised workers, including domestic workers.
Domestic workers face barriers to registration due to lack of employer cooperation and awareness.
The e-Shram portal (launched 2021) for registration of unorganised workers has registered over 300 million workers, including some domestic workers, but registration alone does not guarantee benefits delivery.

Connection to this news: Despite the existence of the 2008 Act and e-Shram, domestic workers' quest for recognition continues because the existing frameworks lack enforcement teeth in private household settings and do not guarantee sector-specific protections.

Key Facts & Data

Estimated number of domestic workers in India: 4.2 million (official) to over 50 million (unofficial estimates)
Women and girls as share of domestic workforce: approximately 90%; an estimated 25% are below age 14
India's informal sector share of total employment: approximately 85%
ILO Convention No. 189 adopted: June 16, 2011; India has not ratified it
Four Labour Codes enacted: 2019-2020 (consolidating 29 central labour laws)
e-Shram portal launched: 2021; registered workers: over 300 million
Article 23 of the Constitution: prohibits forced labour
Article 42 and 43: directive principles on just working conditions and living wage