Child domestic workers work 15 hours a day: study

A study that was released on Tuesday claims that child domestic workers in Bangladesh work up to 15 hours a day.

The Washington-based NGO Solidarity Centre, Bangladesh made the findings public in the morning.

A study by People's University of Bangladesh sociology and social work professor Habibur Rahman found that child domestic workers frequently put in close to 15 hours each day.

While the exact number of domestic workers is unknown, several organizations assume the figure at over two million.

‘There are 25 lakh domestic workers and over 4 lakhs of them are children,’ said Murshida Akter, general secretary, National Domestic Women Workers Union.

About 80 per cent of domestic workers are women, she added.

About 80 per cent received lower wages than workers in other sectors while 53 per cent do not receive salary on time despite working 11 hours a day on an average, according to the study.

There is no minimum wage for domestic workers. 

However, the minimum wage for readymade garment workers is Tk 8,000 for working eight hours a day. 

About 87 per cent domestic workers do not get weekly leave or holiday.

‘The nature of domestic work is different.

Speakers said that domestic workers are one of the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups of workers. 

Number of domestic workers and the incidence of their deprivation are increasing but there is no legal framework to protect their rights, they said.

They regretted that the Domestic Workers Protection and Welfare Policy formulated in 2015 could not be implemented.

‘The matter needs to be considered is whether domestic workers should have a separate law or the labor law of 2006 should suffice since their work is different in nature from any other workers ,’ said AKM Nasim, country program director, Solidarity Centre, Bangladesh. 

Domestic workers and trade union leaders attended the program.

/MHK/