Ghaziabad district administration, NGO Shakti Vahini sensitise residents of the need to carry out prior checks before hiring maids and prevent crime against domestic workers. RWAs should monitor activities in residential complexes.
Alarmed by the recent Noida ‘class war’ that erupted between residents of the gated community and domestic helps residing nearby, the Ghaziabad district administration held a workshop for RWAs of the region to educate them about domestic helps and how recruit and treat them.
The workshop included in-depth discussions over the process of hiring domestic helps, their welfare and was conducted under the aegis of Shakti Vahini, an NGO that has been campaigning against human trafficking, worked on child rights and fighting for the empowerment of women.
NGO activists and Ministhy S, the district magistrate of Ghaziabad, told the residents that they had to be extremely careful in hiring maids through placement agencies, some of which were dubious in nature.
Referring to the recent conflict between maids and residents of Mahagun Moderne in Noida, the officials present meeting stressed that the incident took place due to the faulty hiring process. The officials asked the RWAs to keep a watch out for instances where underage children might be employed as domestic helps and flag such issues if they come across such activities. “In a situation like this, residents become unwitting partners in crime. Everyone must do their part to spread awareness and raise these issues,” the district magistrate said.
The officials asked the RWAs to display the names and numbers of child help groups and other agencies working in this field. (Child helpline: 1098, Women helpline: 181
Shakti Vahini: 9910750307, Deputy Labour Commissioner: 9582016231)
The district administration and Shakti Vahini are also planning to come out with a set of guidelines to be followed by residents on how to screen the domestic servants before hiring.
There were reports of deaths of at least 32 deaths of domestic helps in the district, the official said adding some of the deaths occurred in mysterious circumstances and alleged suicides by jumping off buildings.
The district magistrate urged all RWAs to form small committees of residents to resolve disputes relating to domestic servants so that no ugly incident developed. Citing the fact that there might be various forces at play behind a domestic maid hired from unscrupulous agencies, officials once again stressed on verification of identity, addresses and other details of the person.
“A hired domestic help may be part of various activities, like human trafficking, criminal conspiracy, forced labour and even sexual abuse. Proper verification and proper and prior investigation can help avoid unforeseen consequences,” Ministhy said.
Rishi Kant, a representative of Shakti Vahini told City Spidey that maids are mostly sourced from far flung areas of Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and North East. “They either come of their own wish in search of work or are trafficked by flesh traders. At times, many such placement agencies which run under the guise of NGOs and registered societies have been involved in such crimes. People must be aware of the people they employ in their homes,” Kant said.
Kant further said that at times children aged under 14 years or the ones aged between 14-18 years are employed at lesser pay than the adults. “The RWAs are responsible bodies and their actions can save lives,” Kant said.
The district administration has also considered conducting registration camps for domestic helps so that they can benefit from various schemes of the government. It is also set to conduct an in depth discussion on human trafficking and making Ghaziabad a beggar free district.
Lipika Bhushan, an RWA member from ATS Advantage society in Indirapuram told City Spidey said the initiative of the administration is a great effort. “Many a time, these unfair practices happen right in front of our eyes but people do not realise its character as they have already become used to with it. Spreading awareness will definitely have some impact,” Bhushan added.
On City Spidey’s query if the district administration would crackdown on the “dubious” placement agencies, the officials responded saying that ther was no legislation in Uttar Pradesh to regulate the activities of these agencies. However, the officials maintained that action can be initiated basing on the regulations prevalent on the states of origin of the victims. “Unlike states like Chattisgarh and Jharkand, Uttar Pradesh does not yet have any legislation in regard. However, the Acts from source states or the SC/ST Act in case of tribals can be put into action,” officials said.
