We commend the work done by the Securing Rights of Women Domestic Workers in Bangladesh (Suniti) project , which aims to improve the condition of domestic workers through training and advocacy.
To say that such an initiative is a long time coming would be a gross understatement; while workers from all sectors deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and are entitled to their rights as human beings, there are arguably no workers in Bangladesh who are more abused and more in need of having their rights upheld than domestic workers.
As the Suniti project aims to train 16,000 domestic workers in Dhaka, what is important now is to build from this, and finally bring about meaningful change to the millions of domestic workers in Bangladesh.
This starts with a proper structure and framework; having a bill of rights and a minimum wage, together with proper hours and weekly holidays, ensures that talk of bringing justice to these workers does not remain at a conversational level. These are implementations that are possible to enforce, and there is no reason to be delaying.
Such policies also ensure that workers in other sectors are better paid and treated better. When the alternative to working in RMG factories and tea plantations are inhumane conditions and bonded labour at homes, it is no wonder that owners of these industries can get away with not paying workers fairly and on time.
The legal recognition of domestic workers, together with ensuring their safety and protection, is an issue we can no longer ignore. An equitable Bangladesh does not exist without it.
