Despite rising number of complaints against labour rule violations and financial exploitations in the home nursing sector, illegal agencies are continuing with recruitment drives in the absence of a mechanism to check their exploitative practices.
In a recent incident, a woman was accommodated at a rented facility for about a month by luring her with a job promise and sexually exploited. The incident is yet to draw the attention of enforcement agencies to carry out a safety audit of the sector. Three persons have been arrested by the Chevayoor police in connection with the incident.
According to sources, many of the illegal agents in the sector are carrying out the recruitments using online platforms. Social media accounts and groups are operating under different names to attract jobseekers and link them with clients on payment of commission. The agents who conduct the illegal recruitments never ensure the safety of the candidates or the credibility of the service seekers in the process.
“We never get the wage that the customers pay to agencies every month. We get only a portion of the amount and the rest goes directly into their pocket,” says an elderly woman from Wayanad, who has worked as a home nurse in various parts of the State till recently. She points out that there is no trustworthy organisation or collective to uphold the rights of the poor women in the sector.
Desperate situations
Women who earlier worked with various recruitment agencies reveal that there are many who go abroad or other States without a reasonable payment and security. The majority who opt for these insecure jobs are widows, elderly women and those who go through extreme financial crises following debt and ailment of family members, they say.
According to the police, only a few women come forward with complaints. Strong legal action becomes impossible in the absence of proper complaints and evidence against the agents.
Meanwhile, officials with the Labour department say the State government is already aware of the crisis in the sector due to the previous interventions made by the Human Rights Commission. Efforts are on to implement some stringent regulations in the field covering all domestic workers and home nurses. According to them, a domestic workers’ (regulation and welfare) Bill will be one of the major interventions for the sector.
