Fifteen years of advancing decent work for domestic workers in India

In 2011, the adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) was a hugely important milestone, recognising domestic work as work like any other. In India, while domestic workers had begun to organise in some regions a few years prior to the Convention becoming a reality, its adoption galvanised ongoing efforts. As a result, all central trade unions and several provincial level unions organise domestic workers in India today.

In the fifteen years since its adoption, ILO has consistently supported the call in India for the recognition of domestic work as work through sustained advocacy guided by the Convention as well as its accompanying Recommendation.

Despite their longstanding contribution to homes as full-time and part-time workers in Indian cities and overseas, domestic workers have largely received lower wages than other recognized categories of unorganized workers. Their wage structures vary significantly across job roles with domestic workers generally classified as unskilled workers.

Informality, lack of workplace-based regulation and access to comprehensive social protection remain areas of concern for all domestic workers. Migrant domestic workers from India, face additional challenges including restrictive immigration rules, high recruitment costs, language barriers, limited recognition and grievance redressal mechanisms.

Acknowledging the critical role they play in sustaining families, society and the economy as well as the importance of preventing forced labour and trafficking the ILO in India has worked to support the government, workers’ and employers’ organizations in their efforts to promote decent work for domestic workers. This support includes capacity-building initiatives on the ground, policy advocacy and technical support at the local and national levels.

Given the diversity of working conditions and experiences of domestic workers within the country, the ILO in India has sustained engagement at the provincial, intra-regional and national level to strengthen policies and legal protections for domestic workers, including those who migrate within and beyond national borders.

To raise awareness and support evidence-based policy development, the ILO has also produced a range of policy briefs and research papers over the years that contribute to advocacy efforts on the rights of domestic and migrant workers.

Key achievements

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ILO published a 2021 report on occupation safety and health for domestic workers in India highlighting areas for intervention to protect domestic workers during and after the pandemic. Based on the report's findings and drawing upon extensive surveys conducted between 2018 and 2022 among employers of domestic workers in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, the ILO examined perceptions of paid and unpaid domestic work in households, employment, recruitment practices and access to social protection. As a result, employers' and business membership organizations (EBMOs) agreed to adopt and promote a voluntary pledge amongst its members.
• Building on collective efforts by the ILO and its social partners, minimum wages for domestic workers have been notified in several Indian states over the past 15 years. Through sustained social dialogue and engagement on formalization facilitated by the ILO, substantial increases in minimum wages for domestic workers have also been achieved in states such as Bihar by aligning wage levels with those of other workers in the unorganized sector and reducing gender-based pay disparities.
• Strengthening access to collective bargaining and freedom of association for domestic workers have been a central focus for trade unions. Through ILO projects supported by its development partners, trade unions, including the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) have set up Worker Centres in various states. Trade unions have deepened outreach by sensitizing employers on decent work conditions in addition to organizing domestic workers in states including Delhi, Bihar and Kerala through initiatives such as the “My Fair Home” campaign by the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) with ILO support.
• As a result of sustained advocacy by the ILO together with its social partners in India, domestic workers have been included in social protection systems through sector-specific welfare boards, targeted social security schemes, inclusion in national health insurance programmes, and, more recently, registration on e-Shram (the National Database of Unorganised Workers), which provides access to accident insurance and contributory pension schemes.
• Vocational skill training courses for domestic workers are increasingly gaining popularity as accessing such opportunities may lead to earning better wages and a dignified livelihood. The ILO has aided such efforts by supporting the development of domestic workers’ skill collectives in areas like elderly care and pre/post-natal support, increasing their professional recognition and higher income and promote their recognition as skilled care workers.
• The ILO continues to spotlight the vital contribution of domestic workers and other care workers in the Indian and global care economy, both as migrant and non-migrant workers and to strengthen tripartite efforts to promote decent work through fair recruitment. In April 2026, through a collaboration between ILO and Kerala government’s Norka Roots, a state level stakeholder dialogue was held to concur on evidence-based recommendations to strengthen efforts by the state to promote decent work for care workers, including migrant domestic workers.
• Going forward, as we mark the 15th anniversary of the Domestic Workers Convention, the ILO Country Office for India will continue to further galvanise collective efforts to support domestic workers through ILO’s 5R Framework. By recognising the role of unpaid and paid domestic work in our society, by rewarding domestic workers through fair wages and access to comprehensive social protection, promoting increased representation of domestic workers and their rights, work to reduce and redistribute unequal care work burden, the ILO hopes to move closer towards its ratification in India.