Minimum age for domestic helps 14 years [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Minimum age for domestic helps 14 years

Local December 22, 2015

The cabinet on Monday approved a policy for the protection and welfare of domestic helps across the country setting 14 years as the minimum age for domestic workers.
Domestic Workers’ Protection and Welfare Policy 2015, however, stated that children aged above 12 years might be employed for light domestic work, which would not cause damage to their heath, development and education, with consents of their parents or guardians.
The enforcement of the policy would, however, require enactment of a law on domestic workers, experts said.
‘The policy has been framed for those whose rights are not protected by any specific law…This is the first step towards the enactment of a law to protect rights of the domestic helps and ensure their welfare,’ state minister for labour Md Mujibul Haque told New Age.
The labour and employment ministry placed the draft policy in the weekly cabinet meeting at the Cabinet Division.
The initiative came in the wake of growing incidents of repressions on domestic helps, mostly women and children, which sometimes claimed their lives.
Mujibul Haque said that about 15 lakh domestic helps were now working at houses, messes and dormitories in Dhaka city alone and most of them were women and children as per a study conducted in 2010.
The policy was framed in keeping with the International Labour Organisation Convention on Domestic Workers (Convention 189) and the Bangladesh Labour Act 2016, the state minister mentioned.
The policy says that the contract, written or verbal, for employment of a juvenile aged above 14 years and below 18 years or of a child aged above 12 years and below 14 years for light work should be made following detailed discussions with their parents or guardians.
‘The policy recognises domestic helps not below the age of 14 years as labourers and stipulates guidelines to ensure decent work, rest, entertainment and leave for them,’ cabinet secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said at a briefing after the meeting.
According to the policy, female workers would be entitled to a maternity leave for 16 weeks with wages.
The wages would be settled through negotiations between the employers and the workers and that should ensure a ‘descent living’ for domestic helps, the policy says.
Such negotiations and contracts for employment of domestic helps aged between 12 and 18 years should be made in presence of their parents and a third party, it says.
No domestic helps could be subjected to any repression, indecent behaviour or any physical or mental torture, the poly says.
According to the policy, in case of physical or mental torture, the provisions of punishment under the existing laws, including the Penal Code, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the Bangladesh Labour Act would be applicable.
The cabinet secretary said that the state-run Workers Welfare Foundation would oversee the implementation of the policy and the ministry would take initiatives to create awareness about the policy among the people.
According to the policy, it will be mandatory for the employers to clear monthly
wages of the domestic workers by the seventh day of the next month, provide adequate compensation in case of any accident, ensure a 16-week maternity leave with payment, bear the cost of treatment, and ensure a safe work environment and adequate time for recreation and rest.
The policy said that there would be a central monitoring cell under the labour and employment ministry for proper implementation of the policy.
Local monitoring cells would be headed by deputy commissioners in districts, regional executive officers in city corporations, cantonment executive officers in the cantonment areas, upazila nirbahi officers, municipal mayors and union parishad chairmen, said the policy.
Their offices will prepare and preserve database of the domestic workers in their respective areas, it said.
It said that inspection teams would be formed with local government representatives, government officials, rights activists, development activists and trade unions for the inspection of places in case of any allegation of repression on domestic helps.
According to the policy, the government will introduce a ‘helpline’ for the domestic workers for effective implementation of the policy.
It said that the government would bear the expenses of cases filed by domestic helps against the employer or his or her family members or guests on charges of sexual harassment or physical or mental torture.
The meeting also endorsed the draft of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Bill 2015 for merger between the Board of Investment and the Privatisation Commission.
It also approved in principle the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Bill 2015 and a proposal for capital subscription as Bangladesh would need to pay $132 million in 10 years, the cabinet secretary said.
The cabinet also okayed, with some observations, the president’s speech for the first session of the 10th Parliament in 2016.