Maids get upwardly mobile, earn in lakhs per annum

“Many of our homes are inspired by the houses we work in. I have invested in good flooring, kitchen counters with a sink and sofa sets” says Shanthi, a maid, who works as a caretaker for a bedridden woman and takes home Rs 12,000 per month. Almost all maids in Chennai now get one month’s salary for Deepavali and half a month bonus as Pongal gift from their employers. A mixer, grinder, washing machine and a fridge are not an uncommon sight in their dwellings. No, these are not government subsidies, but what they have bought second hand either from the houses they work in or through their informal chit schemes. 

Life has changed for these housemaids, and for those who are dependent on them. “When I began work as a housemaid in 1987, my salary was Rs 15, and work hours were long. I was very dependent on my employers, and I would even have my meals there. But now I do not spend more than 90 minutes on an average per house,” says Susheela who works in four apartments and takes home a salary of Rs 10,000. 

Priya Ananth,a long-time resident of Kotturpuram, says she used to pay a salary of Rs 100 in 1990 and the maid would cook, clean, wash clothes, do garden work, baby-sit the children and do grocery shopping. “Today, she comes for a couple of hours and I am paying her Rs 3,000 just to mop floors and clean vessels. If I ask her to go the shops for groceries and greens, she tells me to call and ask for home delivery,” she says with a laugh. 

Their lifestyle too has improved. Their husbands and sons who work as painters, carpenters, masons, drivers and mechanics have also turned their skill homewards, improving the plumbing, flooring and wiring areas, with a skill one would find in a small 450 sq foot flat in Mumbai. Education is valued and the parents do their utmost to provide decent schooling to their children. School fees in a modest school (not municipal schools) cost about Rs 17,000 a year. There is great commitment towards educating their children and seeing them employed in ‘jobs that send them abroad.’ They also splurge on weddings, and while a decently educated girl of a maid and mason can get away with 15 sovereign of gold, others have to spend more. If it is the son who is getting married, this class spends close to Rs 5 lakh.