Daily battle to find reliable house help

The problem of finding a reliable household help continues to be a Herculean task for many homemakers. Increasingly, a number of them are availing of placement agencies. However, there is a huge gap between supply and service as customers pay such agencies a hefty commission in advance, only to be faced with the problem of the domestic worker leaving the job within a few months, creating a vicious cycle. Many customers allege that the agencies rotate the domestic help, pocketing the commission but fail to send a reliable replacement. 

Vishal Ramadoss, a resident of Velachery, had a hard time finding a maid to supervise the children after school and doing the chores around the house. “We have been dependent on domestic help for so many years. I have tried so many agencies but I am yet to find a reliable person. When I approached an agency for a full-time domestic help, I was asked to pay a salary between 10,000 to 15,000 as well as one month’s salary in advance as commission. 

The person who was sent to our house did not perform the chores well and had a poor sense of hygiene. We then asked the agency for a replacement, which didn’t happen at all. We found later that these domestic workers are rotated, while the agency pockets the commission. In many cases, the domestic worker’s salary too is cut. These agencies have around 20-30 domestic workers on their roster but they cater to almost 300 people,” said the employee of a private firm. 

Some, like Raghu R, a photographer from the city, depend on such services on a temporary basis. “I am a bachelor and rely on the temporary house help to keep my residence clean. The charge is higher than what one would pay otherwise, but it is tough to find a reliable house help. So, I end up opting for the temporary service and each time, it is a new domestic worker who is sent for the job,” said the resident of Adambakkam. 

Domestic workers say they get a raw deal from both sides. Kavitha, a domestic worker from Perumbakkam, said the stigma attached to their profession makes it tough to find a job. “There was a theft in an MNC nearby and after that, people are hesitant to hire help from our area. We are forced to resort to agencies, who take a cut from our pay. For instance, if they agree to pay a salary of Rs. 6,000, the agency takes Rs. 2,000, leaving us with hardly anything to run our families. In addition to this, we are made to work for long hours in dismal conditions, without proper food or access to holidays,” she rued. 

Mohan TDS, owner of TDS Manpower Consultancy, said the demand for house help, especially caretakers for the elderly, is on the rise. “With an increasing number of people going for jobs, they want someone to take care of the chores so they can get some time for themselves. Basically, they need an additional support to run their lives. For this reason, we provide training to domestic workers on behavioural and work ethics. The commission is taken from the customers and not the domestic workers,” he added. 

Saraswathi, who runs Trust One Maid Service, said complaints of stealing and bad attitude are common from customers. “While we do our best to hire only experienced candidates, there have been regular complaints. Customers complain that we charge a premium but we also have the responsibility of supplying reliable help and deal with complaints of stealing or lack of adjustment. We send a replacement at the earliest. 

Not everyone can get settled everywhere and we must account for these problems. We have so many women coming from different parts of Tamil Nadu like Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai, Madurai etc in search of jobs here. We do a complete background check and only send verified domestic workers to ensure safety,” said this entrepreneur.  The advent of many such agencies has posed a problem. R Geetha, National Campaign Committee for Unorganised Workers, said there is an urgent need to regulate such agencies. “This has become a huge problem for domestic workers. Some of these agencies don’t pay basic wages and it has become a money-spinning business. Some of the agencies take a cut from the wages of these workers, which is already not enough. We need strong laws to be brought in to safeguard the rights of the domestic workers, by ensuring proper work contracts and other welfare measures,” said the activist.