Work-households and its relationship with female domestic worker in Kolkata

Abstract

In this study, the researcher focuses on the experiences of female domestic workers in South Kolkata, West Bengal. Cooking, cleaning, caring - are all semi- skilled jobs, that fall into the unorganised sector where there is no law to protect rights, no health insurance coverage and no pension. This study draws on in-depth interviews to explore the relationships between women domestic workers and their employers in Kolkata in terms of behaviour, working conditions, nature of work, daily sustenance support and allowances. For this article, 30 female domestic workers were asked to reflect on their relationships with their employers, and the workers' responses were analysed using grounded theory to unravel the meaning and to decipher the significance of social interactions, experiences, and relationships amongst the domestic worker and the employers, these justifications are based on the participants' own perceptions or justifications. Three different types of relationships that the workers had with their employers emerged from the analysis: professional, supportive and ill-treated at their workplace. These categories of relationships are examined in terms of some features of the relationship, such as their verbal interactions, the employer's diction, the way they address each other, and reparation, reprimanding etc.