INVISIBLE WORKERS, INVISIBLE RIGHTS: THE CASE FOR FORMAL LEGAL RECOGNITION OF DOMESTIC WORKERS IN INDIA

AUTHOR – MUTHURAMALINGAM T* & MRS.JISHA J S**

* STUDENT AT VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)

** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT SCHOOL OF LAW, VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)

BEST CITATION – MUTHURAMALINGAM T & MRS.JISHA J S, INVISIBLE WORKERS, INVISIBLE RIGHTS: THE CASE FOR FORMAL LEGAL RECOGNITION OF DOMESTIC WORKERS IN INDIA, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (8) OF 2026, PG. 164-172, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

Domestic workers constitute one of the largest and most economically precarious categories of labour in India, estimated to number between four and fifty million. Despite the essential nature of their services—encompassing cooking, childcare, elder care, sanitation, and household management—they remain systematically excluded from the principal protections of Indian central labour law. This article critically analyses the constitutional, statutory, and international dimensions of that exclusion. It demonstrates that the non-coverage of domestic workers under key legislation such as the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Employees’ State Insurance Act 1948, and the four Labour Codes enacted between 2019 and 2020 cannot be reconciled with the constitutional guarantees of equality, dignity, and the prohibition of forced labour enshrined in Articles 14, 21, and 23 of the Constitution of India. Drawing on comparative analysis of legislative models from the Philippines, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, and the United Kingdom, the article proposes a model Domestic Workers (Protection, Welfare and Social Security) Act for India. It further argues that India’s failure to ratify ILO Convention No 189 places it in an internationally anomalous position. The article concludes that formal legal recognition of domestic workers is not merely a matter of policy preference but a constitutional and human rights imperative.

Keywords: domestic workers; labour law; India; ILO Convention 189; informal employment; gender; caste; social security; constitutional rights; legislative reform.