Stakeholder Consultation on Legal Protection for Domestic Workers | By Centre for Labour Studies, NLSIU & Human Rights Collective

The Centre for Labour Studies, and Human Rights Collective at NLSIU, in collaboration with the Domestic Workers Union and Stree Jagruti Samiti, organised a day-long Stakeholder Consultation on Legal Protection for Domestic Workers, in hybrid mode, on August 2, 2025, at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, from 10 am to 5 pm.

This consultation forms part of an ongoing initiative aimed at bringing together diverse perspectives to formulate a legal framework for domestic workers within India.

About the Consultation

The impetus for this consultation has been significantly influenced by the Supreme Court’s judgment in Ajay Malik v. State of Uttarakhand [2025 INSC 118]. This judgment mandated the establishment of a national committee to propose legislative measures for domestic workers. Despite this directive, no such committee has yet been constituted.

In response to this, the Human Rights Collective at NLSIU, in partnership with the Centre for Labour Studies, NLSIU, Domestic Workers Union and the Stree Jagruti Samiti, has initiated a series of independent consultations. These consultations are designed to foreground worker experiences and address existing legal gaps. As part of this effort, the team has prepared a position paper critically analysing the current legal landscape and conducted a worker consultation in Bengaluru on July 16, 2025, with a follow-up consultation with union leaders on July 19, 2025.

Notes from the Conference

This consultation was attended by domestic workers’ unions, activists from central trade unions, civil society groups, leading academics, labour lawyers, officials from the state government and law students.

The attendees emphasised on the need for adoption of a separate law for domestic workers and deliberated on the minimum protection that the legislation must guarantee to ensure dignity and rights. They also demanded for immediate compliance with the SC directive in relation to the judgment in Ajay Malik v. State of Uttarakhand.

Dr. G Manjunath, Additional Labour Commissioner, Government of Karnataka said that the Labour Department is working on a Draft Bill on regulating domestic work. The participants welcomed this initiative and called upon the government to release the draft bill for public consultation.

In the News

The Hindu | Position paper by NLSIU calls for legal recognition of domestic workers 

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