‘Wish we got paid leave’: Without work, Bengaluru’s domestic workers are struggling

'Renuka Devi, who lives in Bengaluru, is staring at an uncertain future. For the next two weeks of the lockdown, the 32-year-old, who works as domestic help, is not going to get her monthly salary. Renuka works in multiple households to earn enough to run and manage her household. With the lockdown, several of her employers have refused to pay her and she is struggling to sustain her livelihood. Just like many women across India, who work as domestic helps, Renuka too is struggling to buy ration and does not have the privilege of social distancing in times of a pandemic. “I work in six homes and of them, one of my employers is paying me during leave and the others have stopped paying me because I am not working. I have only Rs 4,000 to manage for the whole month as my employers have paid me only for the first week of March, after which they asked me to stay at home,” says Renuka Devi, who is also a resident of Bengaluru’s Murgeshpalya...'

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