Although maids and other housekeepers are indispensable to the upkeep of homes, they are typically paid too little for their labour. Many of them work long hours and endure physical challenges at their jobs, yet their pay doesn’t match the value of what they contribute. Recently, a Delhi man revealed the reason behind his covert Rs 20,000 payment to his maid. It would be an understatement to say that this has moved many netizens.
After discovering that his family is paying their maid too little, a man from Delhi expressed his shock:
One career that is sometimes severely devalued is that of domestic help. A Delhi man recently revealed on Reddit how his family paid their maid so little that it shocked him, sharing his eye-opening experience on social media. The Alternative-Ad4581 Reddit user described a discussion he had with his mother on the pay their maid earned.
He was taken aback to discover that, despite working long hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. without any holidays, she was only paid Rs 7,000 per month. His mother told him that the low salary was typical for domestic workers in their area when he questioned about it.
After this talk, he decided to look into it more by finding out how much his friends, relatives, and neighbours were paying their maids. He was shocked to learn that a large number of other people were also paying roughly the same sum, which made him wonder how these individuals were able to survive on such a meagre salary.
‘I then looked up the minimum wage and the poverty line in Delhi’…continued the man
The man from Delhi concluded that this pay was not only unfair but also less than what was required by law in Delhi after speaking with his mother. In Delhi, the poverty line is Rs 12,000 and the minimum pay is Rs 18,000—much more than the maid was getting.
The individual decided to act alone because he was determined to rectify this injustice. He started covertly providing his maid with an extra Rs 20,000 a month beyond what his mother was already paying. The maid’s life was drastically altered by this act of kindness, giving her and her kids a higher level of stability and dignity.
The Reddit user said that her family’s quality of life had much improved as a result of having more money to pay for basics and nicer living arrangements than they had previously been able to.
The post concluded with a sincere request for reform. The man bemoaned the general underpayment of domestic workers and stressed the need of society to appreciate their diligent labour. He urged people to reconsider how they pay those who provide necessary tasks in their homes, arguing that no one should work full-time and still get less than the minimum wage.
Here have a look at the whole post
Netizens took to the comment section with a strong opinion
Over 6.5K people have voted for the post, and over 1K have left comments. A lot of internet users voiced their opinions in the comment section. Take a peek,
What do you think? Is this the most we can afford to spend, in your opinion, or is it too much? Share by leaving a comment below.
