A domestic help works 58.1 hrs per week: Study

FE Report | Published: May 01, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

A domestic help works, on an average, for 58.1 hours per week. The period is four hours more than what the workers in agriculture and non-agriculture sector spend on their jobs a week.
A survey also found that a domestic worker's earning is 1.27 times less than the wage of an agricultural labourer and 2.09 times less than that of a garment worker.
Unnayan Onneshan, an independent multidisciplinary think-tank, conducted the first-ever nationwide survey on the domestic workers titled "Domestic Workers: Devaluation and Discrimination, State of Labour in Bangladesh 2014" and the findings were released on the eve of the Labour Day.
The survey said a woman domestic worker gives labour on an average for 63 hours in a week which is nine hours more than a woman farm labourer and 12 hours more than of a non-agricultural worker.
In the case of children engaged in domestic work, 57.5 per cent work more than nine hours per day and 12.0 per cent have no fixed timeframe. A child domestic worker receives, on an average, Tk 1185.00 per month whereas 28.7 per cent of them do not receive any regular payment.
The average income of a domestic worker in a month is Tk 2535.76 whereas the minimum wage of a garment worker is Tk 5300.00 for the same period.
The daily average wages in seven divisions of Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Barisal and Rangpur are: Tk 114.44, Tk 74.86, Tk 37.32, Tk 47.75, Tk 55.64, Tk 64.76 and Tk 55.99 respectively.
While publishing the study report on Wednesday, the Unnayan Onneshan called for listing domestic workers, who have remained voiceless, economically devalued, socially discriminated and led sub-human lives.
The organisation has demanded formulation of laws for domestic workers of Bangladesh regarding working hours, wages and leave with other facilities along with inspection to monitor their working environment
In the absence of law, the publication says, domestic workers get no scope to make complaints or seek protection from the court over denial of fair wage and abuse by their employers.
The survey found that wages of domestic workers are determined normally in comparison with the standard of the neighbours' payment. Until recognising the domestic workers as regular workers with a right to days off, limits to working hours, or the right to form unions, the implementation of rights of domestic workers remains lax.