Community for Social Change and Development (CSCD) is registered as a public charitable trust in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The organisation, established in 2020, aims to work with women workers holistically by including gender-based violence along with other intersectional issues pertaining to class, caste, religion, migrant status and so forth in their mandate to promote women’s dignity of labour.
CSCD work with ready-made garment workers and domestic workers in Delhi and Gurgaon, India. In addition to carrying out Covid relief work since 2020, CSCD is involved in large–scale mobilisation to strengthen the group. Some of the demands for Domestic Workers Network under CSCD include:
- Ratification and implementation of ILO’s Convention 189.
- A comprehensive national legislation for domestic workers.
- Social security, including maternity benefits and creche facilities.
- Violence-free workplace.
- Gender-sensitive and enabling infrastructure at worksites.
- Decent working conditions, including better wages, and weekly time off.
- Safety and insurance against occupational risks and health hazards.
CSCD is also a member of the National Platform for Domestic Workers and, together with other members, is involved in policy changes for decent work conditions in domestic work in India.
As part of the larger domestic workers movement in India, CSCD faces backlash from the state which mostly does not guarantee basic workers rights to domestic workers. Domestic work is largely carried out by women from migrant families who have negligible education and skills. Further, historically domestic work is considered lowly and workers often face physical and mental abuse (such as allegations of theft) from employers. The women workers also face harassment by their families and community owing to their nature of work, which occurs inside the employers’ home.
