For some reason, the unemployed folks bother me.
On several occasions, I have made an effort to find someone to work in our home, and have witnessed what you see in the photo above.
[note : the picture is blurry because I took it on the fly with my phone, as I was very self-conscious and feeling awkward as I approached this group of people all hoping to land a job that day.]
I didn't know what to expect when I set out to visit the employment registry.
This group of people, most with families to support, most with something to offer if someone would give them a chance, and all in need of an income.
I spent three hours at the registry, poring over files and recommendation letters. I spoke with tens of women, all hoping to land a job in my home as a cook/ayah. I looked back through all of the files and recommendation letters. Talked with some more women.
No one seemed to gel with me. Some actually admitted they don't really like children. Some required quarters for their entire family (some totaling 8!). Some demanded a crazy high salary.
The majority of folks providing staff services work for pittance ... the average salary is between $100 - $250 USD per MONTH). The normal hours are Monday through Saturday, and most work a ten hour day. Sure, there are alot of national/religious holidays, but it's still a LOT of work for little money.
I am currently struggling with trying to find the PERFECT person (Mary Poppins, where are you?) for our home. Someone to cook in the afternoons and help with Mia while I do the afternoon school pickup ... and someone to babysit for our kiddos for Husb and I's date nights.
I need someone who bonds with our littles and forms a relationship with them. Someone who can cook and someone who works independently. Someone who will accept our quarters for what they are. Someone who will add to the existing calm and harmony that exists between our current staff members. Is that too much to ask?
Maybe what I need is a cross between "May-nan" (our babysitter back home), Mimi and the Grandmas, and "Nin'Thia"
* * *
On another employment related note ... there was recently an article in The Times of India about the work environment for those working construction for the 2010 Commonwealth Games being held in Delhi.
"New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS) It’s going to be one of the biggest sporting events to be held in India and preparations for the Commonwealth Games next year are going full swing. But for the thousands of construction workers at the Games sites, it is a story of woes – inadequate wages and no basic amenities like toilets and water.
Jagbandhu, one of the construction workers at a Games site, complains he is not being paid the minimum wages for his work. He was one of the many workers who had gathered for a Jan Sunwai or public hearing on the condition of construction workers in the capital Tuesday.
‘I have been working on various construction sites in Delhi for years, and am now employed at a Commonwealth Games site. During the 12 years that I have been here, I have not got the money that I deserve for my work. I get Rs.100 [$2.14] for work at a Games site, but the thekedar (manager) takes Rs.5 as commission,’ Jagbandhu said.
‘I therefore get only Rs.95 in hand for working the whole day, for more than 12 hours. And leave? Forget about it. We get just two days off in a month,’ he added.
According to the Delhi government’s labour laws, an unskilled worker should be paid Rs.152 [$3.25] a day, a semi-skilled worker – Rs.158 [$3.38] and a skilled worker Rs.168 [$3.60].
Sheila Devi, another worker at a Games site, complained that one of the major problems that women workers face is the absence of toilets.
‘There are no toilets for women workers, which is a major problem for us. Also we women, despite putting in as much work as the men folk, get unequal wages which is not fair,’ Devi said.
Lack of electricity, water and health facilities, including creches for the babies, are other problems the workers face.
After listening to the workers, Syeda Hameed, member Planning Commission, said: ‘The woes of the people that I heard here are not very different from similar public hearings that I have been to in the rest of the country.’
‘I will try and take the people’s voices from here to those who can change things at the government level,’ she added.
According to a study by Building and Woodworkers International, an estimated 300,000 workers are
required to be working for an event as big as the Commonwealth Games, over three years time. Among these 100,000 are unskilled construction workers of whom at least 5,000 are women."
