Several startups now offer an on-demand model for domestic help, but does it mean better pay and flexibility or more exploitation?
In this quick commerce era, you can get just about anything in 15 minutes, whether it’s the latest iPhone or that bag of chips you’ve been craving. A new addition to this ever-expanding list is domestic labor. Some weeks ago, Urban Company launched a service they called ‘Insta Maid’ which would ‘deliver’ a domestic worker to your house in only 15 minutes. They advertised this service as costing only Rs 49 per hour. Following backlash about the term ‘maid’ and shockingly low pay, the company renamed it “Insta Help” and clarified that this price was simply a promotional offer, and not what the workers would be paid.
Yet, this model raises questions about what happens when domestic work gets “gig-gifted’? Domestic worker unions across the country say this impersonal Uber-type system is likely to exacerbate the problems that already plague workers, such as being paid below minimum wage to the harassment on the job. “There has always been exploitation, but now one part of that exploitation will be taken by intermediaries. They will take money both from malik and mazdoor.”
For their part, startups emphasize the pros of assured earnings and flexibility. Urban Company has clarified the specifics of the service. “In this new service offering, partners earn Rs 150-Rs 180 per hour, along with free health insurance and on the job life and accidental insurance. Partners working for 132 hours per month ( 22 days * 6 hours per day) are assured earnings of at least Rs 20,000 per month. This earning excludes Urban Company’s commission,” adding that they “firmly believe in the dignity of labor.”
Another player focusing on domestic workers is Broomees, a four-year old start up that just launched a similar 15-minute service called Broom IT. The idea behind the startup came during Covid, when “a lot of domestic workers had to go back to their hometown and there was no platform or social security for them.” With this new quick service, currently active in South Delhi, workers can take up work as per availability. “Suppose a cook who works in mornings and evenings but is free in the afternoon, they can find something for her. Whenever someone’s domestic worker is on leave or they have guests, they can book through us. We send them within 15 minutes. We have a dark store kind of operation office from where we supply these workers.” Workers are paid a base salary of Rs 10,000 a month now, and they have been making an additional Rs 8,000 on average from services rendered.
These models are problematic. “The problem with the entire gig economy is that you’re not able to identify who your employer is, so you don’t know who is giving your labor rights or who you should be holding responsible. Most of these platforms don’t consider themselves employers but as some kind of ‘facilitators.’ therefore, they are being able to evade labor rights that otherwise employers should be providing.”
Also, as in the case of app cab drivers, things are rosy in the beginning and then earnings drop. “Overtime, workers report having to do much more work to make the same amount of money.”
Domestic work is fundamentally different to any other home service, like plumbing, or salon services. “It is very different from any other home service because it’s a regular service. You have an extremely intimate relationship. It did start off as very feudal but has evolved into being somewhat contractual especially in gated societies. The relationship is not the same as the one you’d have with someone coming into your house briefly, performing a service and leaving.”
“There are expectations on both ends. So, for example, if you are a migrant domestic worker, you might rely on the family for finding access to school for your kids or for an advance in case of a case crunch.”
What these platforms are doing, is “taking that relationship out of its social fabric, cutting out the parts that are somewhat supportive to workers but retaining the parts that are extractive.” Plus, it also makes difficult for domestic workers to collectivize. Domestic work being negotiated through platforms takes away the opportunity to form a union, having discussions with employers and negotiating salary. In the gig economy, platforms have been blocked workers trying to unionize or collectivize in the past.
Ratings are a tricky terrain too. “My rating can be impacted by things unrelated to work, like my caste, religion, or even sexual harassment.” They track the geolocation of partners and if they go to a customer’s house a few times after booking, they block your account.”
Another fundamental issue is the nature of quick service. “This entire model is dependent on their being a supply reserve workforce. How will you provide customers with a readily available worker in 15 minutes without having enough people on standby? You’re creating a workforce that is sitting around, waiting for jobs.” While the convenience of these services in cases of a worker being on leave or for an extra pair of hands during a party or function is undeniable, union representatives question if these limited use cases can power the employment of tens and thousands of workers.
“Domestic workers, especially women, face risks of harassment or abuse by consumers, with little recourse for complaints or support from the platform.” However, Urban Company says they provide an SOS button on the app, with a dedicated women-only helpline and a newly launched trust and safety desk. Broomees has a SOS system, along with a fleet of riders who arrive at a customer’s house in case of an issue to understand from all parties what happened.
Union leaders say domestic workers, whether on a platform or not, should be included under labor laws. “The aggregator will not give its own private interest to the worker willingly, so it is the responsibility of the state to make sure the worker isn’t left at the mercy of the aggregator.”
