Bengaluru’s domestic workers stare at uncertain future as jobs dry up during COVID-19 pandemic

While the government’s relief package may soften the blow, it is the lack of work that has left many helpless

Suraj is often seeing cycling his way through the bylanes of a residential layout in East Bengaluru, stopping when he finds a resident near his or her car. “Do you need someone to wash the car?”, he asks, in the hope of getting some work. The Nepali national says his wife, who used to work as a domestic help, has lost work during the pandemic, and he too has lost a big chunk of employers. It is a similar story across many households of domestic workers and related professions — cooks, car washers and the like. If the first wave of COVID-19 and the sudden lockdown was a rude shock for most of the unorganised sector, the second wave has lent another blow.