Forty-four women choultry workers from five districts, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, Bagalkote, Belagavi, and Bengaluru, took part in a consultative meeting on ‘Safety, Dignity, and Respect of Choultry Women Workers’ here on Friday.
Hanunavva, one of the participants, said, “We are paid rupees ₹400 a day. I am worried about my children’s future. Sleeping in the choultry environment during work is unsafe for women workers.”
“We are picked up for the work, but it is challenging for us to return home in the wee hours,” said Nagavva, another participant.
Abuse
“It is common that choultry workers face abuse at the workplace at the hands of cooks, employers, and contractors. They work 12 hours a day, but do not get minimum wages. For example, in cities like Bengaluru, women workers at marraige halls are paid ₹500 a day, while in rural areas they are paid only ₹300. As per the Labour Department rules, these workers are supposed to get a minimum wage of ₹710 a day for nine hours of work,” said Nandini, State lead, ActionAid Association.
She urged the government to collect tax from the owners of the marriage halls and use it for the welfare of the workers, like how it is done for construction workers.
Lawyer Vinaya Sreenivasa said there is a need for a concerted struggle to protect their rights. A study conducted by ActionAid two years ago exposed the plight of choultry workers, he said.
“The contract labourers carry out their work continuously from 6 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. or 11 p.m. every day. Some owners and cooks do not even allow them to go to the toilet at the workplace. In case of minor injuries, there is no response. It is midnight when they reach home from work, and there is no proper transport system,” he added.
Unorganised sector
Meena Patil, Assistant Commissioner of Labour, said that these workers belong to the unorganised sector and are not getting benefits like provident fund, ESI, bonus, etc.
Considering the issues, the Karnataka government has come up with the Ambedkar Karmika Sahaya Hasta Yojana, which provides insurance up to ₹1 lakh and hospitalisation expenses in case of any accidents at work, she said.
She called on the workers to register for the scheme. She explained that the State government has revised the minimum wages to ₹716 in Zone-1 and ₹565 in Zone-IV for unskilled workers in community halls and marriage halls.
Published – June 28, 2025 12:06 am IST
