App-based domestic work: How Priyanka earns Rs 35,000 with more freedom and respect
A 12-hour shift, limited holidays and a monthly income of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. That was 23-year-old Priyanka’s life until a few months ago.
Today, she works through an app-based home service platform, taking up cleaning, dishwashing, dusting and other household tasks. Her income has increased, but Priyanka says the biggest change is the freedom and respect she now feels at work.
“I once went to someone’s house for a 12-hour babysitting duty. She would give me lunch at 3 pm and say, ‘All of you maids are the same, you have no status…’ Hearing the word ‘status’ that day broke my heart, and I stopped working in homes like that.”
Priyanka, originally from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, now lives in Noida. She has been working on the app-based platform for the past eight months.
FROM 12-HOUR SHIFTS TO RS 35,000 A MONTH
Priyanka, who has completed Class 12, earlier worked in a private company. Even with overtime, she earned around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month and had only Sundays off.
Now, she says she can earn Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 a month.
“Now I can take holidays as per my wish and earn 30,000 to 35,000 rupees a month. The company pays us a fixed 900 daily, whether we get bookings or not. Working on Saturdays and Sundays earns 1,050 daily, and on top of that, there’s a bonus of 6,000,” she said.
WAITING FOR BOOKINGS IN A PARK
Priyanka and four to five friends often wait for bookings in a park or by the roadside near their assigned location.
When a booking comes within a 1-km radius, they head to the customer’s home for tasks such as sweeping, mopping, washing utensils, dusting or cutting vegetables.
“The company has given us a room to sit, but we are not comfortable there. We sit comfortably in the park, the company has no issue, we just need to be within the location,” she said.
Priyanka has a young daughter, who is looked after by her sister-in-law. Her husband knows about her work and supports her. However, she has not told her parents and in-laws, fearing taunts from relatives.
‘I DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT LOSING MY JOB’
Priyanka says the app-based system also gives her greater flexibility when she needs to travel to her village.
“Here, the entire system is in our hands in the app. We can take a 15-day leave and go to the village. We may lose our salary, but our ID will be activated again after we return, and we won’t lose our job,” she said.
The work has not been without challenges. Priyanka says some customers make inappropriate demands and threaten to damage her ratings.
“Some bad customers want to force us to do it and threaten to ruin our ratings, which results in a loss of our bonus. But many customers are so good that they are so happy with the work that they even leave tips,” she said.
– Ends
