Our Correspondent Kohima | June 20 The national estimate for 2004 to 2005 suggests that 4.75 million workers were employed by private households, of which, 3.05 million were urban women making domestic work the largest female occupation in urban India. Some reports say that the number of domestic workers in India may be up to 40-50 million. There are about 3,75,000 domestic workers in Assam alone. North East has a large number of women and young girls enrolled in domestic work yet unrecognized and a decent work status denied to them. They are often called maids, servants, kitchen girls and Aiyas. “It is high time to ratify ILO C 189; ‘Decent Work for Domestic Workers’ so that their work is recognized, they are paid a decent wage and are treated as workers with respect,” Ferrando Domestic Workers Alliance (FDWA) asserted in a brochure. An initiative of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (MSMHC), FDWA’s objective is promoting and realizing the rights, dignity and solidarity of the domestic workers in North East India. The project is implemented through the social development office of the congregation, Centre for Development Initiatives (CDI) Guwahati, which has its regional offices in Shillong, Tinsukia (Loonpuria), Tezpur (Udalguri). “The overall goal and objective of the project is sustainable improvements of the living and working situation of domestic workers who are mostly women and girls vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation,” the brochure stated. The project specifically aims at organizing the domestic workers into union so that their voice is heard and they become empowered to argue for their rights. In the process, it also works towards inclusion of the domestic workers into social security system so that their economic condition can be improved and their livelihood sustained. In a very extensive manner it also creates awareness among the domestic workers as well as in the public sector through campaigns, lobbying and advocacy. The project ‘Formation of domestic workers union structures’ is being implemented in 12 cities (Guwahati, Shillong, Tura, Aizawl, Agartala, Tezpur, Bongaigoan, Barpeta, Tinsukia, Sarupather, Kohima, and Imphal) of North East covering six states- Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur. Some of the highlights of the activities include; identification of domestic workers and registration and organization into groups, gathering of children of domestic workers into Ferrando children club, crisis intervention mechanism, information of domestic workers about unions and establishment of union structures, training of domestic workers in various topics in the realm of group formation and other events, information campaign and direct intervention in the sphere of human trafficking, awareness raising, advocacy and lobbying, networking with relevant stakeholders who are important for domestic workers training for the project staff.