Gurgaon: An internal WhatsApp message circulated by the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of a housing society in DLF Phase 1 has triggered controversy after it said that domestic staffers would not be allowed to enter the compound if they are not vaccinated by July 10.
The RWA, however, told TOI later that the message was a “tactic” to force the staff to take the vaccine and that no one would be stopped from working after July 10.
“If we remove helps who had Covid recently & those who are expecting, we have a number of approximately more than 60 helps who are yet to be vaccinated.
Please ensure that these helps are vaccinated by 10th July 2021.
The management will not allow these helps to enter post 10th July 2021,” the message, circulated among the society’s 500-odd families, said.
The decision, if implemented, would come at a time domestic staffers are finding it difficult to make ends meet in the absence of work during the lockdown.
Sources said there was apprehension among many domestic workers about the Covid vaccine and its possible side-effects.
Several housing societies across Delhi-NCR have been organising camps to inoculate the service staff as it is difficult for them to get a slot in government centres.
“A discussion around making vaccinations mandatory for domestic helps has been going on for a while now.
Earlier, they were asking for tests for the workers every two weeks,” a resident of the DLF society said.
Another resident said it was unfair to target only the domestic workers.
“All of us have been trying to vaccinate the domestic staff, but we cannot enforce a rule like this.
It is unfair.
If we are asking the service staff to get vaccinated, a similar rule should be there for residents too,” the resident said.
The RWA secretary at the condominium said the message was a ploy to make all the residents to persuade their domestic workers to get the shots.
“Many of these staffers harbour apprehension about the vaccine.
We are pushing people to get the domestic workers vaccinated for their own safety,” he said, adding that no one would be stopped from coming to work over vaccination.
Deputy commissioner Yash Garg clarified that RWAs could not take such decisions.
“It is the free will of every individual to take a decision on getting vaccinated.
We have not authorised any RWA to take this decision on behalf of anyone,” he said.
Domestic workers across the city said while the RWAs had been encouraging them to get vaccinated, no one had issued any order making the jabs mandatory to continue working.
“My employer arranged for my vaccination.
Others too got the jabs that way.
But no one has said we can’t work if we haven’t taken the vaccine,” said Sumitra Singh, who works at the DLF 1 society.
Maya John, who heads the Gharelu Kamgar Union, said, “Yes, there are directions from associations to get domestic workers vaccinated.
But there are no strict orders yet.”