Rani, 51
Domestic Worker
“I work in 4 households in Chetpet, all of them in apartment complexes. These buildings have a common toilet on the ground floor for use by workers like me, and therefore access to a toilet hasn’t been an issue for me. Since I’ve been working in these homes for over 15 years now, I haven’t had to struggle to find a toilet ever.
While I’ve never asked my employers if I can use their toilet (why should I, when there’s one right here?), if I have ever needed to urgently use their toilet while I’m working, I haven’t hesitated since I’m the one who cleans it as well.
Previously, I was working on construction sites, mostly residential complexes that were torn down and rebuilt. In my experience, the builders have always left one or two of the old toilets functional, usually separate ones for women and men.”
On safety: The door of the common toilet we use was broken for a while, but now they have fixed it.
On cleanliness: The common toilets are cleaned by people contracted to do it. It’s ok most of the time.
*Interviewed by Ragamalika Karthikeyan and Saumya Dadoo
The PSW Weblog 