Molkarin

In February 1980 Khandarebai, a domestic worker in Pune, fell ill and went on leave. When she returned she was shocked to find that she had been replaced by another woman because she had extended her leave by two days. Upset at the arbitrary dismissal she decided to talk to all the domestic workers on that street to support her in confronting the employer and the woman who had replaced her. After the employer rejected their appeal to give Khandarebai her job back, women began to gather and within an hour 150 women had struck work to protest against the unfair dismissal. The strike was spontaneous and the women had no prior experience in political organising. Trade Union leaders like Leela Bhosale and B.J Kerkar, who belonged to left parties like Lal Nishaan, and members of women's organisations like Medha Thatte helped in conducting daily meetings where 500-600 women would gather. As reports of the strike and the meetings spread, domestic workers across the city joined the strike on their own.

It was a historic strike, for the first time in the country domestic workers had gone on strike claiming an identity as workers.

Women spoke about the high costs of living and  low wages which had never been raised, exhausting work, sexual harassment and caste discrimination at work. Many of them were single women who had been widowed or abandoned and were now supporting the whole family. Work and wages were defined by caste. Dalit women who washed clothes, utensils and swept floors  and cleaned the toilets were paid the least while middle caste women who were allowed to enter the kitchen as cooks were often paid three or four times the amount. The strike led to the formation of the Pune Shahar Molkarin Sanghatana.

As domestic workers were not protected by any labour legislation at the time they decided to propose a wage structure and a list of demands. For the large part due to the pressure of the Union domestic workers were able to negotiate wages and conditions of work. Paid weekly days off, creating a rate card that sets minimum wages for cleaning utensils, sweeping the floor, washing laundry depending on the number of members in the family and the square footage of the area to be swept. Bonus, paid sick leave and 15 per cent contribution to a provident fund. Apart from these demands that were limited to wages, after the strike members of the union were able to challenge and reject the patron-client relationship which was based on caste. Identifying how caste functions in the workplace, many women spoke about how they told their employers that they didn't want to accept left-over food or tea served to them in separate cups any more. This could also be related to the history and influence of the anti-caste movements in Maharashtra and its rejection of all forms of servitude.
After the Pune Shahar Molkarin Sanghatana was formed two more domestic workers unions were set up in Maharashtra. It is still a vibrant organisation continuing to defend the rights of its members.