Actress/model Elizabeth Hurley (estimated worth of $25 million) and her husband, Arun Nayar (CEO and Co-Founder of Direction Software Solutions and heir to an Indian textile fortune), have been accused of paying their Indian maid, Violet D’Souza, who reportedly works 20 hours a day, a salary of only $200 per week. D’Souza was expected to present her case in a London court today, but the hearing was canceled late yesterday after she agreed to a five-figure settlement. Page Six reports:
Violet D’Souza, 31, accused the “Austin Powers” star and her spouse of forking over as little as $2.33 an hour for as many as 70 hours of work a week in the couple’s fashionable Chelsea (London) home…The London reports say D’Souza worked up to seven days a week, with her chores starting at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes lasting until 3 the next morning, with Hurley and Nayar rewarding her with a weekly 8,000 rupees. The equivalent hourly rate worked out to between $2.72 and $3.10, but was sometimes as low as $2.33 if she worked lengthy hours. In Britain, the legal minimum wage is $10.71.”
It really is hard to imagine that people are still treated like this in developed nations. Indian leaders should have done more to help this woman escape by sending her on whatever they call their underground railroad. Where all trains lead to Dell. Choo choo!
