Dawn 05 February 2005
Legal cover urged for home-based workers By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: The government must formulate adequate labour policies to recognize home-based women workers (HBWWs) under the laws by evidently giving due consideration to the gender nature of home-based work. This was recommended in a policy research recently done by the National Commission on the Status of Women on "the status of home-based women workers in informal sector". At present, the study showed, there was lack of government policies and programmes on home-based work; there was no legal status in informal sector of home-based workers in general and the HBWWs in particular. Likewise, there had been no translation of the principles of policies as stated under article 37 and 38 of the Constitution, which provide for social security by compulsory group life insurance, maternity benefits for women in employment, promotion with special care, educational and economic interests, training and industrial development in labour policies. Similarly, the policy research identified a large gap between formal and informal sector in terms of coverage and actual enforcement of labour laws. Also, the HBWWs have no formal platform to voice their problems. The government does not have statistics on the HBWWs coupled with lack of awareness and literacy among home-based workers. In addition to this, the policy research noted that government authorities and policy makers were oblivious to the existence of home-based workers. This, it said, was the biggest hurdle in ensuring a better deal for these workers. The study has recommended formulation of adequate labour laws to take into account women's roles initially as care providers at home and then workers. Accordingly, appropriate amendments to the existing framework must be initiated. The study also stressed the need for devising a mechanism for registration of employees and employers, compilation of relevant information, including data of HBWWs and their employers, and monitoring the working conditions. It also called for mainstreaming of the HBWWs in an appropriate manner. Own-account workers must be distinguished from sub-contract workers and policies for their mainstreaming and development be framed, it said. The own-account workers would require wide-range policy interventions to promote their knowledge and access to bargaining power in markets. The government and civil society must also jointly facilitate setting up of women producers' associations at macro and micro level to enable them to voice their demands and bargain for better prices with middlemen involved in the marketing chain. It will also help in income generation and improvement of their products, the study said. The women members of such associations must be facilitated in their access to the marketing information through use of new information/communication technologies and links to international market research channels, the study said. In order to address the issues of own-account home-based women workers, amendments are suggested to the West Pakistan Maternity Benefit Ordinance, 1958; The Employees' Old Age Benefit Act, 1976; and the Provincial Employees' Social Security Ordinance, 1965. o o o o Daily Times February 08, 2005 Women home workers to have better living By Shoaib Ahmed LAHORE: Preparations are underway to highlight the need for a better standard of living for home-based women workers and to build a South Asian women's network through a three-day South Asian Women's Trade Fair which will be held in Lahore at the Sports Complex in Qaddafi Stadium in a few months. Gender Equity Project (GEP) and Social Welfare and Women Development Punjab will sponsor the event. Besides Pakistan, female home-based workers from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka will participate in the fair. A large variety of things like embroidered clothes, wall hangings, bamboo and cane products, jute and paper products, pashmina shawls, beaded jewellery, neckties and die products will be displayed at the fair and folk songs and theatrical performances will be held during the fair. A scheme called HomeNet in Pakistan would be launched during the fair. Explaining Homenet, Amir Rana, Pakistan national coordinator HomeNet, told Daily Times that United Nation's Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) had come up with an approach to support women home-based workers and to improve their standard of living. The effort was aimed to empower female home-based workers to enjoy better living, he added. He said UNIFEM had initiated the programme, through HomeNet South Asia in India Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This year UNIFEM established HomeNet in Pakistan and Aurat Foundation majorly supported UNIFEM's efforts in Pakistan. The national coordinator said two organisers and five home-based workers would be invited to the fair from each country. He said there were 50 million home-based workers in the region and 20 million informal sector workers in Pakistan, of whom 12 million were women who formed an important section of the economy. He said the living conditions of women home-based workers were deplorable. The participating countries would display various objects produced by women home-based workers. Bangladesh would display embroidered dress material, furnishings, cushion covers, table mats, wall hangings, handicrafts, jute items, bamboo and cane products, leather sandals and jute and fabric with hand embroidery. Nepal will display handloom, embroidered dress materials Aallo, Hem, Jute and paper products, doormats and tablemats, food products pashmina shawls, handicrafts, beaded jewellery and neckties and dye products. Pakistan will exhibit dress material, handloom, cotton, embroidered, crochet khusa, footwear, carpets, costume, jewelry, doormats and tablemats, handicrafts and beaded decoration items. Sri Lanka will display coir doormats and tablemats, coir twine, geo textile and other coir products, wooden handicrafts and reed products, textile and textile products, coir plant pots and handloom textile. India will exhibit dress material, handloom, embroidered, appliqué, neckties and dye products, block printing, doormats and tablemats, bed sheets and covers, cushions, quilts, food products, agriculture-based and non-timber forest products. Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool and Ms Ela R Bhatt, veteran South Asian leader and activist, will inaugurate the fair together o o o o Dawn 25 January 2005 Govt asked to ratify ILO Convention: Home-based women workers By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Jan 24: The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has recommended that the government must ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on Home Workers that would give recognition to the Home Based Women Workers (HBWWs). The commission in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had recently conducted a policy research on "The Status of Home-based Women Workers in Informal Sector". In its policy recommendations, the commission has called for early ratification of the ILO Convention (No.177) which has not yet been ratified by the government. The ILO Convention has many provisions which go beyond legal protection and can act as a starting point for the organization of millions of previously unorganized home-based workers. Therefore, ratification of the said convention by Pakistan would certainly bring a drastic change in the status of HBWWs in the country, said the policy research. It is estimated that in Pakistan 75 per cent of the total informal sector consists of home-based women workers but unfortunately their contribution remains invisible and unrecognised. The labour policy 2002 for the first time has recognized the home-based work of women while putting on record the fact that they are not covered by any labour welfare organization. Though the clause provides for the extension of labour welfare coverage to the workers of informal sector such as HBWWs, the said provision is not supported by any action plan. The 10- year Perspective Development Plan 2001-11 is also devoid of development programme in this context, the policy research noted. It also underlined that gender biases, complete oblivion of government authorities, lack of gender-focused policies and an enabling environment were the main impediments to ensuring a better deal for the HBWWs in Pakistan. On the face of it, home-based working appears to be a safe business for work but practically HBWWs face multiple challenges, which can be attributed mainly to the socio-cultural traditions that restrict women's mobility. Lack of proper training from institutions is another big problem for them. In Hazara district, all home-based workers acquired skill on their own through friends, while in Punjab only 40 per cent HBWWs acquired training from institutions, whereas all others have been trained at home by their elder family members. The commission has also recommended formulation of appropriate policies and programmes to support HBWWs; devise an effective enforcement mechanism and establish a competent body involving public and private bodies at national, provincial and district levels for registration of employers and home-based workers. _________________________________ Labour Notes South Asia (LNSA): An informal archive and mailing list for trade unionists and labour activists based in or working on South asia. LNSA Mailing List: Labour Notes South Asia To subscribe send a blank message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> LNSA Web site: groups.yahoo.com/group/lnsa/ Run by The South Asia Citizens Web www.sacw.net _________________________________ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? 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