A recent seminar, hosted by an NGO, in Sialkot highlighted the plight of home-based workers affected by a sizeable decline in the city's famous export, hand-stitched soccer balls, as also the problems faced by home-based workers in general. One of the participants pointed out that due to drastic reduction in exports, some 16,000 home-based female workers stitching soccer balls have lost their livelihoods, and that the government needs to safeguard the rights of these people. Some obvious measures that the government needs to take towards that end are provision of training facilities for alternative skills and linkages with the job market.
As per the government statistics, there are an estimated 8.52 million home-based workers, 65 percent of them women. Generally mothers, helped by their young daughters, put in long hours doing what is required of them, in many instances longer than the formal sector employees. Some of the workers are self-employed, selling their skills making handicrafts while most others work on piece rate or contract basis for others such as Sialkot's sports goods manufacturers, and countrywide in handloom, garments, shoes, woodwork and several other industries. Since they are mostly illiterate and unaware of their rights, these workers are exploited by greedy middlemen as well as those sponsoring the activity for sale of end products. Remunerations are generally far below those offered to regular employees, and even lower for female workers. Other benefits routinely available to formal sector wage earners are inapplicable to these workers. And those self-employed have no easy access to markets. These practices are not only violative of wage earners' rights as recognised by ILO-prescribed labour laws, but also constrict economic activity.
It is good to note that there finally is a realisation that things in the sector must change. The federal government has come out with a draft policy, while the Punjab and Sindh governments are in the process of finalising legislation on home-based workers as a special category of labour. Laws, they promise, are to be brought in conformation with the ILO convention on the subject. Accordingly, aside from some other regulatory issues, home-based workers are to be entitled to wages commensurate with those employed in the formal sector. Equally important is an expressed resolve to facilitate and regulate opportunities for market and credit access. Needless to say, proper legislation is a vital step in the right direction. But it goes without saying that laws by themselves are not enough to set things right. The government must also ensure that they are effectively implemented too.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Pakistan: Home-based workers rights
A recent seminar, hosted by an NGO, in Sialkot highlighted the plight of home-based workers affected by a sizeable decline in the city's famous export, hand-stitched soccer balls, as also the problems faced by home-based workers in general. One of the participants pointed out that due to drastic reduction in exports, some 16,000 home-based female workers stitching soccer balls have lost their livelihoods, and that the government needs to safeguard the rights of these people. Some obvious measures that the government needs to take towards that end are provision of training facilities for alternative skills and linkages with the job market.
As per the government statistics, there are an estimated 8.52 million home-based workers, 65 percent of them women. Generally mothers, helped by their young daughters, put in long hours doing what is required of them, in many instances longer than the formal sector employees. Some of the workers are self-employed, selling their skills making handicrafts while most others work on piece rate or contract basis for others such as Sialkot's sports goods manufacturers, and countrywide in handloom, garments, shoes, woodwork and several other industries. Since they are mostly illiterate and unaware of their rights, these workers are exploited by greedy middlemen as well as those sponsoring the activity for sale of end products. Remunerations are generally far below those offered to regular employees, and even lower for female workers. Other benefits routinely available to formal sector wage earners are inapplicable to these workers. And those self-employed have no easy access to markets. These practices are not only violative of wage earners' rights as recognised by ILO-prescribed labour laws, but also constrict economic activity.
It is good to note that there finally is a realisation that things in the sector must change. The federal government has come out with a draft policy, while the Punjab and Sindh governments are in the process of finalising legislation on home-based workers as a special category of labour. Laws, they promise, are to be brought in conformation with the ILO convention on the subject. Accordingly, aside from some other regulatory issues, home-based workers are to be entitled to wages commensurate with those employed in the formal sector. Equally important is an expressed resolve to facilitate and regulate opportunities for market and credit access. Needless to say, proper legislation is a vital step in the right direction. But it goes without saying that laws by themselves are not enough to set things right. The government must also ensure that they are effectively implemented too.
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