Neglected labour : Home-based workers demand legal protection
Countries with largest population of informal labourers yet to give them their rights, says speaker.
Countries with largest population of informal labourers yet to give them their rights, says speaker. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Home-based workers' demanded government to ratify Home Work Convention (No 177) to grant them their due rights.
Twenty years ago on June 20, 1996, a tripartite conference of labours in Geneva had passed the Home Work Convention (No 177) which accepted home-based workers as part of formal labour, said Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) general-secretary Zahra Khan.
However, only 10 countries have signed it and made it a part of their local laws. The countries, with maximum number of home-based workers, have yet to ratify it, which is a big tragedy, she added.
Khan was speaking during a HBWWF press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday.
The convention represents the voice of millions of home-based workers, but this voice is being ignored in Pakistan, she pointed out.
Speaking about the importance of the convention, Khan said it would help labourers in home-based sector to get their rights such as forming unions, protection against workplace discrimination, workplace safety, healthcare facilities, better wages, social security, old-age benefit, pension, training opportunities, maternity facilities, better working hours and conditions.
All provinces of Pakistan should implement this convention and include home-based workers in their labour laws, she said. They should be 'legally' accepted as part of labour force and given legal protection. The governments of Sindh and Punjab should implement their home-based work policies and include these labourers while making labour laws, she claimed.
She also suggested that as per the convention, nation based data of the home-based workers should also be collected. Social security institutions should also include home-based workers in their orbit, she added.
Gul Rehman from National Trade Union Federation also spoke at the event.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2016.
Home-based workers' demanded government to ratify Home Work Convention (No 177) to grant them their due rights.
Twenty years ago on June 20, 1996, a tripartite conference of labours in Geneva had passed the Home Work Convention (No 177) which accepted home-based workers as part of formal labour, said Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) general-secretary Zahra Khan.
However, only 10 countries have signed it and made it a part of their local laws. The countries, with maximum number of home-based workers, have yet to ratify it, which is a big tragedy, she added.
Khan was speaking during a HBWWF press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday.
The convention represents the voice of millions of home-based workers, but this voice is being ignored in Pakistan, she pointed out.
Speaking about the importance of the convention, Khan said it would help labourers in home-based sector to get their rights such as forming unions, protection against workplace discrimination, workplace safety, healthcare facilities, better wages, social security, old-age benefit, pension, training opportunities, maternity facilities, better working hours and conditions.
All provinces of Pakistan should implement this convention and include home-based workers in their labour laws, she said. They should be 'legally' accepted as part of labour force and given legal protection. The governments of Sindh and Punjab should implement their home-based work policies and include these labourers while making labour laws, she claimed.
She also suggested that as per the convention, nation based data of the home-based workers should also be collected. Social security institutions should also include home-based workers in their orbit, she added.
Gul Rehman from National Trade Union Federation also spoke at the event.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2016.