Women working from home

There are no social security or pension benefits for home-based workers.

SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Women Development Dr Fardous Ashiq Awan assured home-based female workers that the government would continue to work in close collaboration with the United Nations to introduce policy changes and affect legislation for the economic and social empowerment of female workers.

Awan addressed participants of a seminar on measures required for the improvement in working conditions for home-based soccer ball stitchers in Sialkot on Wednesday. “We need to take practical steps to deliver facilities to the poor and we are working towards this. I applaud the spirit and strength of all women working from their homes just to make ends meet,” she said.  Awan said “You have voted for leaders who will deliver you from poverty and I have no time for some politicians who make false promises just to get your vote. I will help women become economically independent.”

The federal minister lamented that the poor continued to be

exploited in an atmosphere where prices for daily use items were skyrocketing daily. “It is becoming harder for the people to feed themselves and this cannot be allowed to continue,” she said. Awan said that the prevalent legal arrangements did not accept

home-based workers for social security benefits or pensions. “This needs to change. Home-based workers are running businesses and supporting their families and they need the government to help them,” she said.  Awan said that she would bring the issue regarding the exploitation of home-based workers into the notice of the president. “I will try my best to put forward the necessary legislative and administrative measures needed to improve the lot of women workers,” she said. Speaking on the occasion, UN-Women senior officer Saghir Bukhari said that his organisation would work to enhance the UN Program regarding home-based workers. “We are already initiating pilot projects in Sialkot and other parts of the country for the empowerment of the home-based workers,” he said, adding “based on the lessons learnt from these models we will be able to advise the government agencies “.

Saad Gilani from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shared that out of the total female population, 27 per cent of women in Pakistan were working women.

“More than 70 per cent out of the 27 per cent of working women belong to the agriculture sector. Out of every 100 working women only one woman gets her rights as per laborer laws,” he said. Gilani persuaded the federal minister to elaborate upon the details of the excesses meted out to female workers and introduce policy in state structures that can pace up legislation for the rights of home-based workers.

Addressing the participants of the seminar Prof Arshad Mehmood Mirza demanded that Government of Pakistan should take immediate steps to adopt a National Policy on Home Based Workers in line with the ILO requirements stated in the ILO Convention 177. Prof Mirza said that it is necessary that home based workers be legally accepted as labourers ensuring that they received the legal minimum wage prescribed by the government. Mirza said that in wake of the shift of the soccer ball business to other countries, sophistication of the production mechanism and rapidly adopted automations the demand for hand stitched soccer balls was decreasing and the industry was suffering. “We fear that very soon thousands of home-based female workers will lose a major share of their income and it is important to create opportunities for these women in advance,” he said.

Addressing the meeting, Baidarie president Hina Naureen shared findings regarding a base line assessment conducted by the Baidarie NGO in Sialkot. “According to our findings, young females coming from the poor family backgrounds are primarily hired as home-based stitchers in the soccer ball manufacturing industry,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2011.