FAISALABAD:
Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday demanded that the government recognise women employed in the informal sector as industrial labour so that they may benefit from the minimum-wage and laws meant to promote workers’ welfare.
They also asked the government to ratify International Labour Organisation’s convention 177 concerning home work.
They said majority of the women workers were part of the informal sector. This, they said, was leading to exploitation of women workers as the per-piece wage paid to them was a fraction of that paid to workers in the formal sector.
The seminar was organised by Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) in collaboration with Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE).
AWAM chairwoman Nazia Sardar, Executive Secretary Naseem Anthony, Shazia George and Safeera Munawar spoke on the occasion.
Nazia Sardar said more than 70 percent of the working women were engaged in informal sector. She said these workers were not protected by any laws. “Informal sector workers are playing a critical role in the country’s economy yet they are suffering the worst exploitation,” she said.
She demanded the government to ratify ILO C-177 and recognise home-based workers as labourers.
Naseem Anthony stressed the need for setting up skill training institutes for informal sector workers. He said these institutes could educate workers about latest technologies. He called upon the home-based workers to unite under a platform. He said the inability to act as a group was preventing these workers from exerting any influence on policy makers.
Shazia George said there was also a need for setting up organisations that could give legal advice to home-based workers. She said the government could not ensure sustained economic growth without ending the exploitation of home-based women workers.
C177 Home Work Convention, 1996
Article 4:
1. The national policy on home-based work shall promote, as far as possible, equality of treatment between home-based workers and other wage earners, taking into account the special characteristics of home work and, where appropriate, conditions applicable to the same or a similar type of work carried out in an enterprise.
2. Equality of treatment shall be promoted, in particular, in relation to:
(a) the home-workers’ right to establish or join organisations of their own choosing and to participate in the activities of such organisations;
(b) Protection against discrimination in employment and occupation;
(c) Protection in the field of occupational safety and health;
(d) Remuneration;
(e) Statutory social security protection;
(f) Access to training;
(g) Minimum age for admission to employment or work; and
(h) Maternity protection
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2011.
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