Policy dialogue: ‘IMF should consider labour market in its advice’
‘Country has witnessed economic growth without creating more well-paying jobs’ .
Haq noted that as a result there were not enough opportunities in the domestic market for educated workers. PHOTO: APP
LAHORE:
When advising the federal government on fiscal and monetary policies, international financial institutions should factor in the impact of their recommendations on domestic labour market, public policy expert Raheemul Haq said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at a discussion titled Dialogue on Informal Economy: Existence and Evidence-based Issues.
Haq, who is affiliated with the Centre of Public Policy Studies at Forman Christian College, said policies on international trade, money supply and demand, and taxation were formed in the country in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international bodies. He said when implemented in the country these policies impacted the domestic labour market as well. However, he said, their impact on labour market was not taken into consideration by the IMF or the government.
Haq noted that as a result there were not enough opportunities in the domestic market for educated workers. He suggested that vocational training should be made part of the educational curriculum since grade 6 onwards. This, he said, would allow students to learn employable skills early on in their lives.
He said his research had found that in recent years the country’s economy had seen growth. However, the economic growth did not create many well-paying jobs. “The government should not just aim at creation of jobs. Rather, it should create jobs that pay well,” he said. He said well-paid workers could be relied upon to spend more money and, therefore, help create more jobs in the economy.
Erum Shahid, a researcher at Lahore College for Women University, suggested that the government should register home-based women workers at the union council level to help them access various government and non-government programmes.
She said her research showed that women who earned a living and contributed to the household finances were better placed compared to others to influence domestic decisions.
She presented the findings of her research on HBWs in the footwear industry. She said most of the women were unaware of the government-run technical education and vocational training centres. “Only one of my 200 respondents had received training from a government facility,” she said.
She said most of the HBWs worked over 14 hours a day and earned between Rs1,500 and Rs9,400 a month. She said three per cent of her respondents had studied up to the high school level. She added that more than half were illiterate.
Dr Ghazal Zulfiqar from the Lahore University of Management Sciences said that during her field work among HBWs in Daroghawala she had found that lack of adequate public transport facilities hindered workers from accessing the market on their own. Besides, she said, social norms and fear of harassment explained low ratio of women using the available facilities.
Ume Laila Azhar, director at HomeNet Pakistan, said her study had found that low wages of HBWs were linked to the lack of collective bargaining ability.
She said HBWs in 10 cities across the world were interviewed for the study carried out in association with the Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organising (WIEGO).
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2015.
When advising the federal government on fiscal and monetary policies, international financial institutions should factor in the impact of their recommendations on domestic labour market, public policy expert Raheemul Haq said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at a discussion titled Dialogue on Informal Economy: Existence and Evidence-based Issues.
Haq, who is affiliated with the Centre of Public Policy Studies at Forman Christian College, said policies on international trade, money supply and demand, and taxation were formed in the country in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international bodies. He said when implemented in the country these policies impacted the domestic labour market as well. However, he said, their impact on labour market was not taken into consideration by the IMF or the government.
Haq noted that as a result there were not enough opportunities in the domestic market for educated workers. He suggested that vocational training should be made part of the educational curriculum since grade 6 onwards. This, he said, would allow students to learn employable skills early on in their lives.
He said his research had found that in recent years the country’s economy had seen growth. However, the economic growth did not create many well-paying jobs. “The government should not just aim at creation of jobs. Rather, it should create jobs that pay well,” he said. He said well-paid workers could be relied upon to spend more money and, therefore, help create more jobs in the economy.
Erum Shahid, a researcher at Lahore College for Women University, suggested that the government should register home-based women workers at the union council level to help them access various government and non-government programmes.
She said her research showed that women who earned a living and contributed to the household finances were better placed compared to others to influence domestic decisions.
She presented the findings of her research on HBWs in the footwear industry. She said most of the women were unaware of the government-run technical education and vocational training centres. “Only one of my 200 respondents had received training from a government facility,” she said.
She said most of the HBWs worked over 14 hours a day and earned between Rs1,500 and Rs9,400 a month. She said three per cent of her respondents had studied up to the high school level. She added that more than half were illiterate.
Dr Ghazal Zulfiqar from the Lahore University of Management Sciences said that during her field work among HBWs in Daroghawala she had found that lack of adequate public transport facilities hindered workers from accessing the market on their own. Besides, she said, social norms and fear of harassment explained low ratio of women using the available facilities.
Ume Laila Azhar, director at HomeNet Pakistan, said her study had found that low wages of HBWs were linked to the lack of collective bargaining ability.
She said HBWs in 10 cities across the world were interviewed for the study carried out in association with the Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organising (WIEGO).
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2015.