|
|
Punjab Home Based Workers Act awaiting
enactment from the Punjab Assembly
Home Based Workers demand to pass the
law soon in Punjab
20-October-2020
Representatives of home based workers from
different areas of Lahore and from different
government departments met in a consultation
“Rights of Home-Based Worker and Need for
Legal Protection” on Tuesday 20th
October 2020 organized by Labour Education
Foundation on the occasion of International
home-based worker day. A large number of
home based workers, Civil Society
Organisations, government representative
attended this consultation. There are
20 million
home-based workers (HBWs) in Pakistan where
more than 71% (two-third) are women. Most of
them are piece-rate workers, involved in
manufacturing and post-manufacturing tasks,
such as garment
stitching, embroidery, knitting,
carpet weaving and handlooms, woodwork,
shoe making and other handicrafts,
bangle making, fruit and vegetable
processing and packaging, etc.
Some of the time their work is linked with
international brands
through the factories producing for such
brands.
The Home-Based Worker Union members Shazia
Gafoor, Asia Waheed, Aqsa, Sumera, Kaneez
Kousar shared that they
are poorly remunerated and the situation of
occupational health and safety is alarming.
Additionally, women get paid less than their
male counterparts for the same amount of
work. They do not have access to
government social protection mechanism
that is provided to workers in the formal
sector of the economy. Such a dismal
situation prevails simply because of the
absence of law for home based workers in
Punjab which results in
not recognising
them
as workers.
The representative of government including
Mazhar Abbas from Human Rights and Minority
Affair, Gulam Abbas- Assistant Director
Punjab Treaty Implementation Cell, Muhammad
Najeeb from Women Development Department
shared the initiative of Punjab government
for HBWs. The representative of NGOs sector
Um-e-Laila and trade union leader Rana
Hassan also spoke on this consultation. At
the end of the consultation, Khalid Mahmood
director Labour Education Foundation
highlighted that the bill is approved by the
Punjab Cabinet and is awaiting to be sent to
the Standing Committee on Labour right now
but the chairman of labour standing
committee is still to be appointed by the
Punjab Assembly. Home based workers and
other stakeholders strongly demanded that
the legal process of passing of the bill
from Punjab Assembly should be completed
immediately. At the end of consultation HBW
gave themselves a standing ovation to
recognize their contribution in the economy.
|
|
|