Karachi, December 26, 2019: To earn more profit margins, factory work is being diverted to home-work sector. Every year the number of home-based workers increases by at least 5 percent in Pakistan; whereas the home-based work thrives but the home-based workers are still amongst the poorest of the poor, said speakers of a press conference here Thursday.
The press conference was arranged by the Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on completion of the first ten years of their struggle.
The speakers said that ten years ago on December 30, 2009 the home-based women workers of Pakistan, writing a new history, had formed the first home-based women workers federation of the country and started their struggle, which finally resulted in giving a legal identity to more than 5million home-based workers of Sindh province.
They said Sindh is the first province of the South Asia, which on May 9, 2018 through passing the Sindh Home-based Workers Act 2018, became the pioneer in lawmaking for home-based workers. Now the Rules of Business of this Act are in final phase and once they are made the home-based workers of Sindh would get their due rights as other workers of formal sector duly recognized by the labor laws.
The speakers said they feel themselves happy that after their ten year struggle the home-based workers, especially women workers, are now organized and also playing their due role in pro-democracy campaigns, but the home-based workers of Sindh are not happy that even after passage of one year, the Sindh Home Based Workers Act 2018 is yet to be implemented.
They said that the home-based workers are the lowest paid workers. As per an estimate there are more than 12million home-based workers in Pakistan and their number is rising with a rate of 5 percent a year. However, their crucial role in the national economy is yet to be accepted and they are still deprived of their rights and social security privileges under the labor laws.
Home-based women workers face the curliest exploitation because they even do not get wages equal to their male counterparts for same work. As per an ILO report, the wage difference and violence on the basis of gender is on the rise.
Women workers get 34 percent less wages as compared to the wages of male workers for the same work. As per a Global Wage Report for the year 2018-19, in Pakistan the 90percent of lowest paid workers are women workers. As per another report, if corrective measures are not taken it would take 100 years to bring wage parity and 200 years to bring gender equality in Pakistan.
They said that in value chain of every sector home-based women are being completely ignored. The textile-garment sector is the backbone of the national economy; however, the women workers belonging to this sector from cotton pickers to women working on machines in factories and in homes are working in the conditions that are worse than slavery.
This situation is against local laws and international standards, but the government, international institutions, multinational corporations and global brands are criminally ignoring it. The home-based women workers have been raising voice against these atrocities for years and it is the result of their struggle that now lawmaking is made in Germany to compel the international brands to give worker their due rights, while a debate has already been started in the European Parliament for this type of lawmaking.
In Pakistan the women home-based workers, 80 percent of home-based workers, have taken 10 years to get their status recognized. Our rulers think that they would attain economic growth by not giving rights to workers, but no economic growth is possible without social justice. Pakistan has already ratified the ILO convention 36 and also accepted GSP-plus.
Now they are talking of a Pakistan Accord on the pattern of Bangladesh Accord. However, despite this development, due rights to home-based workers is yet a distant dream. The growing price hike has made it very difficult for women home-based workers to survive economically.
The speakers said that to commemorate the first ten years of the struggle of the women home-based workers, a big gathering of women home-based workers is being held at the Arts Council Karachi on Money, December 30, 2019 at 3:00PM, in which women home- based workers from different districts of Pakistan would participate and present cultural programs to highlight their issues.
A documentary in this regard would also be shown. A Comrade Shanta Award would be give to home-based women workers for their heroic struggle. Leaders and workers of different workers federations and human rights organizations would also attend the event to show solidarity. At the end of the conference the future line of action of the struggle of the women home based workers would also be announced.
On the occasion, the speakers demanded of the government of Sindh to announce the rules of the business of the Act and take necessary steps for registration of the home-based workers with social security and EOBI. It demanded to start registration of home based workers to issue them cards.
Those spoke included Zehra Khan of Home Based Women Workers Federation Karachi, Saira Feroze of United Home Based Garments Workers Union Karachi, Shakeela Khan of Home Based Women Bangle Workers Union Hyderabad, Jameela Abdul Latif of Home Based Women Bangle Workers Union Hyderabad, Shabnam Azam of Home Based Women Workers Federation Gadap, Zahida Mukhtar and Aneela Ramzan of United Home Based Garment Workers Union New Karachi Godhra Colony, Saniya Amin and Misba of Zradozi and bead work Workers Gadap and Kosuar Nissa of Rilli and Topi Makers from Shahpur Chakar.
