INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL

7 July 2015 Northern College -UK

Ume Laila Azhar

Organizing

the Informal Workers

HomeNet Pakistan

Vision“HomeNet Pakistan envisions a society in which home based workers are ensured visibility, recognition, legal and social protection, and a decent standard of living.”

MissionHomeNet Pakistan, as a member of HomeNet South Asia, strives to empower home based workers to realize their economic, political and social rights through the strengthening of their respective organizations, adoption of fair trade practices, resulting in the improvement of their working and living conditions.

Basic Facts -HBWs Pakistan Informal sector has expanded to 74 %. Nearly 76% of women had joined the home-based sector in no more than

the past 15 years; more specifically, the trend for home-based work had intensified from the 1990s onwards.

Based on the countrywide enumeration, the total workforce of HBWWs came to be 11,626,761 i.e. approximately 12 million women. The home-based women’s urban work force was estimated to be 3,040,269 (26%) million and the rural work force 8,586,492 (74%) million.

Among the four provinces, the urban home-based women work force in Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and KP is 1,275,022 (41.9%) million, 748,056 (24.6%) million, 905,401 (29.8%) million and 111,790 million (3.7%), respectively.

Source : Unacknowledged Treasures

• 70 - 80 % of a total working population is employed in the informal sector.

• 77% to 83 % of women employed at the national level operate in the informal sector

• There was a rise in the proportion of Home-based workers in total employment. It increased from 20.8 percent in 2001-02 to nearly 27 percent in 2005-06.

• Overall employment increased at the rate of 3.44 percent per annum during 2001-02 and 2005-06 onwards .Home-based workers grew more than twice the rate at 8.91 percent per annum.

• Presently it is now above 10 percent per annum

Problem Analysis for Informal Workers

They are “informal” in the sense that they are mostly: unregistered and unrecorded in official statistics and thus not

recognised, supported or regulated by the government; have little or no access to organized markets, credit institutions,

formal education and training institutions, or to many public services and amenities;

are compelled to operate outside the legal framework and beyond the scale of social protection, labour legislation and protective measures, even if they are registered and respect certain aspects of the law.

The informal economy includes also employment to the extent that workers are undeclared (by both informal and formal enterprises) and do not enjoy social benefits mandated under the law

The workers in informal sectors are mostly confronted by the following major problems:

Employment Deficit Rights Deficit Social Protection Deficit Representation Deficit Growth Deficit Lack of Access to Financial Resources

They are uncounted –No National statistics available and are considered as UNPAID family

helpers

Women Exclusion One of the major issues regarding the informal sector is the

invisibility of women workers in the national statistics and policy discourse .

This is due to the definitional problems and socio cultural constraints, gender bias and flaws in sample size and data collection methods . And as a result activity patterns of women workers remain ignored. Not because they are not working but because their work is not counted or recognized

As a consequence of the exclusion of women in the informal sector from data collection is their not being prioritized in national, provincial or districts polices or budgets or planning.

Name of HBW: Ms. Ikhtiyar Bano

Place: Hyderabad

Age: 30

Nature of Work: Bangle Making

Earning: Rs.20-40 for set of 320 bangles

Working Hours: 7-8 hours per day

Name of HBW: Ms. Shamim

Place: Lahore Multan Road

Age: 45 above

Nature of Work: Shoe Making

Earning: Rs.1000-4000 monthly income

Working Hours: 13hours per day

Name of HBW: Ms. Irshad Nasir

Place: Eminabad Gujranwala

Age: 38

Nature of Work: Stitching Shalwar Kameez

Earning: 100 perday

Working Hours: 9 hours

What needs to be done

Ensure their visibility Create their marketing

linkages Policy and legislation Organize and educate

HBWs to build their voices from below

LEARNING FROM SEWA TRAINING ON MEMBER BASED ORGANISATION

Concept of MBOs Working collectively (as a group, cooperative, association etc)Unity of WorkersUnderstanding of HBWs on issues Understanding the Cooperatives of HBWs Model Contribution of their servicesConcept and role of leaders Importance of Team work, leadership Benefits of OrganizingBrining the HBWs on collective platforms

Guidance from HNSA &WIEGO

Katmandu Declaration Strategizing for HBW at

country level Policy level initiatives

for ensuring their rights

Organizing the constituents –HBWs

ADOPTING THE CONCEPT OF MBO

Democratic Transparent Accountability Solidarity Independent

PROCESS OF ORGANISING IN PAKISTAN

Building on the Mapping of HBWs done in 2001-02Understanding the Concepts of MBOs and adopting the concepts at community levelHBWs organized Sector wise – Kasur +Hyderabad Importance and Benefits of Unionization

Breakthrough In District Kasur 40 HBWs organized in two community organizations, as MBOs.One HBWs group (JAJBA) registered with social welfare department in Kasur is a paid member of HNP.Improved the quality of these active women HBWs through;o Capacity building, o social assistance like health

and education,o awareness on micro

financing serviceso IDs cards were made

Later in Kasur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and Lahore HBWs groups linked with Health, WASA,TMA and Solid Waste Management departments to address their need regarding their civic issues.In Hyderabad home based workers bangle union was formedProgressive Women HBWs union

Challenges in Organizing as MBOs Capacity building of the network members on MBOs concept Identification of HBWs leaders Agreeing on Paid membershipConducive environment for participation and HBWs representationOrganizing around RIGHTs vs HBWs needs Informal workers vs Trade Unions HBWs movement from below

Why Domestic Workers ?HBWs VS DWs DDefinitions of HBWs and DWSecond biggest and vulnerable sector Predominately women in majority Increasing VADWHBWs advocacy paved the way for DWs

Domestic workers C189 Cooks Sweepers Gardeners Drivers Care takers for children and Senior citizen Domestic helpers Laundry person Many more providing services Un counted

Un protected

Employers

Organizing DWs Pre and Post C189 situation Developing strategies for

organizing Informal sector Piloting the strategies Mapping of DWs Formation of MBOs First UNION of DW Convention of DWs Taking the process to policy

level advocacy and other districts

Identification of DWs in 5 districts

GoP skill development initiatives

Leadership development

Domestic Workers Convention held in June 2014

Continued Engagement with policy makers

For Protection of HBWs and DWs

Ratification of C177 and C189

Legislation Extending social

protection Ensuring sector wise

Minimum wages for HBWs

Engagement with trade Unions

Engagement with Political parties

What happened? HBWs issue is now recognized Consensus on organizing of

Informal workers for voice and visibilities

Informal workers issue as one labour agenda –inclusion in provincial labour policies

Unions emerging Draft policies for HBWs and DWs Draft bills for HBWs and DWs Inclusion in the Political party

manifestos of Pakistan peoples party

HBWs preparing for LG elections CEDAW/C/PAK/CO/4

The Committee recommends that the State party: a) Adopt effective measures in the formal labour market, including temporary special measures, to increase female participation and eliminate both horizontal and vertical occupational segregation; to narrow and close the wage gap between women and men; and to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for equal work and work of equal value, and equal opportunities at work. b) Prepare a plan of action for the protection of women working in other areas of the informal sector, such as agriculture and domestic work, in line with the Convention; c) Prioritize the adoption of the National Policy on Home Based Workers and ensure its proper implementation so as to guarantee women access to social security benefits; and, take measures to ensure that the correspondent policy is adopted by all Provinces in the State party; and d) Ratify ILO Convention No. 177 on Home-based work, as well as ILO Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers and amend the relevant domestic legislation accordingly.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS MBOs of HBWs in HNP board Mainstreaming of HBWs issues Leadership development Political education of HBWs leaders Representation of HBWs leaders at local

level committees . HBWs preparing for LG elections

Linkages development with line departments for livelihood

Representation of HBWs at Local government (mobilization )

HBWs Urban issues under discussion Recent development in Social protection

framework GoP pilot projects in Sindh and Punjab NPHBWs (Draft ) Provincial HBWs policy

in Sindh and Punjab Amendments in the harassment bill

proposed for the inclusion on HBWs and DWs

Members of HNP adopted methods of organizing HBWs

Challenges and bottlenecks Who will organize the Informal sector? Are trade unions ready for this as their long term programme

and NOT as “Project”? Ensuring Implementation of Policies for HBWs and DW? Who

will do that ? Government ?TU ? NGOs? Spaces for rights based organizations shrinking More focus on the Skills and micro financing as service

delivery driven Leadership development and finding spaces Absence of any strong Regional and International discourse

for HBWs Political commitments of the government or political scoring ?

Way forward

THANK YOU

H o m e N e t P a k i s t a n