[:en]By Asim Shahzad
LAHORE: HomeNet Pakistan organized a media briefing on human rights due diligence of informal workers from garments and textiles sector.
HomeNet Pakistan welcoming Members of media informed initiatives taken by the Government of Pakistan for the recognition of home based work as a work category makes Pakistan becomes the first country ensuring affirmative actions for home base workers by bringing legislative protection mechanisms through 4 provincial legislations and two policies.
Ume Laila shared that the Government of Sindh enactment of Sindh Home Based Workers Act 2018 is facing major hurdles in the implementation of the law and so as the Punjab HBWs Act 2023. The overall mechanism of providing procteion to HBW and uniform registration process is still missing from the implementation, she stressed.
Ume Laila Azhar, briefed the journalists that despite the significant contribution of women workers from informal settings, these informal workers often face exploitation, lack of legal protection, and poor working conditions.
To address these issues, there is an urgent need for comprehensive human rights due diligence mechanisms and the effective implementation of laws protecting informal workers, such as the HomeBased Workers (HBWs) Law.
The importance of human rights due diligence was highlighted to create voice on the current scenario of the HomeBased hidden workforce, HBWs Law, proposed amendments, business rules and the role of social security mechanisms like PESSI (Punjab Employees Social Security Institution) in safeguarding workers’ rights.
The government of Pujab has proactively enacted several laws but the implementation remains a challenge. There are major flaws with regard to implementation of women protection legislation and enactment of the legislations for marginalized groups is the weak mechanism of execution is due to lack of coordination among relevant line departments and institutions. During briefing , it was urged that cross sectional of women development department is crucial.
The media aims at discussing the major challenges in mainstreaming the home base workers from the informal economy in the major labour dialogue. HomeNet Pakistan intends to follow up on the dialogue for creating spaces for the women home workers for inclusion through legal recognition; more opportunities in the garment and textile sector. Through larger sensitization and capacity building of the home workers and the relevant stakeholders around presence of home workers within supply chains and initiate dialogue between relevant stakeholders including Parliamentarians. The dialogue would provide a platform to ensure collective actions to further ensure inclusion and protection of Home workers through the implementation of Sindh HBWs Act 2018, Ume Laila added.
HomeNet Pakistan also shared the advocacy campaigns for the ratification of ILO Conventions 190 (Violence and Harassment) and 187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health) and ILO 177 on Home workers. Ms Humera Aslam introduced the services provided by HomeNet Agahee Centers and helpline (04211164711) for the support and registration of informal workers in Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad. In order to develop the skills of HBWs in the garment and textile sector.
HomeNet Pakistan has started enrollment of women in the government technical institutes for attaining information, knowledge and skills. So far 67 women including transgender and persons with disability have been enrolled in certified courses in Faisalabad and 55 in Lahore. More are yet to be enrolled by the end of this month. This initiative will continue under Home Net Pakistan umbrella for supporting skills and entrepreneurship development for women in the home based sector.
HomeNet Pakistan further shared important figures from a research “Home Workers in Garment Supply Chains-Research from Karachi, Pakistan” with regard to the involvement of the HBWs in global supply chains. Only 27 % Brands have HBWs policy. HBWs cannot access complaint mechanism. Only 26 % of the Brands involve workers in the HRDD and 12 % involve women workers. . 674,247 Home workers in garment & textile and 94 % are women and only. 1.8 % have written contracts whereas 47.3% have no agreement and 26.4 have verbal agreements[:]