organizing the informal sector
TRANSCRIPT
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