Home-based Workers in Pakistan
Know the situation about Home based workers in Pakistan, their rights, wages and working conditions.
What is the situation of Home-based workers in Pakistan?
The informal estimates indicate that there are 20 million home-based workers in the country of which 12 million are women. There are no laws for home-based workers in Pakistan, and the country has also not ratified the ILO Convention C177. The Labour Force Survey analysis, however, indicates that there are 4.8 million home-based workers in the country (working at "their own dwelling” and “family or friend’s dwelling”). A UN Women Report 2016 indicates that home-based workers contributed almost Rs. 400 billion through their wages to the economy, 65% by women. This amount is nearly equal to 3.8% of the total GDP in 2013-14.
Both the Ministry of Labour & Manpower and Ministry of Women Development formulated a policy prior to their devolution in June 2011. After devolution, this policy now rests with the provinces. Provinces are working on home-based workers bills/legislative procedures. Punjab and Sindh governments notified home-based workers policies in 2017. Currently, they are working on draft legislation. Once these bills are passed, these workers will get all the benefits granted to regular workers.
The Sindh Home-Based Workers Act was passed by the Provincial Assembly of Sindh on 09 May 2018 and assented to by the Governor of Sindh on 23 May 2018.
All provinces have enacted necessary legislation protecting the rights of home-based workers, the latest from Punjab (2023). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have enacted laws on home-based work in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Which working class comes under the Sindh Home Based Workers Act 2018?
It is applicable to all people who are working from their home or any nearby premises for any industry, undertaking, establishment, commercial establishment, contractor, sub-contractor or with any other intermediary within territorial limits of the province of Sindh. It is the duty of the Provincial Government to set up a Council under the administration of the Labour Department. It comprises representatives of Employers, Contractors, Home Based Workers and their Unions.
What are the functions of Home Based Workers Council?
The Council shall monitor the following:
- identification and tracking of the home-based worker from different economic sectors;
- Registration of home-based workers as well as their employers;
- Maintenance of the registration record of home-based workers and employers;
What Social Benefits and Grants are guaranteed under the Sindh Home Based Workers Act 2018?
All registered home-based workers are entitled to have social, medical, and maternity benefits, compensations and marriages and death grants available to a person falling within the domain of worker and workman envisaged in all Labour Laws including Sindh Industrial Relation Act.
What is the Procedure of Establishment of Arbitration Committee under the Sindh Home Based Workers Act 2018?
The Government is entitled to set up the Arbitration Committee as it deems necessary and specify in the notification. Arbitration committee consists of three persons appointed by the Government. Where more than one Committee is established, the territorial jurisdiction of such Committee is also notified.
Arbitration Committee has power to:
- Arbitrate and evaluate a dispute referred to Committee under this Act or placed before it.
- Investigate or arbitrate any issue regarding the application or violation of any settlement referred to it;
- exercise and perform the other rights and duties delegated or allocated to it by or under this Act.
- No court fee is charged for charging, presenting or storing the document in or requesting any information from an Arbitration Committee
In accordance with this Act, who has the responsibility to make payment of wages?
The employer, including a contractor, subcontractor or intermediary shall pay all wages that it needs to be paid in compliance with this Act, to home-based workers employed by him. Each employer shall maintain such records and submit them to the Labour Department, to the Registering platform to the Home-based Workers Council or Labour Directorate, as laid down in the rules and regulations.
Is there any union of home-based workers in Pakistan?
In accordance with article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan, every individual has the right to join an association or union.
HomeNet Pakistan, a network of organizations working for the rights of home-based workers, exists at the national level and is actively pursuing passage of home-based worker rights bills through the provincial assemblies.
How does the national policy define home-based workers in Pakistan?
According to the National Policy, a home-based worker is:
- a person who works within the home boundaries, or in any other premises of his/her choice, but excluding the premises of the employer’s or contractor’s workplace;
- a person who works at home for remuneration or monetary returns;
- a person who is self-employed or does piece-rate, own-account, or contract work, which results in a product or services as specified by the employer/contractor
The definition, used in national policy, is more comprehensive one than used earlier in ILO Convention, which covers only one category of home-based workers, i.e., home workers.
Who are not included as home-based workers?
According to the National Policy on Home-based workers, these persons are not included in the definition of the home-based worker;
- a person with employee status who occasionally performs his/her employee work at home, rather than at his/her usual workplace;
- a home-based worker who has the degree of autonomy and of the economic independence necessary to be considered an independent self-employed worker under national laws, regulations or court decisions;
- a domestic worker, since he/she does not work in his/her own home;
- a person working, outside his/her home boundaries, in the rural or non-formal sectors of agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries, etc., since he/she is still termed as “unpaid agricultural family helper”.
What are different provisions under this policy?
The national policy provides that home-based workers will have
- Equal treatment in wages and a minimum wage would be set
- Skills training, provided by the Government
- Access to credit, land ownership and other assets
- Freedom of association and collective bargaining
- Right to the safe workplace
- Social security benefits
- Right to registration as home-based workers
Do home-based workers have access to social security benefits?
Yes, if they regularly deposit their monthly contribution to the Employees Old Age Benefits Association (EoBI).
What are the problems faced by Home-based workers?
The home-based workers face the following issues.
- Invisible to policymakers and lawmakers
- Lack of proper health care facilities
- Insecure & hazardous workplace (environment)
- Non-availability of work in time
- Long working hours
- Inadequate housing conditions
- Low wages and non-payment of dues in time/irregular income
- Less market access
- No organized labour union/no collective bargaining
- Exorbitant interest rates for loans
- Women having no right to spend their earnings
- Lack of self-independence & decision power
- No proper estimate about the true number of HBWs
- More dependence on middleman
- No market linkages (lacking value chains)
- Lack of vocational training to do work
- As women have to observe purdah, especially in the countryside and they can’t leave homes easily, they can’t get a good price for their work (due to incomplete information about market dynamics).
