Female home based workers demand formal status
KARACHI – Speakers at the 3rd annual convention of home-based women workers federation (HBWWF) demanded the government to declare status of 10 million informal workers equal to those of formal sector.
The convention held at PMA House, was attended by women workers from different parts of the province who through adopting resolutions demanded government to make legislation to give equal rights and statuses to informal workers by ensuring their wages to be fixed.
The home-based women workers demanded of the government to ratify the ILO Home Workers Convention C-177, so that they could have legal protection. According to the HBWWF, home-based workers are largely employed in sewing of clothes, cloth embroidery and making shoes but they do not received suitable wages. HBWWF General Secretary Zohra Akbar Khan said that home-based women workers were exploited by middlemen as they were not receiving the suitable wages.
She said that the home based workers were not only exploited in finances terms but also exposed to serious health hazards as they are forced to work in their dingy homes for up to 18 hours at a stretch, with little provision for proper sunlight and ventilation. Zohra said women demanding that the workers of informal sector should be given status and rights similar to those of formal sector.
Source: The nation
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