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Indian PM inaugurates South Asian Policy Conference on Home-Based Workers

Madhusmita Hazarika
18 January 2007 (reported in 0neWorld South Asia)

New Delhi, 18 January 2007: Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, today inaugurated a 3-day Policy Conference on Home-Based Workers of South Asia that is being jointly organized by United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Ahmedabad-based Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA).

The conference is being attended by eminent experts of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Geneva and UK and also has senior representations from the Ministries of Women Development, Trade and Labour from the South Asian countries. Over 250 home-based workers (HBWs) from all over India are also attending the conference.

Inaugurating the conference the Prime Minister said, “Empowerment of women should be a major objective of social, political and economic policy in South Asia as a whole. Key to this empowerment people is education and the assurance of gainful employment.” He rued the fact in spite of becoming part of a global value chain due to globalization, home based workers, majority of whom are women, still receive very low levels of income owing to the intervening chain of middlemen.

Dr.Singh pointed out that the Indian government has tried to overcome the “invisibility” of home-based workers through the collection of statistical information – the 1999-2000 round of National Sample Survey for the first time surveyed home based workers – and they intend to expand this to find out more about their work, earnings, skill levels and pressing concerns, in order to ensure that they live lives of dignity and respect.

Dr.Singh also stated that the Indian Government has provided funding for the implementation of the recommendations of the Kathmandu Declaration of 2000, which identified some of the deprivations faced by home based workers, including social protection, skill building, technology development, credit availability and organization and political participation.

Exhorting the media to play its role in highlighting issues pertinent to the lives of home based workers, the Prime Minister said, “Our Government will be happy to take forward the National Policy for India, based on the recommendations that emanate from this conference.”

HomeNet South Asia
Highlighting the progress made till now in improving the status of home based workers, Ms. Chandni Joshi, South Asia Regional Director, UNIFEM said, "A very special milestone that this Conference marks is the launch of HomeNet South Asia (HNSA). Formed in 2000 by SEWA and UNIFEM, this is a vibrant network of 600 organizations representing over 300,000 home based workers from five countries - Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Having evolved as the collective voice of home based workers, it carries their voices to the highest levels, to influence legislation, policies and programmes.

A dream ten years ago - it is a reality today. This transformation is the result of collective and dedicated work especially of HomeNets of five countries. This conference is a vignette of UNIFEM's journey with SEWA that began with lobbying with 15 governments in the Asia Pacific region, to adopt the ILO Convention 177 on Home Work. For the first time, it was acknowledged that home based workers were entitled to minimum standards in international law, like other sectors of the workforce."

Key issues and concerns of home based workers
Commenting on recent trends in the home-based work, Ms. Renana Jhabvala of SEWA, said that there is a steep increase in the participation of women in home based work. Today, piece-rate home-based workers are engaged even by international chains of production in industries like garments, footwear, electronics, plastic footballs, and also in national or local markets in industries like bidi, agarbatti and textiles. Craft-work like weaving & basketwork, as also agri-processing, are now being done on a subcontracted basis."

Despite their indispensable contribution to the national & global value chains, home based workers are among the most exploited, maintains Ms. Jhabvala, adding, "For incense sticks (agarbattis) sold at Rs.100 in the market, the home based worker rolling them receives a meager Rs.2.30 only."

Representing the home based workers, Zaitun Abdul Razak Shaikh of Ahmedabad and Padma Gurung of Nepal acknowledge the immense contribution of HomeNet. They stressed the need for access to raw materials, skill upgradation facilities and opportunities, market access and information, identity cards and social security as some of the key concerns they brought to the conference. As Latifun and Rashida of Sundernagari put it, “We look for access to health care as many of us face serious health hazards in our work; we also would like to have some scholarships for our children’s education and assurance of a decent living.”

Elaben Bhatt, the founder of SEWA and special guest on the occasion pointed out that globalization had expanded the opportunities in the market, but the producer does not know where the product sells or the price at which it sells. Women home based workers are not able to reach new and expanding markets because they remain isolated, dispersed, and have social restrictions on mobility. They also lack access to appropriate marketing mechanism and information. With no formal contracts or identity cards, they are also exposed to insecurities like lack of credit availability, raw material and infrastructure facilities.

Acknowledging the solidarity shown by supporters during current UN Reform process, by way of proposals for invigorated and strengthened gender equality architecture in the UN System, Ms. Joshi, said, "I extend my appreciation to our friends from the women's movement, who despite several obstacles and barriers, have kept the Beijing flame alive."

Thanking all for the unflinching support for gender equality and for a stronger UNIFEM, she said, "The one million signatures that you collected in South Asia, has contributed to ensuring a more central place for women's human rights and equality by the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence."

Reiterating the powerful message contained in the Human Development Report of 1995, she quoted, "Human development if not engendered, is endangered".

The conference focuses on increasing employment through trade, capacity building of Home Based Workers, their protection and social security. Some of the papers being presented include " ILO Convention 177" by Mr. Dan Gallin, Global Labour Institute, Geneva; "Social Security for Home Based Workers: South East Asian Perspective" by Ms. Donna Doane, HomeNet South East Asia; "Disaster recovery and Home Based Workers - the Tsunami Experience" by Dr. Annie V. Kurien , Social and Human Resource Development Consultants, Sri Lanka; "Social Security Bill" by Dr. K.P. Kannan, National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector, India; and "Organizing the Unorganized" by Mr. Lalit Basnet, GEFONT, Nepal . Various ministries of South Asian region will also make their respective country presentations. Mr. B.K. Chaturvedi, Honorable Cabinet Secretary, Government of India will chair the valedictory session of the conference on the concluding day