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"NEED FOR NATIONAL POLICY ON HOMEBASED WORKERS"
WORKSHOP HELD ON JUNE 29, 2003
OVERVIEW
VENUE : S.A.Bari Auditorium, Ghasipara, Dinajpur.
DATE
: 29th June 2003.
TIME
: 9.30 a.m. onwards.
CHAIRPERSON
: Mr. Chitta Ghosh, Vice Chairman, SCDF.
CHIEF
GUEST : Mr. S.M. Rafiqul Islam, Upazila Executive Officer,
(T.N.O.), Dinajpur Sadar
PARTICIPANTS
: 32 representatives from homeworker
associations in Dinajpur Division.
AGENDA
: Need for formulating and implementing
"National Policy" for Homebased workers
ORGANISERS
: Bangladesh Homeworker Women Association(BHWA) &
Social & Cultural Development Foundation, Dinajpur
SPECIAL
INVITEES & LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES WHO
ATTENDED THE WORKSHOP
1. Ms. Sandhya Rani Bagchi - Upazila Officer, Ministry
of Women and children affairs.
2. Mohd. Abdul Hamid Miya - Town Officer, Social Welfare
Office.
3. Mr. Jalil-ur-Rehman - Inspector, Factories and shop
establishments.
INAUGURAL
SESSION
The chairman began by stating that all workers, whether
working in the formal or informal sector, make a big
contribution to society and it's progress. However,
these workers do not get the right recognition and respect
due to them in lieu of their work and contribution.
They do not have a right to a minimum wages, decent
working hours and social protection. To combat all these
obstacles, he stressed the need to have a proper policy
and determination of a legal framework. This workshop
had been organized to discuss and highlight the issue
of implementation of a national policy for women homeworkers.
Mrs.
Selina Haque, Executive Director, SCDF, read out
the salient features of "THE ILO HOMEWORK CONVENTION
1996" & described it's provisions in a colloquial
manner so that all participants could easily understand
the same. The contents of the Homework Convention were
then discussed in an open forum and a copy of the convention
translated into the local language was made available
to the participants for their information and reference.
Excerpts
from speeches of guest speakers
Mr. Antony Das - YWCA, Dinajpur
When the National policy is implemented, the woman homeworker
will be able to substantially improve her status and
living conditions. It will grant them recognition &
highlight their contribution to society. Formulation
& implementation of the National Policy is the joint
responsibility of the homeworker & their organization,
the employer/contractor & the government. There
should be a provision for a forum for tripartite discussions
between those mentioned above. Elimination of wage discrepancies,
child labour and a significant improvement in professional
security, health and safety awareness levels and ease
of access to legislative authorities are definite improvements
that will be seen as a result.
Mrs. Umme Nahar, Director, Uddyog.
Though it is still in an infancy stage in our country,
there is a definite degree of districtwise dispersion
of program implementation. Through the National Policy,
we can implement various awareness programs, social
security measures, medical treatment facilities, national
and international marketing facilities, educational
and training tours/programmes which will all benefit
the homeworker to a large degree.
Shamsunnnahar,
Orbon Sangstha
She put forth the following demands on behalf of her
homeworker colleagues.
¨ Social protection for women
¨ Elimination of wage discrepancies due to gender
discrimination
¨ Public holidays, minimum wages, right to form
unions.
¨ Registration process should be simplified. The
grass root homeworker should have more freedom to do
her choice of homebased work.
Mohd
Abdul Hamid Miya - Town Officer, Social Welfare Office
The 1996 ILO Convention has suggested the need for a
National Policy on Homeworkers. He highlighted one point
concerning the minimum age restriction for homeworkers.
Gender discrimination has to be eliminated.
Ms.
Sandhya Rani Bagchi - Upazila Officer, Ministry
of women and children affairs.
Her work generally involved conducting income-generating
training programmes for poor women. After attending
this workshop, she has now realized the need for a National
Policy for these women. The information and knowledge
she had gained from this workshop would be very helpful
in her work. She hoped that the ILO Convention would
not remain on paper only and would be implemented in
our country in the near future.
S.M.Rafiqul
Islam, Upazila Executive Officer(TNO), Dinajpur Sadar
He highlighted the various facets of the ILO Convention
1996. The worker rights discussed and detailed in this
document include minimum age, contractual agreements,
social security, minimum wages, medical facilities etc.
However, the ground realities have to be kept in mind
while implementing these provisions. Proper implementation
is as important as proper framing of the policy. We,
the educated class, have to help the homeworker in their
quest for knowledge, training, awareness of their rights
etc. Decent working hours are a must and proper overtime
must be paid for extra working hours. Adequate supervision
is also required. Proper care and leave during pregnancy
and childbirth is also an important issue. There should
be provisions for paid leave, retirement benefits, deciding
on nature of homebased trade, educational facilities
for children etc. He concluded with his best wishes
for this endeavour.
GROUP
DISCUSSIONS
PROBLEMS
¨ Lack of marketing expertise & facilities at
the district level.
¨ Lack of appropriate & adequate equipment.
¨ Absence of proper skill training programs, guidance
& direction.
¨ Lack of capital
¨ Lack of dependable medical facilities
¨ Lack of awareness & education
¨ Gender discrimination
¨ Lack of proper communication & transport facilities
¨ Fair wages not assured
¨ Long & irregular working hours
¨ Required raw materials not easily available
¨ Lack of job security/regular work
¨
Lack of cooperation from family members
¨ Find it difficult to work effectively with small
children around.
¨ Traditional mindset of social ostracism, lack
of motivation.
¨ Women homeworkers are not organized.
¨ No representative association
¨ No registration obtained
¨ Lack of knowledge about healthy working &
living environment.
¨ Absence of regular payment.
¨ No retirement benefits
¨ No facilities for recreation
¨ Lack of competitive mindset in homeworkers
¨ Lack of knowledge about their rights.
SUGGESTIONS
¨
Help create effective marketing networks for finished
goods produced by homeworkers.
¨ Regular training in skill upgradation
¨ Health and nutrition awareness campaigns
¨ Proper medical care facilities
¨ Arrange for funding from both government &
non-government sources.
¨ Make arrangements for regular availability of
raw materials
¨ National Policy to have provisions determining
minimum/ fair wages, maximum working hours, proper working
conditions & minimum age of homeworker
¨ Provide for regular interaction & exchange
of information between homeworkers through workshops
& other forums.
¨ Conduct awareness campaigns among women homeworkers
through informal meetings & group discussions.
¨ Provide for child care/ babysitting facilities
¨ Conduct motivational campaigns among homeworkers
to combat social apathy and encourage more women to
take up homebased work.
¨ Provide for requisite food, nutrition & medical
care facilities.
¨ Government funded micro-credit schemes
¨ Formulate a procedure for encouraging homeworkers
to form organizations and obtain registration.
¨ Provision for retirement benefits in the National
Policy.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the presentations by the 3 group leaders,
the chairman summarised the salient aspects among the
points raised previously by the participants. He also
noted that slowly, but surely, homework would also achieve
the same degree of recognition now given to workers
in the formal sector. Therefore, it is all the more
imperative to formulate and implement a proper National
Policy on Homebased Work, which will ensure that homeworkers
get their due recognition and respect. All the programs
related to awareness, recognition and security of homeworkers
listed in the Home Work Convention need to be widely
accepted and implemented worldwide.
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