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#Protecting #care #workers #Pakistan #Political #Economy
Working, as humanity itself maintains life and enables economic productivity in all societies. This involves meeting the physical, psychological and emotional needs of others, whether they are disabled or sick, and also includes self -care.
The care work is salaried and free. Payment workers include professional caregivers such as nurses, doctors, teachers, children’s care workers, domestic health assistants, domestic workers, elderly careers, social workers and therapists. Unpaid care is often done without a financial prize, usually by family members, especially women. In addition to the direct care of children, the elderly, sick relatives or people with disabilities, it includes household chores such as cooking, cleaning, washing, grocery purchases, collecting water and collecting wood, domestic planning and administration and social work.
According to the ILO, there are an estimated 381 million care jobs globally, representing about 11.5 % of the total job worldwide. This number includes all workers from health, education, social work and domestic work sectors. The unpaid care works $ 11 trillion annually in the global economy, which is about 9 % of GDP worldwide.
Women perform more than three -quarters (76 %) of unpaid care globally. This gender disparity is an important obstacle to gender equality. On average, women spend 4 hours 25 minutes daily on free care. Men do only 1 hour 23 minutes and daily on free care. This abundance of unpaid care works produces ‘time poverty’, where women have less time to have economic opportunities, education, salaried work and access to personal or public activities.
This article reviews the current state of social protection for care workers in Pakistan and recommends some steps to strengthen the legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure decent work for this necessary workforce.
In Pakistan, the burden of free care is mainly tolerated by women. According to UN women, women and girls spend 20 % of their time on unpaid care and domestic work, while 1.8 % by men. Recent LFS data -based analysis suggests that women spend about 3 hours a day on non -market care and home work. A study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics shows that when both the market and non -market activities are taken into account, men spend 4.7 hours while women spend 3.5 hours daily at work. It is just that women’s work is not economically counting. Some other studies have highlighted that women spend 6 hours a day on unpaid care work, which translates into the monthly partnership of Rs 35,000 (Rs. 180 hours per month per month). However, it is important to add that the above cost is made on a minimum wage basis for non -skilled work, while unpaid women care workers are usually skilled. Something is extremely skilled in what they are doing.
According to the SDG5, SDG5, to achieve gender equality, it is important to recognize and appreciate the care and home work without being performed by women. As indicated in SDG 5.4, it can be achieved by developing and implementing auxiliary policies, promoting joint responsibility within the domestic and family. There is a 5R framework through ILO for decent care. According to this framework, the work of free care should be acknowledged, (less through quality care services supply) and re -distribution (caregivers should be allowed to join the labor market and re -enter and implement family -friendly work arrangements).. On the contrary, the compensation care work should be awarded to ensure proper employment conditions and work conditions and the promotion of association freedom and promotion of social dialogue.
The 5R framework is a comprehensive approach that can guide policy development and legislation reforms in Pakistan to improve social protection for care workers. While drafting Punjab and Sindh labor codes, provincial labor departments have increased the maternity leave for at least 14 weeks (Sindh already has 16 weeks), provisions have been introduced for the Patients departure, the workplaces set up at the workplaces have been provided with elastic work centers and flexibility. Under these codes, the safety from dismissal is increased completely four months after pregnancy and childbirth. Similar provisions are already included in the laws of Balochistan.
The 2024 ILO resolution related to the decent work and care economy rightly indicates that “care is necessary for all other tasks”. The resolution emphasizes the need for decent work in the care economy. It emphasizes the importance of social protection for care workers and the need to remove gender differences in care works.
The current legal framework of Pakistan shows the important gap that leaves millions of workers without any social security coverage. The current social protection systems primarily focus on formal sector workers, while leaving large parts of the care manpower that work in informal arrangements. Although Punjab (2019) and Islamabad Capital Territory (2022) have legislated domestic works, the rules that provide comprehensive access to social security cooperation for domestic workers in Punjab were only recently notified. Other provinces have not yet made the necessary legislation on coverage of domestic and other caregivers in the domestic work and their social security system.
In order to ensure the representation of care workers in the policy -making process, an institutional mechanism should be established, including the recognition of the collective bargaining rights of the care worker organizations.
Employees benefit from old age, which provides old age pensions and other benefits, does not cover domestic workers and other informal sector workers. Sindh has tried to give self -employed workers to register themselves and give coverage for self -sufficiency. However, pointing out that the partnership is too high (PKR 2400 every month), it is impossible for many informal sector workers to register themselves. The Balochistan Labor and Manpower Department has developed rules for expansion of social security to domestic workers, which has utilized the reduction of partnerships. Under this procedure, workers can register themselves and significantly participate in a small amount (Rs 800 per month), while some can also access social security benefits. A similar scheme can be created for domestic and other caregivers.
The Older Age Benefits Scheme currently needs 15 15 years contribution to old age pensions. The current legislation does not account for the absence periods due to the care of children, except for a maternity holiday (which is limited to a maximum of 16 weeks in Sindh). The Ayubi law can be amended to include provisions related to “Care Credit Credit” in pensions for time out of the labor force while providing children with care for child care or elderly care. The 2023 population census, which is a comprehensive attempt to collect data by the government, must already have the latest data about the elderly, which can provide evidence to start such a scheme. Using legislative provisions on senior citizens, a care allowance or scholarship can be launched. Under the Income Support Program for children’s caregivers, people with disabilities and the elderly, a trial care allowance can be launched.
Based on the aforementioned analysis, there were several key recommendations to strengthen social protection for care workers in Pakistan.
First of all, Pakistan should develop a comprehensive national care policy that clearly recognizes the work work as a deserving work of social protection coverage. This policy should establish the principles of universal coverage, while solving the specific needs of various types of care workers, including healthcare professionals, teachers, domestic workers and informal care providers. The National Commission for Women can advance in the development of such a policy. It is important to mention here that the Center for Labor Research is already drafting this policy to present the government and other stakeholders.
Second, labor reservations should be extended to all types of legal reform workers, leaving domestic workers and informal care providers without the minimum wage, work time limits, professional safety concerns, and basic rights of social protection. Punjab (covered domestic workers under Social Security), Sindh (allowing people to register itself) and Balochistan (extension of HBWS coverage through less benefits from less than less contributing) should be used.
Thirdly, Pakistan can implement a mixed financing model to expand social protection workers who associate non -controversial programs (such as BISP) for non -controversial and non -wage care providers to auxiliary schemes for formal workers (such as EOBI, PESI). This may include Universal Pension Schemes with Care Credit, which recognizes periods of unpaid care supply, regardless of employment (Sahitya Faculty Card Program) and targeting for care providers during illness or unemployment periods.
Fourth, an institutional mechanism should be established to ensure the representation of care workers in the policy -making process, including the recognition of the formal consultation procedures in the development of the collective bargaining rights of the care worker organizations and the development of social protection policy. The Domestic Workers Union, which was established in Lahore in 2014, has been active in the development of social security rules for domestic workers.
Fifth, comprehensive data collection systems should be implemented to monitor the effects of caregivers, protection coverage and policies. This includes regular time use survey, extended labor force survey to capture care works and integrated management data systems of social protection coverage in various care workers category. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics can engage for this purpose.
Finally, Pakistan should verify and implement the relevant ILO conventions, including Family Liaison Convention (NO 156), Maternity Protection Convention (NO 183), Nursing Personal Convention, 1977 (NO 149), and with domestic workers’ Convention (NO -189), with affiliates with international standards. People are included. By following the provisions of Convention 149, thousands of lady health workers and mandatory care workers can be brought to the protection of labor law at the community level.
It has a high time to recognize, reduce, re -distribute, rewards, and represent the work work to make it visible, valuable, safe and equally joint. In Pakistan, care workers need permanent political commitment, proper financing, and integrated implementation in the government level and in the fields for the change of social protection. Decent work in the care economy is reaching the first compensation and unpaid care providers by giving the right to social protection and the aforementioned skisade schemes in major cities across the country. Social protection programs should be created to support women’s economic participation and should not be used as an excuse to strengthen their domestic confinement and limit access to economic opportunities.
Eftel Ahmed, Labor Research, is the founder of the center of Pakistan. It can be arrived at IA72@cornell.edu
Sobia Mir is a director in Pakistan’s labor lens.
