Lahore: Though, not yet at implementation stage, the Homebased Workers Act 2018 of Sindh province, Punjab (2023), Baluchistan (2022) and Khyber Pakhtunkwah (2021), provides crucial frameworks within which homebased workers are in line to be recognised and access fairer treatment under law informed Ume Laila, Executive Director, HomeNet Pakistan in a one day dialogue on held on 22 June in Lahore in collaboration with Pakistan readymade garment and textile training institute (PREGTI).
The dialogue was attended by brands, suppliers, government departments, workers and home based workers to discuss the possible plans of actions for ensuring the inclusion of HBWs in the garment and textile supply chains. Ume Laila informed that due diligence is understood as a “preventative mechanism” which requires businesses “to identify and assess potential or actual adverse impacts and to adopt policies and measures to cease, prevent, mitigate, monitor, communicate, address, remediate them, and account for how they address those impacts. Therefore, it is important to respect labour rights of home workers ensure that brands take responsibility of the protection of women in the supply chains. When rights are respected, supply chains are more robust, reliable and resilient, Ume Laila stressed.
This promising policy environment has the potential to put Pakistan in a strong position, as trade with the EU – and other OECD countries – increasingly becomes subject to business and human rights compliance standards. Following the ‘soft law’ launch of the United Nations Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights in 2011, countries across the world have set about developing legislative and regulatory measures that seek to promote and - in the case of France for instance - embed human rights due diligence in supply chain management. European Parliament sets out its intent to arrive at mandatory human rights due diligence for all EU-based businesses, which would affect the south Asian countries including Pakistan. A huge export of garment and textile is reported in Pakistan and the recent research conducted shows that the goods are exported to UAE ( 57.5%) USA(53.8%), UK(56.3 %), Saudi Arabia (48.5 %)and other EU Countries (12.5%) which includes the work by informal workers in the home base sector, reported Ume Laila.
Mr Nadeem Ashraf, National Human Rights Commission, member Punjab recognising the importance of Human rights protection of the workers and especially women in informality said that the commission is committed to support any initiative for taken in the direction to ensure protection of Human rights in the supply chains specifically under the GSP Plus status of Pakistan and UNGP guidelines on human rights due diligence. HE stressed the need to take up the matter of minimum wages setting and for women in the home base sector and ensuring equality in light of the HBWs legislations.
Mr Samad Aftab, UNDP shared the federal government process of finalizing the Nation Plan pf Action on Business and Human rights (2021-2026). The NAP is a major plan to monitor the business in the supply chains under UNGP guidelines. The GOP is committed to develop, implement measure to ensure mandatory due diligence process ensuring inclusivity, which also includes Home worker. UNDP is working closely with GoP in supporting developing frameworks by ensuring larger civil society, Textile associations and workers.
Mr Javed Gill highlighted the importance of reporting under GSP status and other ILO core labour conventions. He also stressed the importance of CEDAW reporting and state obligations to fulfil the concluding observations, which talks about informality and home workers. The UNGP related mandatory due diligence and upcoming EU legislations would eventually affect the state of affairs in countries like Pakistan who are major manufacturing countries in south Asian. Time is now to plan in light of the NAP, HBWs and other labour legislations, to ensure protection of home workers to make them a robust labour workforce.
Mr Ikram, representative of Employers Federation of Pakistan, appreciated the efforts of HomeNet Pakistan ensured full support in the creating awareness on the processes of HBWs in the supply. HE said that EFP is committed to develop the capacity of suppliers for understanding the supply chains dynamics in light of the UNGP guidelines.
Mr Hanif Ramay and Naiz Khan MLF and Garment and Textile Union respectively, highlighted the grave human rights situation of the workers. They raised concerns on the implementation of ILO conventions for ensuring minimum wages, access to social security and occupational health and safety. The UNGP guidelines are yet another mandatory procedure that the government should take up ensuring the protection of human rights in businesses. Naiz Khan urged the need to capacitate the LHRD and ensure better and transparent labour inspections. For monitoring the HBWs in the supply chains, Ramay said that this “would be difficult but if all stakeholder collectively take actions then we can achieve this” . The labour state of affairs in Pakistan is critical at the moment” Ramay shared.
Kritaka Chobey , Transform Trade addressing the dialogue online shared ; according to the EU resolution, “comprehensive transparency requirements” are “a crucial element of legislation on mandatory due diligence.” Transparency helps to “give suppliers and manufacturers better control and understanding of their supply chains and improve public confidence in production.” Kritaka shared the Hidden workers projects- a multi country project – highlights and stressed that there is further need to be transparency across the chain, with visibility of all value chain actors. The research data gives ample evidence of presence of home workers in the supply chains. Given this, it is now even more important that EU-based brands operating in Pakistan take steps to gain better visibility on their supply chains and understand impacts they are having, as buyers, on their suppliers’ capacity to support the most vulnerable workers.
Perter Williams from Home Workers Worldwide shared according to the EU resolution, “comprehensive transparency requirements” are “a crucial element of legislation on mandatory due diligence.” Transparency helps to “give suppliers and manufacturers better control and understanding of their supply chains and improve public confidence in production.” Further, there needs to be transparency across the chain, with visibility of all value chain actors. He presented a brief snapshot of the capacity development plan for suppliers, brands, contractors and hoe workers. Mr Williams highlighted the that the Orientation meeting on the Tool Kit – Finding Homeworkers - for brands and suppliers is as an opportunity for leading global brands, Pakistani industry , workers including HBWs and other relevant stakeholders to come together to chart a pathway towards value chains that support their most vulnerable workers.
HomeNet Pakistan under the Hidden workers project funded by European commission, HomeNet South Asia and Transform Trade with the support of PRGTI intends to follow up on the sensitization around presence of home workers within supply chains and initiate dialogue between relevant stakeholders. It envisions that the dialogue would provide a platform to ensure collective actions to further ensure inclusion and protection of Home workers across supply chain.
The dialogue was attended by brands, suppliers, government departments, workers and home based workers to discuss the possible plans of actions for ensuring the inclusion of HBWs in the garment and textile supply chains. Ume Laila informed that due diligence is understood as a “preventative mechanism” which requires businesses “to identify and assess potential or actual adverse impacts and to adopt policies and measures to cease, prevent, mitigate, monitor, communicate, address, remediate them, and account for how they address those impacts. Therefore, it is important to respect labour rights of home workers ensure that brands take responsibility of the protection of women in the supply chains. When rights are respected, supply chains are more robust, reliable and resilient, Ume Laila stressed.
This promising policy environment has the potential to put Pakistan in a strong position, as trade with the EU – and other OECD countries – increasingly becomes subject to business and human rights compliance standards. Following the ‘soft law’ launch of the United Nations Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights in 2011, countries across the world have set about developing legislative and regulatory measures that seek to promote and - in the case of France for instance - embed human rights due diligence in supply chain management. European Parliament sets out its intent to arrive at mandatory human rights due diligence for all EU-based businesses, which would affect the south Asian countries including Pakistan. A huge export of garment and textile is reported in Pakistan and the recent research conducted shows that the goods are exported to UAE ( 57.5%) USA(53.8%), UK(56.3 %), Saudi Arabia (48.5 %)and other EU Countries (12.5%) which includes the work by informal workers in the home base sector, reported Ume Laila.
Mr Nadeem Ashraf, National Human Rights Commission, member Punjab recognising the importance of Human rights protection of the workers and especially women in informality said that the commission is committed to support any initiative for taken in the direction to ensure protection of Human rights in the supply chains specifically under the GSP Plus status of Pakistan and UNGP guidelines on human rights due diligence. HE stressed the need to take up the matter of minimum wages setting and for women in the home base sector and ensuring equality in light of the HBWs legislations.
Mr Samad Aftab, UNDP shared the federal government process of finalizing the Nation Plan pf Action on Business and Human rights (2021-2026). The NAP is a major plan to monitor the business in the supply chains under UNGP guidelines. The GOP is committed to develop, implement measure to ensure mandatory due diligence process ensuring inclusivity, which also includes Home worker. UNDP is working closely with GoP in supporting developing frameworks by ensuring larger civil society, Textile associations and workers.
Mr Javed Gill highlighted the importance of reporting under GSP status and other ILO core labour conventions. He also stressed the importance of CEDAW reporting and state obligations to fulfil the concluding observations, which talks about informality and home workers. The UNGP related mandatory due diligence and upcoming EU legislations would eventually affect the state of affairs in countries like Pakistan who are major manufacturing countries in south Asian. Time is now to plan in light of the NAP, HBWs and other labour legislations, to ensure protection of home workers to make them a robust labour workforce.
Mr Ikram, representative of Employers Federation of Pakistan, appreciated the efforts of HomeNet Pakistan ensured full support in the creating awareness on the processes of HBWs in the supply. HE said that EFP is committed to develop the capacity of suppliers for understanding the supply chains dynamics in light of the UNGP guidelines.
Mr Hanif Ramay and Naiz Khan MLF and Garment and Textile Union respectively, highlighted the grave human rights situation of the workers. They raised concerns on the implementation of ILO conventions for ensuring minimum wages, access to social security and occupational health and safety. The UNGP guidelines are yet another mandatory procedure that the government should take up ensuring the protection of human rights in businesses. Naiz Khan urged the need to capacitate the LHRD and ensure better and transparent labour inspections. For monitoring the HBWs in the supply chains, Ramay said that this “would be difficult but if all stakeholder collectively take actions then we can achieve this” . The labour state of affairs in Pakistan is critical at the moment” Ramay shared.
Kritaka Chobey , Transform Trade addressing the dialogue online shared ; according to the EU resolution, “comprehensive transparency requirements” are “a crucial element of legislation on mandatory due diligence.” Transparency helps to “give suppliers and manufacturers better control and understanding of their supply chains and improve public confidence in production.” Kritaka shared the Hidden workers projects- a multi country project – highlights and stressed that there is further need to be transparency across the chain, with visibility of all value chain actors. The research data gives ample evidence of presence of home workers in the supply chains. Given this, it is now even more important that EU-based brands operating in Pakistan take steps to gain better visibility on their supply chains and understand impacts they are having, as buyers, on their suppliers’ capacity to support the most vulnerable workers.
Perter Williams from Home Workers Worldwide shared according to the EU resolution, “comprehensive transparency requirements” are “a crucial element of legislation on mandatory due diligence.” Transparency helps to “give suppliers and manufacturers better control and understanding of their supply chains and improve public confidence in production.” Further, there needs to be transparency across the chain, with visibility of all value chain actors. He presented a brief snapshot of the capacity development plan for suppliers, brands, contractors and hoe workers. Mr Williams highlighted the that the Orientation meeting on the Tool Kit – Finding Homeworkers - for brands and suppliers is as an opportunity for leading global brands, Pakistani industry , workers including HBWs and other relevant stakeholders to come together to chart a pathway towards value chains that support their most vulnerable workers.
HomeNet Pakistan under the Hidden workers project funded by European commission, HomeNet South Asia and Transform Trade with the support of PRGTI intends to follow up on the sensitization around presence of home workers within supply chains and initiate dialogue between relevant stakeholders. It envisions that the dialogue would provide a platform to ensure collective actions to further ensure inclusion and protection of Home workers across supply chain.