Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1961)

Gender equality and the informal economy. The Committee notes the Labour Policy 2010, according to which the Government states that extending labour protection to the country’s large and diverse informal economy is a major challenge, and that workers in the informal economy, including home workers and domestic workers, will benefit from improved safety and health arrangements, access to social security arrangements, and the payment of minimum wages, where an employee-employer relation is evident. It also notes the Government’s indication that, in order to protect the rights of the home-based workers, most of whom are women, the drafting of a national policy on home-based workers is under way, which will cater to the needs of female workers to make them equal to their male counterparts, and that all the provinces will legislate on issues relating to female home-base workers as the draft national policy is finalized. It further notes that the draft national policy on home-based workers states that the Government shall ratify the Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177). The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the specific measures taken to enhance the protection of the workers in the informal economy, including home workers and domestic workers, many of whom are women. It also asks the Government to provide information on any progress made concerning the ratification of the Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177), and the adoption of a national policy on home-based workers.