ISLAMABAD (ILO News): 16 August 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) concluded a dissemination workshop in Islamabad on the “Gap Assessment Study on Convention 189” (Domestic Workers) to educate stakeholders on the identified legal gaps, share recommendations, and chalk out an advocacy plan of actions for stakeholders in pursuing Federal government to ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No.189).

The workshop was attended by 35 participants representing tripartite plus stakeholders including officials from the federal and provincial governments, representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations i.e. the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF), the Domestic Workers Union (DWU), and the “Employers Federation of Pakistan” (EFP). The workshop was also attended by the UN fraternity, civil society organizations, academia, human rights activists, as well as research institutes from all over Pakistan. Ms. Mariko Ouchi (Sr. Spec, Social Security DWT/New-Delhi), Gerasimova Elena (Spec. ILS, DWT/New-Delhi), the ILO national consultant, and the project coordinator (Mr Kazim Shuaib) facilitated the sessions. Hobden Claire (Technical Officer, Vulnerable Workers, INWORK) and Matsuura Aya (Gender Specialist, DWT/New-Delhi) also attended the workshop.

In his welcoming remarks the Officer-In-Charge of the ILO Country Office, Islamabad, Mr Markus Ruck welcomed the participants of the workshop and emphasized the need to expand social security to the 8.5 million domestic workers in the country. He further set out concrete social protection extension strategies for domestic workers, based on the guidance provided by internationally agreed normative frameworks and country-level experience, to help policymakers, implementers, representatives of domestic workers and their employers, as well as other relevant stakeholders, to overcome social protection barriers and make the right to social security a reality for domestic workers.

Mr Muhammad Wishaq (Joint Secretary-Workers Welfare, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Department-MoOP&HRD) in his opening remarks thanked participants and particularly the ILO for all its technical support in conducting the Gap Assessment Study on Convention 189. The Ministry reiterated the need to develop skills of domestic workers to enhance their bargaining power.

Brother, Choudhry Yaseen (General Secretary-Pakistan Workers Federation) appreciated the efforts of ILO in carrying forward the decent work agenda in Pakistan and appreciated the move by Punjab Government in enacting a special law for domestic workers. He urged to replicate the same to other parts of the country. He insisted on removing the legal gaps, and to implement the law into its true spirit.

Representative of “Employers Federation of Pakistan-EFP” Mr Syed Nazar Ali (Secretary General) valued the efforts by ILO and emphasised that merely ratifying new conventions will not be sufficient unless the government takes firm steps to ensure their true implementation. He also expressed that EFP is planning to register the very first employer union for domestic workers very soon. Mr Nazar added that EFP, with the support of ILO, is currently developing a “Code of Conduct for Domestic Workers" to improve their working conditions and to provide a minimum level of protection to their rights at workplace.