PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar here on Wednesday demanded of the government to award the status of skilled labour to home-based workers and recognise their rights according to international labour laws.

The seminar was arranged by Labour Education Foundation (LEF) at Peshawar Press Club that was attended largely by women workers belonging to different areas of the province. Awami Workers Party chairman Fanoos Gujar was chief guest on the occasion.

The deputy director of labour department, Zahid Khan, LEF Mardan president Farooq Ahmad, Women Workers Union Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Taj Meena, general secretary Asia Sharif, senior vice president Khanzada, Mihnat Kash Labour Federation president Ibrarullah, general secretary Sherzada, Mihnat Kash Labour Union president Ihsanullah and Sharifa of Women Workers Union addressed the seminar.Speaking on the occasion, Farooq Ahmad said that LEF wanted to organise home-based women workers and to force the government to award them the status of recognised labourers and give them their due rights.

He said that of the total labourers, 70 per cent were working at homes but still they were not recognised as labourers. Majority of those women, he said, worked at homes and lived in rural areas away from main population centres.

Mr Ahmad said that about 200 different items were prepared by homebased workers but they were not paid properly for their services. He said that those women, who were associated with non-formal sector, were ignored by policymakers owing to lack of proper statistics about them.

`Women workers in Mardan weave chairs and get Rs12 for a set while shawl makers in Swat are paid Re1 for making a dozen rolls from wool. The women, who make blankets in Peshawar, get Rs5 to Rs12 per blanket,` Mr Ahmad said.

Interestingly, the blanket makershad to use their own threads and needles.

Addressing the seminar, Taj Meena said that home-based workers wanted to be recognised as regular labourers and get proper reward for their services. She said that most of them worked with contractors, who forced them to work at half wages that were also not paid to them on time.

Sherzada said that the wages of many of the women workers were less than the pocket money of a middle class child. He said that they had no other source of income.

Zahid Khan talked government initiatives for the welfare of the workers. He said that government was preparing databases of labourers so that proper policies could be framed and non-formal sector could be brought under the government oversight.

Mr Khan said that most of the labourers were unaware of their rights therefore they faced various difficulties. He added that Pakhtuns were hard working people but unfortunately they were not unite and did not know about their rights.Fanoos Gujar said that they would continue their struggle for the rights of women workers.

He added that they would utilise all resources and registered the labour union with CBA.

He said that the system could not be improved without including women in the decision making process.

Ms Sharifa said that she was a widow and had three children. He said that she couldn`t enroll her children in a school owing to financial problems.

She added that she washed clothes and utensils in a home all the day to get just Rs60 daily which was nothing. `Before this job, I was working in a chair making factory which was very difficult for me because I would have to sit all the day which caused kidney and other diseases,` she said.

Ibrarullah said that it was responsibility of the state to provide employment to its citizens but government had failed in that regard. He demanded of the government to equip labourers with modern skills and provide loans to them.