KARACHI: A labour rights body demanded on Sunday that the definition of ‘worker’ be changed in the country’s laws so that around five million home-based women workers could also be treated as workers in the legal terms to get their rights.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, secretary general of the home-based women workers federation (HBWWF) Zahra Khan said that although the home-based women workers were playing a crucial role in the labour market, they were not considered ‘workers’ and got no benefits such as social security, pension, etc.

They could not even approach the labour courts as their employers did not give them appointment letters, she added.

She demanded that the government should ratify the home work convention C 177 of the International Labour Organisation agreed upon in 1996 and make legislation accordingly.

Other HBWWF leaders present at the press conference included Saira Feroz, Zahida Mukhtar, Raqiqa Hanif, Shabnam Usman, Jamila Hanif, Nasir Mansoor and Gul Rehman.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014