Home-based workers in India demand equal rights,better pay as world marks 30 years since ILO's Convention 177. Convention aimed to elevate their status to traditional wage earners. Adopted June 20, 1996,implemented in 2000. Only 13 countries ratified it. None in South Asia,where most of these workers live.
In New Delhi,Shehnaz Bano,38,embodies struggles of home-based workers . She stitches leather jacket pieces in cramped one-room home,earning 100 rupees (about $1) per piece. “Imagine if I was a regular employee... I would have been paid more,right?” she said,pointing out pay and rights disparity between home-based and factory workers .
2024 estimate by Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) says nearly 260 million globally are home-based workers. Women are 57% of this workforce. Often in informal economy,they face low wages,lack social security,unsafe conditions.
Renana Jhabvala,activist with Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA),recalls optimism during ILO conference in Geneva when convention was adopted. “There was a majority in the final vote and the Convention got passed,” she said . Yet,three decades later,home-based workers remain invisible to policymakers,especially in developing countries like India.
Deepa Bharathi,senior ILO specialist,noted home-based work often buried in complex subcontracting. Hard to identify,regulate employment relationships. “This undervaluation,combined with broader gender inequalities,has been a significant barrier to ratification and implementation,” Bharathi explained.
Bano's story mirrors broader struggles of India's home-based workers. She moved to New Delhi from her village,shifted from rolling beedis to stitching leather. Still precarious. Jacket pieces she makes can retail over $200; she earns a fraction . “Only those who are in distress do this kind of work,” Bano said,stressing her family's financial pressures.
In same area,Sangeeta Devi,30,works in an 8x8 foot room with family of six. Completes 100 garment pieces daily,earns just a dollar. “I cannot go out and work because then who will take care of my children?” she lamented,showing dual burden many women face as caregivers,earners.
Putul Devi,another home-based worker,shares similar struggles. Rising living costs,earning around $20 a month. Ongoing challenges highlight urgent need for recognition,support for home-based workers . Especially given ILO's Convention 177 aimed to improve their conditions,rights…
