“A delay in formulation of rules of the Sindh Home-based Workers Act 2018 (SHBWS-Act) is depriving millions of home-based workers of the province of their due benefits and perks under the Act since the law cannot be practically implemented without formulation of rules,” said speakers of a consultative meeting on Friday. A meeting entitled ‘SHBWs Act and way forward for its implementation’ was held by Home-based Women Workers Federation (HBBWF) Pakistan at a local hotel. During the meeting, HBWWF General Secretary Zahra Akbar Khan said the landmark Sindh Home-based Workers Act which was passed in 2018, was a pioneer law guarding the rights of home-based workers. She said that besides her Federation, other stakeholders including labor federations, trade unions, rights bodies and civil society also played a vital role for drafting of the bill and lawmakers of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) in Sindh assembly, particularly Saeed Ghani and Syed Nasir Hussain Shah played a heroic role in getting the law passed. However, Zahra Akbar regretted that despite the passage of so many months, the rules of the Act had not been formulated. She said that the home-based workers of Sindh had not received any benefits under the Act since it could not be implemented because of a delay in the formulation of rules. National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) Deputy General Secretary Nasir Mansoor said that the objective of the consultative meeting was to find a way forward to get the law implemented. He said that so many laws were passed in the country but only a few of them were practically implemented. He said that only after the formulation of rules could the process of registration of home-based workers start. Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research director Karamat Ali said that a provincial council, comprising all stakeholders, should be made under the law so that information regarding home-based workers could be collected on an administrative level. He proposed that similar committees should be made at the district and taluqa levels to collect the data. Farhat Parveen of Now Communities also said that the process was needed to start registration of the HBWs workers. Peoples Labor Bureau leader Habibuddin Junaidi said that meetings with heads of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) , Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) and Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) should be conducted by the end of December to facilitate the registration process of home-based workers. He also stressed on making amendments in the SESSI law to remove the problems faced by workers. It was decided during the meeting that a 12-member committee would be formed to study the proposed bill and act passed by the Sindh assembly. This committee would also be entrusted with the task of suggesting amendments in other laws including SESSI and EOBI laws. It was further decided that the committee would draft the proposed amendments and then call on the chief minister to request his assistance for introducing the amendments in the related laws. Those who spoke at the meeting included NTUF Sindh general secretary, Riaz Abbasi, Home Based Garments Union general secretary Saira Feroz, Sindh Minimum Wage Board secretary Shaheen Nisar and Mir Zulfiqar. Published in Daily Times, September 8th 2018.