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In a monumental development, the Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) has launched pioneering protections to fundamentally transform the landscape for domestic workers
In a monumental development, the Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) has launched pioneering protections to fundamentally transform the landscape for domestic workers. For ages, an invisible workforce of home-based cooks, cleaners, drivers and nannies has endured dehumanizing labour conditions while being systemically excluded from legal work rights. This unprecedented code aims to dismantle the structural oppression of domestic roles and permanently rewrite the social contract with some of Pakistan’s most disenfranchised labourers.
Reckoning with Entrenched Atrocities
The chronic exploitation of in-home staff permeates modern Pakistani homes. The covert persistence of child labour is an open secret, as families flout bans by hiding minors within private households. Adult workers face profound violations, spanning 15-18 hour shifts without respite, subsistence wages insufficient for survival, routine verbal/physical abuse and inhumane living quarters lacking basic utilities. Migrant labourers are particularly vulnerable to trafficking, coercion and harassment due to social isolation and employer intimidation tactics to discourage legal recourse. This oppression has been implicitly accepted and even justified through warped lenses viewing domestic workers as undeserving of rights.
Comprehensive Reforms to Empower Workers
This new code comprehensively addresses these human rights atrocities. It legislates formal contracts codifying transparent wages, indexed benefits, strict safety standards, grievance redressal systems and health/harassment protections. Annual audits, licensing and stringent penalties aim to permanently dismantle the ecosystem which allowed generations of domestic workers to be trafficked, exploited and discarded with impunity.
The Ripple Effects of Formal Recognition
For the first time, domestic workers have been formally integrated into mainstream labour regulations, establishing a mechanism for state protection. This paves the way for collective bargaining powers, enrollment in public social security programs, and participation in the wider political process to lobby for better working conditions. It also creates openings for unions, cooperatives and other forms of organized labour – giving domestic staff leverage and resources to demand accountability themselves rather than relying on benevolent employer moral awakenings.
Cautiously Hopeful for Meaningful Change
Changing culturally ingrained employer mindsets represents an immense challenge, particularly within household settings insulated from formal regulation. Proper enforcement mechanisms will be critical to translate policy into tangible improvements for workers historically denied agency. However, this code has sparked vital public discourse regarding the prejudices fueling the normalization of domestic labour exploitation. With continued civil society oversight, it can reform oppressive practices by recalibrating the fundamental power asymmetry between employers and domestic staff.
While long overdue, this intervention signals a decisive break from tradition toward a more egalitarian future. It expands conceptualizations of formal labour rights and human dignity to those previously omitted from social protections.
By boldly acknowledging housekeepers, drivers and cooks as equally deserving of safe conditions, fair wages and autonomy over their lives, this code brings Pakistan one step closer to an equitable society for all its people.
