M.

Kamran

17232720-040

MANAGEMENT THEORY & PRACTICES

PROBLEMS FOR WOMEN IN WORKPLACE IN Pakistan

TEXTILE INDUSTRY
Pakistan Institute of Labor Education and Research (PILER) Pakistan Institute of
labor
Pakistan institute of labor Education and Research (PILER),established in 1982,is a not-for-profit, citizen
sector organization engaged in research ,education ,policy advocacy and networking in the areas of
labor rights ,social justice ,human development ,regional solidarity and peace .PILER ,as a resource
center, facilitates the labor movement in building a wider social consensus on core labor rights through
advocacy and linkages with local ,national, regional and global partners. PILER considers militarization
,state conflicts and social intolerance as major barriers to realizing labor rights ,and engages with peace
movements at national ,regional and global levels .PILER is active in a number of peace initiatives at
regional level.

Women Workers in Textile/Garment sector in Pakistan and Bangladesh

Women workers, by and large, are not able to exercise this right. The barriers that restrict women from
organizing to bargain collectively for better pay and conditions include discriminatory attitude of male
trade union leadership and co-workers, domestic workload and responsibilities, social attitudes, and
restricted mobility. Anti-union tactics adopted by employers, i.e. dismissal from work, intimidation and
harassment of union members and office bearers, also keep women away from organizing and
participating in union activities.

Historically, workers' organizations and trade unions in the subcontinent have been male dominated in
terms of both membership and leadership, and restricted to the formal sector. In recent decades, trade
unionism has weakened due to restructuring of work relations and expansion of informal economy
compelling alternate forms of organizing and support mechanisms to emerge, even if weak and
sporadic.

Primary research in Pakistan:

A survey of 500 women workers in 79 garment factories in three towns of Karachi, Pakistan, based on
structured questionnaire; four structured, information-sharing meetings with women's groups; one
focus group discussion.

In Bangladesh:
Unstructured interviews/informal meetings with six Bangladeshi trade unionists/activists and four
representatives of key labor organizations.

Facts and figures

Participation rate in Pakistan is the lowest in South Asia, and the gap between Pakistan and Bangladesh
is the widest. Bangladesh has a higher number of women in key positions— 23 per cent compared to a
dismal 2 per cent in Pakistan and the ratio of their earnings vis-vis men is better than in Pakistan.

South Asia: Women's Participation in Labor Force Country Female economic Female economic activity
rate (%) activity as %age (ages 15 and older) of male rate 2004 (ages 15 and older) 2004 Bangladesh
52.9 61 Nepal 49.7 63 Sri Lanka 35.3 45 India 34.0 41 Pakistan 32.0 38

Textile/Readymade Garments Sector Pakistan

Textile industry employs 38 percent of the total manufacturing sector labor force and contributes 61
percent to the country's total export.4 Pakistan being a cotton-growing country, its textile industry
comprises a large component of spinning, weaving and processing of yarn. The share of apparel
manufacturing is 11.73 per cent only, with around 4,000 manufacturing units of garments, knitwear and
made-ups in the major cities Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot.

An estimated 30 percent of the workforce in textile is female.5 Within the sector, women workers are
concentrated in low-paid, labor-intensive down-stream production (readymade garments, linen,
towels), while men dominate capital-intensive ginning, spinning and weaving processes. Employment of
women in stitching is found to be between 41 to 75 percent of the total workforce in respective units.6.

Demographic Indicators of Women Working in Garments Factories

Women workers in the apparel manufacturing sector in Pakistan are mostly young, unmarried, literate
(few years of formal schooling), with large family size, living in low-income settlements surrounding the
manufacturing units and factories in the cities, working either as home-based piece rate workers or
employed on contract basis in small or medium-sized enterprises producing for local markets or linked
with global supply chain.

A study of women in urban manufacturing sector that included textile/garments undertaken in the year
2001 showed 47 per cent were of age between 14 to 24, and 64 per cent were unmarried. In Karachi, 46
per cent of women had eight years of schooling and none was illiterate.11.
. Challenges Faced by Women
Transport was the biggest challenge in Lahore and Faisalabad preventing women from benefiting from
education and training of textile industry . Distance was the second biggest challenge for women. 85.3%
of women faced the challenge of transportation, while 76% of women faced distance. Many women
replied that they could not afford the daily transportation costs. Many women replied that if
transportation is provided by training institutes, this would encourage them to receive training.
Regarding distance, the majority of women stated that it would be acceptable if the study took about 15
to 30 minutes, which suggests that women prefer to go from their homes to nearby training institutions.
Nearly half of the women faced challenges such as not being able to afford school fees, concerns about
safety and an inappropriate study environment. 57.3% women faced the challenge of school fees, 50.7%
women mentioned safety issues, while 48% women highlighted the study environment as a challenge.

The ratio of female to male employees has been observed that the number of female employees in the
surveyed companies in Lahore and Faisalabad was much lower than the number of male employees. In
Lahore, only 15% of the workforce was women, while in Faisalabad it was 22% The percentage and
percentage of female employees in large-sized companies shows the percentage in small and medium-
sized companies in Lahore. The percentage of female employees in large companies in Lahore was 15%,
while it was 14% for small and medium-sized companies, illustrating a similar ratio. In contrast, in
Faisalabad, the proportion of female employees in large companies was 22%, while it was 10% for
medium companies. This shows that the ratio of female employees in large companies in Faisalabad is
almost double the size of medium companies in the same district. This can be attributed to the presence
of a large company in Faisalabad which promotes female employment and has a large number of female
employees. During the survey, it was observed that many companies showed a willingness to hire
women in the future, even though their current proportion of female employees is low.

Women rights for workplace

Workers’ right to form unions and unions should be protected and an institutional framework be made
available to foster close cooperation between workers and employers at establishment level.

- Equitable adjustment of rights between workers and employers should be ensured in an atmosphere
of harmony, mutually beneficial to the workers and the management.

- Consultations between workers and employers on matters of interest to the establishment and welfare
of workers should be made more effective.

- Adequate security of jobs should be available to the workers and there should be expeditious redressal
of their grievances.

- Conditions should be created that workers and employers are committed in enhancing the labor
productivity.
- Promotion to higher jobs be ensured at all levels based on suitability and merit and for this purpose
arrangements should be made for training facilities.

- Facilities for proper matching of job opportunities and the job seekers be strengthened and standard
procedures be streamlined.

- Social insurance schemes to be further strengthened.