Press Conference on Domestic Workers Bill, 2013

By

Salman Yousaf Khan

Advocate High Court & Ex-Candidate Member National Assembly, NA-48, Islamabad

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Domestic Workers

There are over 8.5 million domestic workers living in Pakistan. They have miserable lives despite the fact that they make up to 73% of total workforce in the country. There lifestyles are miserable as they live in poor economic conditions with having no rights. There is no law in the country that gives them any rights and creates liabilities accordingly.

International Labor Organization C-189

There is an international convention passed by ILO on June 16, 2011 regarding the rights of Domestic Workers. Pakistan has not ratified the convention so far despite the fact that it is a member state of ILO.

Domestic Workers Bill 2013

In the Senate of Pakistan, a private member bill by the name of Domestic Workers Act, 2013 has been filed by Senator Osman Saifullah in January 2014. The bill is under discussion in the Senate of Pakistan. It will become law once it’s passed.

Salman Yousaf Khan on Domestic Workers Bill

Salman Yousaf Khan has carefully perused the Domestic Workers Bill and wrote several articles on it. He has pointed out the gaps in the bill at several occasions. He has further given few recommendations on the bill which are highly appreciated at many forums.

He was invited by a Non-Governmental Organization to address his point of view on the Domestic Workers Bill. He explained the bill in front of Journalists from Islamabad. He pointed out that the bill is a very positive step in the legislation regarding the domestic workers in Pakistan. However, Salman Yousaf Khan being an advocate of women rights has rightly pointed out that there are following problems in the bill which should be addressed immediately:-

-          The composition of dispute resolution committee should be part of the Act.

-          The procedure to be followed by dispute resolution committee should be part of the Act.

-          Compensatory fine of up to 100,000 Rupees is too much, domestic workers are not in a position to pay that fine in case of violation.

-          The violation shall be to the contract not to the Act.

-          The maximum working hours should be 8 rather than 12.

-          The dispute resolution committee shall have the powers of a session judge while the appellate forum shall be equal to High Court. Further appeals to the decision of appellate forum shall be barred.

-          The dispute resolution committee shall be empowered to entertain all complaints. It shall have the powers to take cognizance of criminal charges also.

-          The Act shall be made in way that its practical implementation is simpler.

-          There shall be a governing body regulating the contract between employers and employees.

-          Domestic Workers may be insured so that their legatees get some benevolent fund in case of accidental death.

-          There shall be old age benefit allowance to the domestic workers in case if they are barred to work above the age of 60 years.

-          There shall be free education to the children of domestic workers as promised in article 25-A of the constitution.

-          The law must not be limited to the domestic workers that reside at the place of employer.

-          There shall be hourly wage fixed for a domestic worker in the Act rather than putting all the domestic workers in the ambit of minimum wages on monthly bases.

The session was concluded with question and answer session followed by hopes to get the law passed after removal of gaps in the times to come.

Long Live Pakistan

Pakistan Zindabad

Execution of Harassment Act, 2010

We all admire that The Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010 is a remarkable legislation for protecting women at workplaces in the absence of any other proper law. A fact is that this legislation is not enough to cater the problems faced by employees especially women at workplaces in daily routine. There are lots of problems in this law which make it a bad legislation when its implemented practically.

One of the problems in The Harassment of Women At Workplace Act, 2010 is that the law doesn't provide a judicial forum for any kind of proceedings. The first forum is the inquiry committee which shall be formed in all organizations. The second forum are the ombudsman created under this Act. Similarly the third forum is the President who doesn't have time to look into the harassment matters.

According the section 4 of the Act, there is a procedure by which the organizations have to conduct inquiries whenever they receive any complaint related with harassment of an employee. The section is reproduced below:-

4. Procedure for holding inquiry.– (1) The Inquiry Committee, within three days of receipt of a written complaint, shall–
(a) communicate to the accused the charges and statement of allegations leveled against him, the formal written receipt of which will be given;
(b) require the accused within seven days from the day the charge is communicated to him to submit a written defense and on his failure to do so without reasonable cause, the Committee shall proceed ex-parte; and
(c) enquire into the charge and may examine such oral or documentary evidence in support of the charge or in defense of the accused as the Committee may consider necessary and each party shall be entitled to cross-examine the witnesses against him.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act and any rules made thereunder the Inquiry Committee shall have power to regulate its own procedure for conducting inquiry and for the fixing place and time of its sitting.
(3) The following provisions inter alia shall be followed by the Committee in relation to inquiry:
(a) The statements and other evidence acquired in the inquiry process shall be considered as confidential;
(b) An officer in an organization, if considered necessary, may be nominated to provide advice and assistance to each party;
(c) Both parties, the complainant and the accused, shall have the right to be represented or accompanied by a Collective Bargaining Agent representative, a friend or a colleague;


Hence when inquiry is completed the committee is bound to give a decision. However, practically speaking the time period mentioned in the following section and the procedure both are almost impossible to follow because of their complications. Such kind of quasi judicial proceedings in the absence of any judicial mind can only create further complications.

For more information contact internationallawyerinfo@gmail.com

Regards,
Salman Yousaf Khan
Women's Advocate
+92-333-5339880

Women Harassment Law Imposes some liabilities on Organizations

In 2010 a law was passed by the parliament according to which it becomes mandatory for organizations to have an inquiry committee. The sole purpose of this inquiry committee is to conduct inquiry in the harassment matters. This provision is present in section 3 of the harassment of women at workplace act, 2010. The original content of law is reproduced below:-

3. Inquiry Committee. – (1) Each organization shall constitute an Inquiry Committee within thirty days of the enactment of this Act to enquire into complaints under this Act.
(2) The Committee shall consist of three members of whom at least one member shall be a woman. One member shall be from senior management and one shall be a senior representative of the employees or a senior employee where there is no CBA. One or more members can be co-opted from outside the organization if the organization is unable to designate three members from within as described above. A Chairperson shall be designated from amongst them.
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(3) In case a complaint is made against one of the members of the Inquiry Committee that member should be replaced by another for that particular case. Such member may be from within or outside the organization.
(4) In case where no competent authority is designated the organization shall within thirty days of the enactment of this Act designate a competent authority


The committee shall comprise of three people. These include:-

- 1 Woman
- 1 Senior Management Personnel
- 1 CBA person or senior employee

1 of the persons must be made chairman of the committee. If the infrastructure of the organization do not allow such formation of the committee, then it can invite people from other organizations. The organizations that are not having any such committee by now are acting in violation of this law. That means they can be penalized under this law anytime.

For further information on The Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010 feel free to contact us at internationallawyerinfo@gmail.com

Regards,
Salman Yousaf Khan
Women's Advocate
+92-333-5339880