Thread by @BehanBox

The Supreme Court of India gave a progressive judgement directing the garment manufacturing company Godavari garments to pay Provident Fund dues of 1 million Indian rupees to Home based women workers employed by them within a month.
#Thread:
uk.reuters.com/article/india-…

In the case from 1991, the PF office issued a notice to Godavari garments (Govt of Maharashtra undertaking) to pay Provident Fund contributions for its women workers under Section 2(f) of the EPF Act after it was revealed that the Company defaulted on salary payments.

The Company argued that home-based women workers could not be classified as “employees” because
-Sewing machines not owned by company
-They worked at home and not Co. production centers
-Co. had no supervisory control over them

In the SC ruling Justices Indu malhotra & Abhay Sapre said, “employee” under Section 2(f) is an inclusive definition, and includes workers who are engaged either directly or indirectly in connection with the work of the establishment, and are paid wages”.
#HomeBasedWorkers

“Merely because the women workers were permitted to do the work off site, would not take away their status as employees of the Respondent Company” the judgement reads.'

Read the judgement here
livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf…

#GenderAndLabour #WomenInEconomy #HomeBasedWorkers

This judgement would have a positive impact for millions of invisible home-based workers in accessing their social security benefits say activists.
@ShaliniWIEGO of @WIEGOGLOBAL said judgement “acknowledges the home as a workplace and women working from home as employees

Home based workers are workers who carry out remunerative work in their own homes or adjacent grounds or premises- eg. stitching garments, weaving, crafts; making food, assembling/ packaging electronics, automobile parts, pharma products
#HomeBasedWorkers

There are 2 types of home-based work:
-Self-employed: independent self-employed workers who take entrepreneurial risks.
-Sub-contracted: dependent on a firm or its contractors for work orders, supply of raw materials and sale of finished goods.
#HomeBasedWorkers

Read more here:
wiego.org/informal-econo…

#GenderAndLabour #WomenInEconomy #HomeBasedWorkers

There are about 37.4 million home-based workers making up 15% of non-agricultural workforce ((NSSO 2011-12). These are under reported numbers say activists.

#GenderAndLabour #WomenInEconomy #HomeBasedWorkers

Home-based work has been an especially important source of employment for women- 31.7% of women in non-agricultural work were engaged in home-based work.

Read more on underreporting numbers here: wiego.org/sites/wiego.or…

For women home based workers, there are several challenges acc to a study
-Lack of basic infrastructure services-the high cost and irregular supply of electricity
-cover many costs and absorb many risks of production

+
-irregular purchase/work orders, irregular supply of raw materials, and delayed payments
-Unfavourable bargaining position coz of information asymmetry
-Low and unstable earnings and high risks and expenditures

Read more here: wiego.org/sites/wiego.or…

#GenderAndLabour #WomenInEconomy #HomeBasedWorkers