Page 87

CGH13_ebook

E f f e c t i v e a n d a c c o u n t a b l e s e r v i c e d e l i v e r y Pakistan Initiative: Gender Responsive Labour Inspection (GRLI) Institution: Gender Unit Department of Labour Punjab A large number of small and medium scale industries such as textile, leather, metal and pharmaceutical factories in Pakistan did not give sufficient attention to workers’ occupational health, safety and social protection. Employers may deny medical treatment and financial compensation in case of permanent injury or death in an industrial accident. Workers are exposed to hazardous chemicals and other harmful substances with no concept of workers’ health and safety at the workplace. Women are particularly discriminated against in terms of wages and they face sexual harassment in the work place. The Gender Responsive Labour Inspection (GRLI) toolkit was developed to provide an overview of national labour laws and international labour standards, which are key to achieving gender equality. It further provides practical checklists and tips to make labour inspection gender-responsive, in accordance with the provisions in these laws. Overall, women now have the chance to participate in the labour industry on an equal basis. Most of all the GRLI toolkit has benefited women in raising their concerns and the labour inspectorate in designing interventions to facilitate women by ensuring the workplace environment and working conditions are on par with international standards. The GRLI tool has also helped employers to carry out self-assessments on compliance with labour legislation. India Initiative: GRAAMIN HAAT Institution: Women and Child Development Office Although women comprise almost 50 per cent of the population of Madhya Pradesh, their participation in the decision-making process at all levels is very limited. Women also have no control over resources and their contribution to the family and society remains largely unrecognised. The Haat Development Committee that operates weekly markets (haats) decided to create Women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) which would operate their own haats. The first such initiative took place in the village Digwar ten years ago. It was the first time that a haat was managed by rural women who were illiterate and inexperienced in managing such an enterprise. The initiative included the allocation of land to set up 150 shops. Basic amenities like cleanliness and drinking water were provided free of cost. Women now not only had an important place in the haat and thus in society but also control over resources. The initiative has now expanded to 1,775 shops in 36 haats, benefiting almost 1,800 sellers and 415,000 villagers from 217 villages. The initiative provided women with an opportunity to acquire management skills, operate a business on their own and improve overall living conditions in their communities. This in turn created a new sense of selfconfidence and earned them respect in the family and society. It also allowed women to gradually become part of the governance of their community. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 86 Longer descriptions of winning projects are available online at: www.unpan.org/unpsa.


CGH13_ebook
To see the actual publication please follow the link above