ISLAMABAD: Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has demanded the federal and provincial governments to take immediate actions to ensure that employers do not terminate or suspend employees, particularly women during the ongoing lockdown in the wake of Covid-19.

The observation made by Fafen on Labour Day is based on a survey of working women that revealed 26pc of 904 respondents were terminated from their jobs after the announcement of the lockdown by the government.

Of the workers who lost their jobs, 14pc were laid off while the services of the remaining 12pc were temporarily suspended.

The factory workers had the highest ratio among those whose jobs were terminated.

The survey was conducted between April 15 and April 30, in eight districts across the country including Faisalabad, Haripur, Lahore, Sialkot, Peshawar, Rahim Yar Khan, Quetta, and Karachi.

Fafen survey reveals 26pc women have lost job during lockdown

The survey respondents included factory workers, salespersons, and employees of private schools, hospitals, and other commercial establishments.

Of the women interviewed, seven percent were daily wage workers, 85pc were working on monthly wages and the remaining were paid on bimonthly or weekly basis.

Estimates by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) suggest the pandemic may push another 71 million people below the poverty line and may cost 18 million workers their jobs.

The daily wagers and contract workers are most vulnerable during this health and economic crisis.

Layoffs and suspensions of workers are happening despite the federal and provincial governments’ announcements of multiple tax rebates, easy credits, and utilities’ relief schemes for the large and small businesses.

Sindh and Balochistan governments have issued categorical orders to the industrial and commercial establishments to not lay off their employees and keep paying salaries (or minimum wage in case of Balochistan) during the lockdown.

Yet, 15pc women who said their jobs were terminated were from Sindh, and three percent from Balochistan.

At the same time 51p terminated workers were awaiting their dues to be cleared by their employers.

The delays in payment of dues can further exacerbate the economic woes of the terminated workers.

Moreover, the government-run social security programmes also remain out of reach for most of the workers, of the women who lost their jobs, more than three-quarter did not know whether they were registered with any social security organisation whereas 13pc said they were registered with Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) while one percent women said they were registered with Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Only 28pc women workers said they were able to apply for support under the federal government’s emergency cash program.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2020