Home Based Workers

Home-based workers are individuals who engage in employment activities within the vicinity of their homes or on the premises attached to their homes. It refers who carrying out work in their homes for remuneration, resulting in a product or service as specified by the employer. They supply labour through agents or contractors. This informal and home-based nature of employment attracts “cheap” female labour mostly and they continue to remain invisible in the labour market.

In Bangladesh, 71 percent of all women workers, compared to 20 percent of all male workers, are home-based. This sector has provided income-generating opportunities for poor and marginalized women from vulnerable households, with minimal skills. They have few opportunities to negotiate their working conditions and possess no bargaining power with their employers. Contractors exploit cheap, female labour to their advantage. In addition, they have to pay for many of the non wage costs of production costs of space and storage, utilities, and equipment.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics’ Labour Force Survey 2017, there are approximately 3.2 million non-agricultural workers in the country, and this number has been increasing due to the employment of more female home-based workers. The exclusion of home-based workers from the formal value chain allows factories and employers to take advantage of unrecognised labour, depriving these workers of the protections afforded by Bangladesh Labour Law. It is essential to recognise that these home-based workers are a vital part of the economy, as they also facilitate the operations of small and medium-sized enterprises.