As ILO convention turns 30, India’s home-based workers demand equal rights
Key takeaways
- The landmark Convention 177 was adopted in Geneva on June 20, 1996, recognising home-based workers at par with traditional wage earners.
- To make each piece – a sleeve, a front or back panel or a shoulder yoke – the 38-year-old mother of two teenage sons spends hours, but is paid a mere 100 rupees (about $1) for each piece.
- “Imagine if I was a regular employee and I did the same work for the same hours, but on a factory floor.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The landmark Convention 177 was adopted in Geneva on June 20, 1996, recognising home-based workers at par with traditional wage earners.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Shehnaz Bano works outside her one-room home in New Delhi [Anuja/Al Jazeera]By Anuja Published On 20 Jun 202620 Jun 2026New Delhi, India – On a searing hot afternoon in a dense working class neighbourhood of the Indian capital, Shehnaz Bano sits on the dilapidated floor of her one-room home, deftly stitching pieces for a new leather jacket.
To make each piece – a sleeve, a front or back panel or a shoulder yoke – the 38-year-old mother of two teenage sons spends hours, but is paid a mere 100 rupees (about $1) for each piece.