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Economy
Jun 20, 2026
Analyzed by GPT OSS 120B

Three Decades After ILO’s Home Work Convention, India’s Home‑Based Workers Still Fight for Equality

AI Summary
On the 30th anniversary of the ILO’s Convention 177, home‑based workers in India such as Shehnaz Bano continue to earn barely $1 per piece while producing garments sold for over $200. The article examines the convention’s limited ratification, the scale of the informal workforce, and the policy gaps that keep these workers invisible.

On the 30th anniversary of the ILO’s Convention 177, home‑based workers like Shehnaz Bano in New Delhi still earn barely $1 per piece while producing garments sold for over $200, underscoring the gap between formal recognition and everyday rights.

The 1996 Home Work Convention and Its Limited Adoption

The International Labour Organisation adopted the landmark Home Work Convention on June 20, 1996 in Geneva, calling for equal treatment of home‑based workers (HBWs) and traditional wage earners. It entered into force on April 22, 2000. Despite its ambition, only 13 countries have ratified the treaty and none are from South Asia, a region that hosts the world’s largest concentration of HBWs.

  • Adoption date: June 20, 1996
  • Entry into force: April 22, 2000
  • Ratifications to date: 13 countries

Numbers Behind the Struggle: Scale, Gender Gap, and Pay Disparities

Globally, an estimated 260 million workers are classified as HBWs, with women comprising 57% of this workforce (WIEGO, 2024). In India, workers like Bano receive 100 rupees (≈$1) per leather‑jacket piece, while the finished product sells for upwards of $200 abroad. Another worker, Sangeeta Devi, earns roughly $1 for every 100 garment pieces, translating to an annual income far below the national poverty line.

  • Global HBWs: 260 million
  • Women HBWs: 57%
  • Typical piece‑rate in Delhi: 100 rupees ($1)
  • Export value of a finished jacket: > $200

Why India’s Home‑Based Workforce Remains Marginalised

Activists such as Renana Jhabvala (SEWA) and specialists like Deepa Bharathi (ILO Decent Work Team) point to three intertwined barriers: invisibility in labour statistics, gender‑biased perceptions that treat home work as “care work,” and the complexity of subcontracting arrangements that obscure employment relationships. The 2020 Indian Social Security Code mentions HBWs, yet implementation remains unclear, leaving workers without formal social protection, minimum wages, or collective bargaining rights.

  • Key barriers: statistical invisibility, gender bias, subcontracting opacity
  • Legal reference: Indian Social Security Code 2020
  • Policy gap: no dedicated HBW law despite Convention 177

What the Next Decade Could Hold for Home‑Based Workers in South Asia

Experts suggest that improved data collection—leveraging technology‑aided counting and gender‑sensitive surveys—could create the evidence base needed for policy action. If the Indian government expands the Social Security Code to explicitly cover HBWs, introduces a minimum piece‑rate, and enforces the creation of a national HBW registry, the sector could move from “invisible” to “protected.” However, without ratification of Convention 177 by South Asian nations, progress is likely to remain incremental.

In the words of veteran activist Renana Jhabvala, the convention is “a weapon, a tool of change”—its impact will depend on whether governments choose to wield it.