Members of SEWA Punjab
The members of SEWA Punjab are women who work in the informal and unorganised sector of the economy. SEWA Punjab aims to facilitate their holistic empowerment by organizing them and building their capacities. The members are entitled to SEWA Punjab’s development programs and benefits that aim to secure their full employment and self-reliance, and are provided assistance on civic, health, livelihood and other problems that they face collectively. .
SEWA Punjab, being a membership-based organization, helps to mobilize informal workers and create a platform to amplify the voices and concerns, and advocate for their rights at various levels. At present, SEWA Punjab members belong to the following groups –
Home-based Workers
– these women produce goods or services from their homes and may either be self-employed or sub-contracted on piece rate work. Across Punjab, home-based workers include weavers, garment makers, paranda makers, jutti makers, phulkari workers, embroidery workers, those specialising in stitching and knitting, and so on. SEWA Punjab facilitates their skills and livelihoods and links them directly to the markets.
Construction Workers
– they are manual labourers carrying out construction tasks such as bricklaying, masonry, digging work, head-loading, etc. The biggest challenge they face in Punjab is lack of proper registration because of which they cannot access their entitlements. Most construction workers are from Mohali and Sanaur, Patiala.
Domestic Workers
– they provide a vast range of services to private households such as cooking, cleaning, child-care and etc. They are amongst the most vulnerable lot since their labour is rarely recognised, resulting in low wages, as they lack comprehensive national legislation for their rights and protection. Domestic worker members are across all SEWA Punjab’s districts.
Agricultural Workers:-
Landless labourers are involved in an array of labour-intensive tasks related to crop production like sowing, weeding or harvesting, livestock rearing, fodder collection etc. Owing to irregular and seasonal work, their work remains largely unrecognized. SEWA Punjab’s agricultural worker members are largely from Sanaur, Patiala.