securing human dignity report april 2010

Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium I

Securing Human Dignity | 2010 II

Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium

Securing Human Dignity The Need to Extend Labour Protection and Security to Afghanistan’s Informal Workers

Dr. Rebecca Wright April 2010

Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium III

Thanks to: All Afghans who shared their time and opinions with the consortium Researchers: Dr. Rohullah, Jamila Poya Project Director & Principle Analyst: Jamila Omar Research Analyst & Report By: Dr. Rebecca Wright Supported By: ACTED & ACTIONAID Layout & Printing: SABOOR Printing Press

Securing Human Dignity | 2010 IV

Acknowledgements After almost a year of hard work, HRRAC has published its two reports on informal workers. These re-ports are the products of a tremendous team effort. The research, data collection and analysis would not have been possible without the tireless work and contributions of HRRAC's staff, partners and supporters. First and foremost, HRRAC would like to thank field researchers Dr. Rohullah, Jamila Poya, Matiullah Mati, and Ghulam Mohaideen for undertaking difficult research with enthusiasm and professionalism in the five provinces, putting their physical safety at risk to obtain data on several occasions. Their dedication, unwa-vering under deteriorating security conditions, was both an affirmation of the importance of HRRAC's work and a reminder of the risks of human rights work in Afghanistan. Gratitude is also owed to the rest of HRRAC's team of diligent field researchers: Dr. Fahima Nasiri (Nan-garhar), Sheela (Kabul & Nangarhar), Sediq Zaliq (Kabul), Shekib Shams (Herat) Storay Kabiri (Herat), Shahla (Faryab), Nasima Zamani (Herat), Mohammad Barat (Faryab), Fazela Qarizada (Faryab), Ewaz Ali Hussaini (Bamyan), Ali Mohammad Rezaee (Bamyan) and Fatima Rezaee (Bamyan). Without Dr. Fahima Nasiri, HRRAC would have never been able to interview women in Nangarhar province. For support on the management end, HRRAC thanks Admin and IT Officer Shoaib Obaidy for spending countless hours on the logistical management of the research and analysis of the raw data, Finance Officer Abdul Tawab Rasoli for adeptly managing the financial aspects of the research, and Program Manager Asadullah Ahmadi, Communication Officer Nasrat Esmaty and Ali Hussaini, National Consultant, for pro-viding technical assistance during the project. HRRAC's supporters and friends were also instrumental to the implementation of the informal workers research project. HRRAC offers heartfelt gratitude to Paula Kantor of AREU for her essential assistance in the design of the project revision and questionnaire, and Dr. Abdul Hadi Hazrat Shah and Samandar Mah-moodi of the USAID/COMPRI-A project for completing the analysis of HRRAC's research data under a tight deadline after three companies failed to do this. HRRAC looks forward to future cooperation of Mr. Shah and Mr. Mahmoodi. As a Kabul-based organization, HRRAC must rely on the generous support of its partners when it conducts research elsewhere in the country. We would like to thank our partner organizations ACBAR (Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief), Coordination for Humanitarian Assistance (CHA), the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), the Cooperation Center for Afghanistan (CCA), and Shohada Organization for providing us with logistical support necessary for our researchers to operate in Bamyan, Nangarhar, Herat and Faryab. Last but not the least, HRRAC extends special thanks and gratitude to its consultant on this project, Dr. Rebecca Wright, for the great work of analyzing and writing the original version of the report in English. Dr. Wright worked around the clock on the report and extended her assistance on a volunteer basis after her contract with HRRAC ended. Dr. Wright was not only an invaluable source of analysis and insight, but a dear friend to the entire HRRAC team. Jamila Omar Director

Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium V

Organizational Summary Founded in 2003, the Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC) is an independent Afg-han research organization engaged in research and advocacy on women and children's human rights, eco-nomic and social rights, security sector reform and public participation. Through rigorous field research and policy advocacy in its four critical areas of concern, HRRAC works to advance the protection and ful-fillment of human rights in Afghanistan. HRRAC is the only Afghan-run organization of its kind, and its widely-cited reports have informed advo-cacy and policy-making at domestic and international levels on issues ranging from disarmament to elec-tions to provision of primary education. Thirteen Afghan and international organizations comprise HRRAC’s consortium. They include the most experienced and respected agencies working in Afghanistan today in the fields of human rights, humanita-rian relief and coordination, development, and education. HRRAC counts among its partners: The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), the Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF), the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), ActionAid, the Afghan Development Association (ADA), the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), the Afghanistan Research and Evalua-tion Unit (AREU), Care International, the Cooperation Centre for Afghanistan (CCA), Coordination of Hu-manitarian Affairs (CHA), Oxfam International, Save the Children US and the Swedish Committee for Afg-hanistan (SCA). HRRAC has been a member of the ACBAR Steering Committee since 2009, with Director Ms. Jamila Omar serving in this role. Since its inception, HRRAC has implemented seven research projects. Its best known and most widely-cited research report to date is still its 2004 publication "Take the Guns Away: Afghan Voices on Security and Elections," the first report that showed disarmament of non-state armed groups (including ostensibly pro-government militias) was a key security concern of the Afghan public ahead of Afghanistan's first post-Taliban parliamentary election. The findings of HRRAC's seven publications to date - "Speaking Out: Afghan Opinions on Rights and Re-sponsibilities"; "Report Card: Progress on Compulsory Education"; Take the Guns Away: Afghan Voices on Security and Elections"; "We Voted and Vote Again"; "Better Elections Better Future: The Need for Civic Education in Afghanistan"; " Parents and Children Speak Out"; and "Fight Poverty to End Insecurity: Afg-han Perceptions of Insecurity" -have been raised at numerous ministerial meetings and parliamentary sessions and have been widely cited in studies and reports by the World Bank, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), the UN Security Council and Oxfam International. HRRAC’s Work Research – We highlight injustice, raise the voices of ordinary people –especially those in rural communi-ties – and promote equitable, participatory development throughout Afghanistan. Advocacy – We ensure that the concerns of Afghans are heard by policy-makings and work to influence changes in the policies for the benefit of improved human rights' protection. Awareness Raising – We conduct civic education programs on human rights and promote discussion in the media on causes, consequences and alternatives to violence and human rights violations

Securing Human Dignity | 2010 VI

Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Recommendations .................................................................................................................................2 To the Government: 2 To the International Community: 3

Glossary and Acronyms 4

Introduction 5

Section I: 7

Defining Informal Workers and Decent Work Standards 7 What is the Informal Economy? ........................................................................................................7 Decent Work Standards within the Informal Economy .............................................................8

Section II: 11

The Legal Framework - Protection for Informal Workers Under Afghan and Inter-national Law 11 The Constitution of Afghanistan: A Foundation of Rights for Informal Workers .......... 11 International Standards Applicable in Afghanistan ................................................................ 11 ILO Commitments and Conventions 12 International Human Rights Conventions Ratified by Afghanistan 12 Afghanistan’s Labour Code 13

Section III: 15

Insecurity of Finding Employment 15 Significant Lack of Employment Opportunities ........................................................................ 15 Lack of Standardized Ways to Find Jobs ...................................................................................... 16 Lack of Market Opportunities ......................................................................................................... 16 Particular Problems Faced by Women ........................................................................................ 17 Irregular and Erratic Work .............................................................................................................. 17 Lack of Investment and Business Support .................................................................................. 18 Unstable Markets ................................................................................................................................ 18 How to Generate Jobs: Sample Suggestions from Informal Workers ................................. 19

Section IV: 20

Insecurity of Retaining Employment 20 Contracts for Informal Workers ..................................................................................................... 20 No Permits or Licenses ...................................................................................................................... 20 No Fixed Location to Sell Goods ...................................................................................................... 21

Section V: 23

Insecurity of Enjoying Healthy and Safe Working Conditions 23 Physical Hazards at Work ................................................................................................................ 23 Old-Fashioned and Labour-Intensive Work Equipment ........................................................ 23 Long Hours of Work with No Rest .................................................................................................. 24 High Levels of Stress and Abuse ..................................................................................................... 24 No Compensation for Injuries at Work ........................................................................................ 25

Section VI: 26

Insecurity of Income Levels and Social Protection 26 Low Income Levels Amongst Afghan Informal Workers ........................................................ 26 Weak Bargaining Position Exacerbating Low Income Levels ............................................... 26 Child Labour ......................................................................................................................................... 27 No Social Assistance ........................................................................................................................... 27

Section VII: 29

Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium VII

Insecurity of Gaining and Retaining Work Skills 29 Low Levels of Education and Training ......................................................................................... 29 Need for Strategic Training and Capacity Building .................................................................. 30

Section VIII: 31

Insecurity of Representation 31 No Trade Unions or Representative Groups .............................................................................. 31 Factors Undermining Effectiveness of Unions and Representative Groups .................... 31 Lack of Government Interest in Informal Workers ................................................................. 33

Section IX: 34

Recommendations 34 To the Government:............................................................................................................................ 34 To the International Community: .................................................................................................. 36

Annex A: 37

Methodology and Respondent Profiles 37

Annex B: 40

Government Responses to HRRAC’s Advocacy on Informal Workers 40

Constitutional Provisions Guaranteeing Rights Relevant to Informal Workers42

Annex D: 43

Informal Workers’ Rights Under the Afghan Constitution and International Law 43

Annex E: 44

Examples of Minimum Basic Rights Contained in the Labour Code that Should, Ac-cording to the Constitution and International Law, be Extended to All Workers44

Bibliography 45

Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium 1

Executive Summary The majority of workers in Afghanistan earn a livelihood in conditions that violate the most basic stan-dards of dignity, safety and health. These workers operate in Afghanistan’s informal economy, which con-stitutes 80-90 percent of the country’s economic activity.1 By failing to provide protection to these infor-mal workers, the Government of Afghanistan is failing to safeguard the basic constitutional rights of the vast majority of its citizens. Recent studies, including reports by HRRAC (“Fight Poverty to End Insecurity”) and Oxfam (“The Cost of War”), have highlighted the link between poverty, unemployment and insecurity. The Government and the international community have stated that building security in Afghanistan is their primary goal. This re-port contributes to efforts to improve security conditions by drawing attention to the quality of employ-ment in the informal economy. It highlights the serious abuses that undermine livelihood security and exacerbate the severe levels of poverty and instability in Afghanistan. One of the most important ways to increase protection for informal workers is to provide them with legal and social protection. The simplest way to do this would be to include informal workers within the 2006 Labour Code. It might, however, be more beneficial to pass an entirely separate piece of legislation tai-lored to the specific needs of informal workers. Either way, providing a degree of legal protection to in-formal workers would give them tools to challenge some of the most egregious violations of their rights. Of course, it is little use if these laws are passed but are not implemented. It is, therefore, equally impor-tant that strategies are developed to ensure that the laws are enforced. Another step that should be encouraged by the Government and enacted by civil society is to provide the informal workers with a voice and representation. Informal workers can only challenge the forces that contribute to their impoverishment and abuse if they are organized and represented. They need to be able to lobby and inform the Government and other domestic and international institutions about their view-points and needs. In order to highlight the conditions of informal workers in Afghanistan and to provide them with an op-portunity to voice their concerns, HRRAC visited five provinces and interviewed 1467 informal workers and 26 officials, contractors and shopkeepers who regularly interact with informal workers. This research focused on the individual experiences of informal workers and their day-to-day efforts to earn a livelih-ood. The descriptions contained in the report do not provide a full and exhaustive account of the informal economy in Afghanistan. Rather, they are intended as a starting-point for further research and analysis so that informal workers become increasingly visible and, as a result, increasingly protected. Main Findings Some of the main findings that highlight the vulnerability of the informal workers and their lack of legal or social protection include:

• High Levels of Un- and Under-Employment: o 59 percent of workers interviewed by HRRAC said that their work was irregular and 79 percent said that they would like more hours per day in paid work. o 73 percent of informal workers said that their work was seasonal. o 40 percent of construction and agricultural workers in the sample were without work for seven to eight months in the last year, while another 36 percent were without work for five to six months in the last year. 1 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, “Afghanistan National Development Strategy: A Strategy for Security, Governance, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction,” 265 (2008), available online at: http://www.ands.gov.af/ands/final_ands/src/final/Afghanistan percent20National percent20Development percent20Strategy_eng.pdf [hereinafter “ANDS”]; World Bank, “Afghanistan: State Build-ing, Sustaining Growth, and Reducing Poverty. A Country Economic Report,” xi (2004), available online at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFGHANISTAN/News percent20and per-cent20Events/20261395/AfghanistanEconomicReportfinalversion909.pdf.

Securing Human Dignity | 2010 2

• Lack of Official Resources to Help Informal Workers Find Employment: o 33 percent of informal workers chose their job because it was all that was available. o 31 percent of construction and agricultural workers wait between four to eight hours in the chawk2 before they are offered a job; 20 percent wait between one and three days at a time.

• Lack of Official Loans and Business Support for Informal Workers: o 76 percent of informal workers borrow capital for their work from shopkeepers and rela-tives.

• Lack of Legal Protection: o Only 12 percent of construction and agricultural workers who were interviewed by HRRAC have any form of written contract; only 0.4 percent have written, open-ended contracts. o 90 percent of street vendors who were interviewed by HRRAC do not have a license or permit for their work.

• Lack of Safe and Healthy Work Conditions o 70 percent of informal workers said their work negatively affected their general health. o 20 percent of street vendors said that their working conditions affected their breathing; 35 percent of home-based workers said that their work damaged their eyesight.

• Severe Levels of Poverty with Income Failing to Cover Basic Household Expenses:

o 88 percent of informal worker households buy food on credit at some point during the year; 42 percent buy food on credit between three to four months a year; 24 percent buy food on credit five to six months a year. o 82 percent of informal workers said they were unable to save money and were, therefore, unable to deal with unexpected losses in income that might arise, for example, from a death or sickness of a family member.

• Lack of Social Protection: o 53 percent of informal workers have taken a loan in the past six months to pay for medi-cal treatment. o 82 percent of informal workers who suffered an injury at work paid for the medical treatment themselves.

• Lack of Work-Related Training: o In the past three years, only 10 percent of informal workers received any formal work-related training. o 68 percent of informal workers learned their work skills from friends and family mem-bers. Only 0.9 percent received on-the-job training and only 2 percent benefitted from Government training services.

• Lack of Voice and Representation: o Only 7 percent of informal workers belong to a cooperative and only 6 percent are mem-bers of a workers’ organization.

Recommendations

To the Government: • Provide informal workers with legal protection, including a Code of Conduct for employers.

2 Street corners used as a hiring place for construction workers.


• Ratify, at the minimum, the ILO core conventions to which Afghanistan is not a party and ensure regular reporting to the ILO. • Increase policy coordination between key economic and social ministries and employers’ and workers’ groups. • Assist with the establishment and operation of independent labour inspection units for informal workers. • Provide centralized locations for informal workers to find employment where employers can reg-ister their worker needs and where informal workers can register their skills. • Provide licenses and qualification certificates to informal workers. • Provide a safe and visible location for street vendors to sell their goods. • Build on the principles espoused in the Government’s Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) and provide free or highly subsidized healthcare for informal workers. Provide health and safety programmes and occupational health check-ups for informal workers. While many of these pro-grammes should be provided through employers, schemes also need to be established for the self-employed and provided by independent or Government groups. • Consider creative and effective methods of providing social protection to informal workers, draw-ing on examples from countries such as India where social protection has been extended to cer-tain groups within the informal economy. • Collect data on informal workers.

To the International Community:

• Provide long-term micro-credit that does not require collateral. • Provide training programmes suited to the specific needs of informal workers. • Work with the Government to provide free or subsidized healthcare and social protection for in-formal workers. • Assist the Government in collecting data on informal workers.


Glossary and Acronyms Glossary Afghani (or Afs) official Afghan currency buzkashi traditional Afghan sport played by horsemen chawk street corners used as a hiring place for construction workers gand embroidery kamis dress lablaboo beetroot Pakistani kaldar Pakistani rupees qari someone who recites verses of Holy Quran to capture the attention of an au-dience. In the Afghan slang language, the word qari is referred to those who say things they do not necessarily know the meaning of shalwar traditional Afghan trousers Acronyms ACBAR Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief ACTED Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy AREU Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit BPHS Basic Package of Health Services (Ministry of Health) CCA Cooperation Center for Afghanistan CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CHA Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child HRRAC Human Rights Research and Advocacy Consortium ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICLS International Conference of Labour Statisticians IDRC International Development Research Centre ILO International Labour Organization MFI Microfinance Institution MoL&SA Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs NRVA National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESC United Nations Economic and Social Council UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund For Women UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime SEWA Self-Employed Women’s Association WIEGO Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing


Introduction “The Government ignores us. We don’t ask for anything from the Government because they don’t pay us any attention. This is a Government for businessmen. This is a Government for the rich people and not the poor people.” – street vendor, Herat. In the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), the Afghan Government recognized that the poorest workers are “concentrated primarily in the informal sector, which pays very low salaries and leaves them without job protection.”3 In order to assist these vulnerable individuals, the Government vowed to adopt “a pro-poor growth strategy. … [with] growth enabling policies and targeted social protec-tion investments that result in bringing poor people out of extreme poverty at an accelerated pace.”4 In the Constitution of Afghanistan, the Government made another commitment: to “create a prosperous and progressive society based on social justice, preservation of human dignity, protection of human rights,”5 and to forbid any kind of “discrimination and distinction between citizens of Afghanistan.”6 Despite these important declarations, the informal workers who are acknowledged in ANDS and who live in the most extreme and degrading poverty feel silenced and ignored. From August to October 2009, HRRAC interviewed 1467 of these informal workers across five provinces: Kabul, Nangarhar, Faryab, Ba-myan and Herat. The interviewees wanted their stories to be told in the hope that they could receive basic assistance to alleviate the stress and desperation of their lives. Above all, they wanted to be given the op-portunity to earn a livelihood in a manner that preserve their human dignity and uphold the social justice promised to them in the Constitution. This report provides the informal workers with a voice and makes recommendations for ways to increase their legal and social protection. It focuses attention on the actual experiences and perspectives of Afghanistan’s informal workers to highlight ways in which they think their lives should and can be improved. The Government and the international community cannot afford to ignore these experiences and perspectives. If nothing is done to improve the lives of informal workers, the vast majority of Afghan citizens will be left desperate, denied both human dignity and social justice. This report calls on the Government of Afghanistan to pro-vide informal workers with legal protection so that the workers have a means to challenge the most egregious vi-olations of their rights. Informal workers could be pro-tected either by revising the Labour Code so it includes informal workers or by passing a new piece of legislation that focuses specifically on the needs and circumstances of informal workers. Once these laws are passed, it is essen-tial that they are enforced. Afghanistan currently faces sig-nificant rule of law problems. Corruption remains wide-spread and individuals without connections and money are often left unprotected, regardless of the laws that are in place to protect them.7 It is therefore essential that any legal reform is accompanied by parallel efforts to improve law enforcement and the reduction of corruption. 3 ANDS, 40. Op. cit. 4 ANDS, 27. Op. cit. 5 Art. 6, Constitution of Afghanistan (2004), available online in English at: http://www.supremecourt.gov.af/PDFiles/constitution2004_english.pdf. 6 Art. 22, Constitution of Afghanistan. Op. cit. 7 According to a January 2010 UNODC report, 59 percent of Afghan adults regard corruption as their biggest concern, overshadowing insecurity and unemployment. UNODC, “Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by the Victims,” 3 (2010), available online at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Afghanistan/Afghanistan-corruption-survey2010-Eng.pdf.

“No-one has come to our district to ask us farmers what we need – even when we go and sell products in the city, the police and traffic officials beat us. If we fight with them, we will be taken to jail because we do not have any power. So if you go to Parliament, please remind them of this issue from our side.” - farmers, Kabul.

“If we are standing in a place where there is good business then the police will definitely find us in this place and will slash our tyres and ask us for a bribe to keep selling our goods. They have done this many times to the wheels of my cart. I have tried to complain and I want to improve my life but where should I go? The officials in Iran will not allow us to work there and the officials here in Afg-hanistan will not let us work. So where should I go? Should I commit suicide? Or become a highway robber or a thief? I ask this because there is no place for us to go.” - street vendor, Herat.


While the law is an important base for advocacy, legal reform must be accompanied by social and economic initiatives. Informal workers need access to safe drinking water, roads and technological equipment. Women need to be free to leave their homes to market their goods. Training and education needs to be available to all. The Government should explore ways to provide informal workers with pension and insurance schemes, and should provide them with ways to access free or highly subsidized healthcare. Only by combining legal protection with these types of social and economic initiatives will the lives of informal workers truly improve. The report is divided into nine sections. Section I defines informal workers and describes the concept of decent work. Section II outlines the legal protections available to informal workers, under both Afghan and international law and explores the gaps in the 2006 Labour Code (with three annexes at the end of the report supplementing the legal outline). Sections III – VIII describe the six principal insecurities faced by informal workers: III) insecurity of finding employment; IV) insecurity of retaining employment; V) inse-curity of enjoying healthy and safe working conditions; VI) insecurity of income levels and social protec-tion; VII) insecurity of gaining and retaining work skills; VIII) insecurity of representation. Finally, Section IX presents HRRAC’s recommendations for change and future advocacy steps. Annex A describes the me-thodology and respondent profile; Annex B outlines the statements made by Government officials in a De-cember 2009 meeting on informal workers organized by HRRAC; Annexes C to E supplement the section on legal protections.


Section I:

Defining Informal Workers and Decent Work Standards

What is the Informal Economy? The International Labour Organization (ILO) is widely credited with introducing the concept of an “in-formal sector” in a 1972 report on employment in Kenya. In this paper, the ILO defined informality as a “way of doing things characterized by (a) ease of entry; (b) reliance on indigenous resources; (c) family ownership; (d) small scale operations; (e) labor intensive and adaptive technology; (e) skills acquired outside of the formal sector; (g) unregulated and competitive markets.”8 Since then, various different me-thods for defining and measuring the informal sector or economy have developed. Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) describes four main schools of thought regarding the causes and characteristics of informality: the dualist, structuralist, legalist and il-legalist schools.9 More simply, two broad approaches to informality have been used over the past decade. The first ap-proach adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 1993 is based on the type of enterprise where an individual works (looking, for example, at whether it is registered and the size of the enterprise).10 This approach, however, is increasingly seen as too narrow. Instead, an ap-proach based on job attributes is becoming more popular (looking, for example, at whether an individual receives a pension fund or is paid when they are absent from work).11 This shift has also generated a move from the term “informal sector” to a broader notion of “informal economy,” a change in terminolo-gy that was advocated by the ILO Bureau of Statistics, the Delhi Group, and the WIEGO network.12 As the ILO has described: Increasingly, ‘informal sector’ has been found to be an inadequate, if not misleading, term to re-flect [the] dynamic, heterogeneous and complex aspects of a phenomenon which is not, in fact, a ‘sector’ in the sense of a specific industry group or economic activity. The term ‘informal economy’ has come to be widely used instead to encompass the expanding and increasingly di-verse group of workers and enterprises in both rural and urban areas operating informally.13 The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has also adopted this expanded definition, com-bining the enterprise-based approach with the job-based approach to informal work. IDRC states that “the informal economy is seen as comprised of all forms of ‘informal employment’ – that is, employment without formal contracts (i.e. covered by labour legislation), worker benefits or social protection – both inside and outside informal enterprises.”14 This expanded definition means that, for example, a home-based worker who produces carpets for a formal enterprise but does not receive any worker benefits or social protection is still classified as working in the “informal economy.” This current report on workers in Afghanistan also uses the broader definition of “informal economy” and describes the working and living conditions of all informal workers who do not benefit from legal or social protections. 8 Quoted in: The World Bank Group, “Concept of Informal Sector,” available online at: http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/eca/eca.nsf/0/2e4ede543787a0c085256a940073f4e4?OpenDocument. 9 Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), “About the Informal Economy: Theories and Definitions,” available online at: http://www.wiego.org/about_ie/definitions percent20and percent20theories.php. See also WTO and ILO, “Glo-balization and Informal Jobs in Developing Countries,” 39-44 (2009), available online at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inst/download/globalinform.pdf (defining three main schools of thought around infor-mality: dualist, structuralist and legalist). 10 Malte Luebker, for example, has summarized the ICLS’s 1993 perception of the informal sector in the following manner: “the in-formal sector consists of production units that are (a) not registered and, as optional criteria, (b) are engaged in non-agricultural activities, and (c) have a number of employees below a certain threshold. Employment in the informal sector is the sum of all persons who were employed in at least one informal enterprise, regardless of whether employment was held as a main or secondary job.” Malte Luebker, “Employment, unemployment and informality in Zimbabwe: Concepts and data for coherent policy-making,” ILO Issues Paper No. 32, 12 (2008), available online at: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---integration/documents/publication/wcms_097760.pdf. 11 Luebker, 12-14. Op. cit. See also WIEGO. Op. cit. 12 See WIEGO, “About the Informal Economy.” Op. cit. 13 ILO, “Decent Work and the Informal Economy,” 2 (2002), Report VI, 6th item on the agenda, International Labour Conference, 90th Session, Geneva, available online at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc90/pdf/rep-vi.pdf. 14 IDRC, “Informal Employment, Gender and Poverty The Informal Economy,” available online at: http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-83643-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html.


The fact that informal economy workers are not subject to laws and regulations does not mean that their work is illegal. Rather, as Malte Luebker has noted in an ILO paper on Zimbabwe: “The law often erects a range of barriers to those who lack the skills, the capital or the personal connections to overcome them and to incorporate their activities in the formal sector.”15 Thus, while “informal workers often operate outside the law, this is not because they chose to engage in illicit activities, but due to the law itself that does not recognize legitimate activities – some of which have been performed for centuries.”16 The ity of work in the informal economy is performed by individuals who simply do not have the skills or op-portunities to find jobs in the formal sector and who cannot afford to be unemployed. Their work is “il-legal” only because they cannot find ways to be licensed or officially registered by the Government. While individuals working in the informal economy can include entrepreneurs earning good salaries, the majority of informal economy workers remain trapped in poverty and low productivity. Their income is erratic and unpredictable and highly dependent on seasonable variations. Informal workers are generally under-employed rather than unemployed, working signifi-cantly fewer days a year than they would like because of a lack of work opportunities. The fact that they work with-out regulation or protection also means that these indi-viduals are subject to harassment and extortion.17 Such treatment adds to their vulnerability. Decent Work Standards within the Informal Econ-omy While the informal economy is a convenient and low-cost way of creating employment in most developing countries, the ILO has emphasized that it will not promote this form of work “unless there is at the same time an equal deter-mination to eliminate progressively the worst aspects of exploitation and inhuman working conditions in the [in-formal] sector.”18 Many advocacy groups have focused efforts on reducing the poverty and inequality of informal workers, including WIEGO,19 StreetNet International,20 and Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).21 One good approach to reducing the exploitation and in-human working conditions in the informal economy is to focus on the ILO concept of “Decent Work” that aims to provide all working individuals with “productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human ty.”22 This concept has been accepted and promoted by the international community as an important and pressing developmental goal. At the UN World Summit in 2005, United Nations Member States resolved “to make the goals of full and productive employment and decent work for all, 15 Luebker, 4. Op. cit. 16 Luebker, 4. Op. cit. 17 The harassment of informal workers in Afghanistan will be discussed in more detail later in this report. This is, however, a world-wide problem. See, for example, the StreetNet International campaign “World Class Cities for All: Stop Brutal Actions Against Street Vendors,” available online at: http://www.streetnet.org.za/. 18 ILO, “Report of the Director-General: The Dilemma of the Informal Sector,” 78. International Labour Conference, 78th Session, Ge-neva (1991). Quoted in ILO, “Decent Work for Women and Men in the Informal Economy: Profile and Good Practices in Cambodia,” 20 (2006), available online at: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/library/download/pub06-26.pdf. 19 WIEGO, http://www.wiego.org. 20 StreetNet International, http://www.streetnet.org.za/english/page7.htm. 21 SEWA, http://www.sewa.org. 22 ILO, “Decent Work for All,” available online at: http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Mainpillars/WhatisDecentWork/lang--en/index.htm.

“The goal of decent work is best expressed through the eyes of people. It is about your job and future prospects; about your working conditions; about balancing work and family life, putting your kids through school or getting them out of child labour. It is about gender equality, equal recognition, and enabling women to make choices and take control of their lives. It is about your personal abilities to compete in the marketplace, keep up with new technological skills and remain healthy. It is about developing your en-trepreneurial skills, about receiving a fair share of the wealth that you have helped to create and not being discriminated against; it is about having a voice in your workplace and your community. In the most extreme situations it is about mov-ing from subsistence to existence. For many, it is the primary route out of pover-ty. For many more, it is about realising personal aspirations in their daily exis-tence and about solidarity with others. And everywhere, and for everybody, de-cent work is about securing human digni-ty.” ILO Director-General, “Reducing the De-cent Work Deficit,” 7-8 (2001).


including for women and young people, a central objective of [their] relevant national and international policies.”23 In 2006, at the High-level Segment of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (UNESC), ministers reiterated these commitments.24 A Decent Work environment should be available for all workers, including those in the informal economy: as the ILO has stated, it “cannot be argued that basic rights at work or, more generally, the quality of work, acquire relevance only above certain levels of income.”25 Individuals can only enjoy decent and productive work if they operate in a working environment that provides employment opportunities, protects funda-mental rights at work, extends social protection and promotes worker representation and organization. These are the four pillars of ILO’s Decent Work Standard.26 One way to assess the extent to which these four pillars are in place is to look at the degree of insecurity in workers’ lives. The questionnaire used for this report is based on seven essential securities that have been identified by ILO (omitting “job security”).27 These insecurities are outlined in the table below and provide a focal point for the various types of risk and crisis situations faced by Afghan informal workers. Six Insecurities Identified by Afghan Informal Workers

Decent Work Dimension/ Insecurities

Measures Representative Comment by Informal Worker

Insecurity of Finding Em-ployment • Employment status (regular employment, casual earner etc.)

• Hours of work • Multiple work activities • Length of experience in work • Days of unemployment • Difficulty finding work

“Every day from 5am I go to the chawk and then I wait and wait to find work, but in each month there are only three to five days that I can find work. Twenty-five other days are unem-ployment days for me.” - construction worker, Nangarhar.

Insecurity of Retaining Em-ployment • Type of contract (e.g. written or verbal; subcontracting work or for labour contractor)

• Need for license • Tenure at current work place/ in current activity • Expectations of keeping job/ work

“If we were able to get a registration and a license, the police and traffic officials would at least leave us alone so we could freely sell our products in the bazaar.” – farmer, Kabul.

Insecurity of Enjoying Healthy and Safe Working Conditions • Illness, stress and excessive work hours

• Control over work • Hazardous and dangerous work conditions • Toilet and water available • Protective clothing • Compensation for injury/insurance for injury

“I work in my home and do sewing and decorate dresses but I work in a dark room that affects my health. We do not have electricity, so we face a lot of problems.” – home-based worker, Nangarhar.

Insecurity of Income Levels and Social Protection • Income level

• Fringe benefits • How income is received • Raw materials or equipment provided by Government or employer • Regularity of income • Expectations of future income • Ability to save • Income adequacy for cost of living

“Now that the winter is coming, I am not even able to buy salt. How can I even talk about wood and coal – I can’t possibly buy these. We have no fuel, no electricity and no drinking water.” - construction worker, Herat.

Insecurity of Gaining and Retaining Work Skills • Training received and type of training

• Use of training, qualifications and education in work • Opinion of one’s skill adequacy and need for fur-ther training

“From the age of ten, just at the time when I could tell who I was, I started with construction work. I worked with anyone. I gradually learned a little.” - construction worker, Nangarhar. 23 UN General Assembly Resolution, “2005 World Summit Outcome,” A/RES/60/1, para. 47 (Oct. 2005), available online at: http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UN/UNPAN021752.pdf. 24 UNESC, High-level Segment, “Creating an environment at the national and international levels conducive to generating full and productive employment and decent work for all, and its impact on sustainable development” (July 2006), available online at: http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/meetings/2006/hls2006/. 25 ILO, “Decent Work and the Informal Economy,” 40 (2002). Op. cit. 26 ILO, “Decent Work for All.” Op. cit. 27 ILO, “Decent Work and the Informal Economy,” 3-4 (2002). Op. cit.


Insecurity of Representation in Workers’ Organizations and Government • Knowledge and opinion of unions

• Membership of unions • Knowledge and/ or membership in other workers’ organizations that represent worker interests • Perception of representation in Government

“We have an association for women and I am the head of the association. We had many meetings and brought demands to the Government asking for help with people who were ill and disabled but they paid no attention to us. They have taken the lists frequently but without any effect.” - home-based worker, Bamyan. The next section provides an outline of the legal framework that currently contains protections for infor-mal workers in Afghanistan. The problems faced by informal workers in Afghanistan that relate to the six insecurities are then discussed in turn in the remaining sections. These sections emphasise the high levels of vulnerability amongst informal workers and the extent to which these individuals urgently require so-cial and legal protection.


Section II:

The Legal Framework - Protection for Informal Workers Under Afghan and International Law Few of the informal workers interviewed for this report are aware that they have rights: they endure abuse and hardships in their jobs but do not know where they can turn for help or how they can improve their situation. Yet informal workers have protection under the Constitution of Afghanistan and also un-der the international treaties ratified by Afghanistan. These legal instruments contain provisions that pro-tect the fundamental rights of all workers. Despite the fact that the Afghan Government has guaranteed in the Constitution to protect the fundamental human rights of all its citizens, and despite the fact that the Government has ratified in-ternational treaties that protect the rights of informal workers, Afghanistan’s 2006 Labour Code omits any mention of the infor-mal economy. The provisions in the Labour Code apply only to contractual, or formal, workers. In order to ensure that the rights of all Afghan citizens are pro-tected, either the Labour Code should be amended to include in-formal workers or a new law should be issued to protect workers in the informal economy. However, even if the Labour Code was made more inclusive, this piece of legislation has serious flaws. It omits basic rights that belong to all workers, such as the right to association and non-discrimination. As discussed in more detail below, these provisions need to be included to ensure that the law is in line with international human rights standards. Otherwise, Afghanistan will be failing in its commitment to protect and promote the basic rights of all its workers. The Constitution of Afghanistan: A Foundation of Rights for Informal Workers The Constitution of Afghanistan explicitly grants basic rights to all Afghan citizens and provides a solid legal foundation for promoting decent work standards in the Afghan informal economy.28 Article 6 of the Constitution guarantees that the Government of Afghanistan is committed to protect the human rights of all its citizens and to create a society that is based on social justice and dignity. Article 22 guarantees equality for all citizens with no form of discrimination permitted and Article 48 states that work is the right of every citizen. Yet, as this report demonstrates, informal workers are frequently targets of official discrimination: they are harassed by police, denied permits by Government officials and are given no pro-tection by the Labour Code. In order to prevent such discrimination the Government must ensure that all relevant articles of the Constitution are upheld for informal workers. This can be achieved, for example, by establishing schemes to provide informal workers with training, loans and investment; by making a con-certed effort to ensure the workers have access to healthcare and other social protection; and by promot-ing and protecting the right to form associations that provide workers with representation and a voice. International Standards Applicable in Afghanistan In addition to the Constitution, informal workers also have rights under international conventions that the Government of Afghanistan is legally obliged to uphold. According to Article 7 of the Constitution, Afgha-nistan is committed to respecting the human rights standards contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and in other international treaties ratified by Afghanistan. Such treaties include fifteen ILO conventions (including three of the eight core ILO conventions), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All 28 See Annex C for a summary of the Constitutional rights that are most relevant to informal workers.

“There is no labour law and the worker is not paid according to his work. Employers are cruel and abuse the workers but nobody in-vestigates. Other countries have labour laws and the wages are set and the work hours are deter-mined. But not Afghanistan.” – construction worker, Kabul.


Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). All these agreements contain important provisions that apply to informal economy workers. ILO Commitments and Conventions Afghanistan has been a member of the ILO since 1934. The ILO is an international body that creates and oversees international labour standards. It works closely with its member states such as Afghanistan to ensure that labour standards are respected in practice as well as in principle. In 1988, the ILO issued the Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.29 Article 2 of this Declaration states that all Members of the ILO have obligations to their workers, whether or not they have signed additional ILO Conventions. For example, as a member of the ILO, Afghanistan is obliged to respect the ILO’s Constitution. This Constitution contains a commitment to improve the working condi-tions of all workers, both formal and informal, by methods including:

increasing employment opportunities; providing an adequate living wage; protecting workers against sickness and injury arising out of employment; providing for old age; recognizing the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value; recognizing the principle of freedom of association; and organizing vocational and technical education.30 Regrettably, Afghanistan has not ratified five of the eight core ILO conventions, including the conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining and on the elimination of child labour.31 Afghanistan has, however, ratified a total of fifteen ILO conventions (or what ILO classifies as ten “up-to-date conven-tions”32), including three core conventions: 1) The Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No. 105); 2) The Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100); and 3) The Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111). By signing these conventions, Afghanistan has pledged to abolish all forms of forced labour, to ensure “the application to all workers [both formal and informal] of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value,”33 and “to declare and pursue a national policy designed to pro-mote, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation [for both formal and informal workers], with a view to eliminat-ing any discrimination in respect thereof.”34 At present, informal workers in Afghanistan do not expe-rience equality of treatment and the Government is in violation of the ILO conventions it has ratified.

International Human Rights Conventions Ratified by Afghanistan Afghanistan has ratified the ICCPR, the ICESCR, CEDAW and the CRC and has affirmed in Article 7 of the Constitution that it will uphold the principles of the UDHR and all the treaties it has ratified. Afghanistan has therefore pledged to promote and protect many basic rights that apply to informal workers. These international human rights instruments protect important international human rights standards that ap-ply to all individuals, including informal workers. These rights include the right to: 29 ILO, “ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,” Doc. CIT/1998/PR20A (1998), available online at: http://training.itcilo.it/ILS/FOA/library/declaration/decl_en.html. 30 ILO, Preamble of ILO Constitution, available online at: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/constq.htm. 31 Ratification of ILO Convention 182 by the Government of Afghanistan is currently in progress. See AREU, “Confronting Child La-bour in Afghanistan Workshop Proceedings,” 5 (2009). 32 ILO, “Afghanistan: Country Profile,” available online at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/country_profiles.ratifications?p_lang=en&p_country=AFG. 33 ILO, Art. 2, “Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100)” (1951), available online at: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C100. 34 ILO, Art. 2, “Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111)” (1958), available online at: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C111.


freedom of association, including the right to form and join trade unions; social security; equal pay for equal work and to just and fa-vourable remuneration; safe and healthy working conditions; receive training in order to ensure full and productive employment; rest and leisure, including reasonable limita-tion of working hours; and education, including equal access to technical and professional education based on merit.35 All these agreements also contain the principle of non-discrimination. The rights should therefore be guaran-teed to all individuals working in the informal econo-my, including women, ethnic minorities, migrants and people with disabilities.

Afghanistan’s Labour Code Afghanistan’s 2006 Labour Code is based on Article 48 of the Constitution, which states that work is the right of every Afghan. Despite the inclusive language con-tained in the Constitution, the “workers” protected by the Labour Code only include formal economy workers (those who are “recruited on a contractual basis”36). The law therefore only applies to a small proportion of Afghanistan’s workforce, leaving a significant gap in the domestic legislation of Afghanistan regarding the rights of informal economy workers. The law establishes a stark dualism between contractual employees who are protected and informal workers who are denied any protection. One way to ensure that informal workers in Afghanis-tan are afforded legal protection for their basic rights would be to amend the Labour Code to include infor-mal workers. The Labour Code is an important tool for distributing and managing economic rights between employers, employees and the Government. The law contains many important provisions that should, according to the Constitution and international law, ap-ply to all workers.37 Providing informal workers with rights under this law would therefore empower them to challenge some of the most exploitative conditions of the informal economy. In order to include informal workers, the definition of “employee” must be expanded to include every individual who earns an income (whether in cash or in kind). The adjacent box contains a suggested definition of “employee” from the Solidarity Center.38 By using this type of language in the Labour Code, the Afghan Government could bring a much wider group of workers within the scope of the law. Simply extending the Labour Code to all informal workers would not, however, ensure that all their basic rights were guaranteed. There are unfortunately some serious omissions within the current Labour Code 35 See Annex D for specific articles of the treaties that protect these rights. 36 Art. 3, Labour Code (2006), available online in English at: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.details?p_lang=en&p_country=AFG&p_classification=01.02&p_origin=COUNTRY&p_sortby=SORTBY_COUNTRY. 37 See Annex E for examples of minimum basic rights contained in the Labour Code that should be extended to all workers. 38 The Solidarity Center is a US NGO that promotes worker rights worldwide. HRRAC has a copy of the Solidarity Center’s comments on the 2006 Labour Code. The definition of “employee” was taken from these comments. The Solidarity Center also highlighted some of the gaps in the Labour Code discussed in this current report. For a description of the Solidarity Center’s work in Afghanistan, see http://www.solidaritycenter.org/content.asp?contentid=909.

“‘Employee’ shall mean any individual or per-son employed by an employer, including any individual or person that (1) works for and is compensated by an employer principally on the basis of personal effort and skill, (2) has no significant ownership stake in the enterprise beyond any ownership interest [routinely] made available to employees as a component of compensation and (3) is not an independent supplier of materials, equipment, processes, or professional services to an employer. Any indi-vidual or person not actively working for an employer shall nonetheless be deemed an em-ployee, if the cessation of active employment is due in material part to an employer violation of the Code, a strike or lockout, a seasonal or temporary lay-off, a bankruptcy or a collective redundancy occasioned by the transfer of an enterprise. Agricultural workers, interns, ap-prentices, household workers, sex workers and contingent workers shall be considered as in-cluded within the term “employee”, subject to any specific governing provisions of this Code. [Eligibility of individuals to vote in worker elections provided for herein shall be deter-mined under this definition and the specific relevant provisions of the Code.] The term “employee” shall always be broadly inter-preted in light of the relevant economic, trans-actional and legal facts to insure that rights provided for herein can be effectively asserted by persons who work for enterprises that bene-fit from their effort and skill within a relation-ship of employment.” Suggested Language for Amending Afghanis-tan’s Labour Code, based on international norms from the Solidarity Center.


that need to be addressed before the rights of all workers are guaranteed. Some of the problematic ele-ments of the law include: • the fact that the law does not contain a clear commitment to protect freedom of association for workers; • Chapter 11, which contains provisions that are nominally intended to protect women and child-ren but which discriminate on the basis of gender; and • Article 13, which requires a certain level of education for employment and therefore bars the ma-jority of Afghan citizens from employment. Given that the current Labour Code contains flaws and omissions, and given that informal workers have specific needs and circumstances, it might be better to draft an entirely new piece of legislation for work-ers in the informal sector. Different laws might even be passed for different sectors of the informal econ-omy, as the informal workers are not a homogenous group and face varying challenges. Whilst any new legislation for informal workers is under consideration, a Code of Conduct for Employers should be created and distributed to all employers, contractors and informal workers. This will provide an interim method of ensuring that protection is extended to informal workers. A specific labour dispute sys-tem should also be established to deal with employment disputes, including those in the informal econo-my. In addition to providing these types of protections, it is also essential that the laws and labour regulations are properly enforced. At present, laws are poorly enforced in Afghanistan and there are widespread problems with corruption. As UNODC noted in 2010: [I]n Afghanistan those entrusted with upholding integrity and the law are seen as being most guilty of violating them. Around 25 percent of Afghan citizens had to pay at least one bribe to police and local officials over the past year. Between 10-20 percent had to pay bribes to judges, prosecutors, doctors and members of the government. A kickback is so commonly sought (and paid) to speed up administrative procedures, that more than a third of the population (38 per-cent) thinks that this is the norm.39 Informal workers will only receive proper protection when labour inspection units are properly staffed and trained in proper labour standards. Regulations must be passed that empower labour inspectors to issue warnings and raise penalties for non-compliance with any labour laws. In addition, the police, judges and other public officials should be trained in the legal protections that are available to informal workers.

39 UNODC, 4. Op. cit.


Section III:

Insecurity of Finding Employment

Significant Lack of Employment Opportunities Almost all the informal workers we spoke with complained about high levels of unemployment in their communities. UNDP noted in May 2009 that “[u]nemployment and the creation of sustainable livelihoods is the single most significant challenge to the attainment of stability and long-term development in Afgha-nistan.”40 Rates of unemployment in Afghanistan vary depending on the source and the way in which “un-employment” is defined.41 NRVA reported that unemployment in Afghanistan in 2007/2008 was as low as 7 percent.42 However, as UNDP notes, “commonly used statistics place unemployment [in Afghanistan] between 32 percent and 40 percent.”43 Unemployment figures for women have been reported as 54 per-cent in urban areas and 62 percent in rural areas.44 This significant variation in unemployment figures re-flects in part the extent to which Afghan families rely on work in the informal sector. Individuals cannot afford to be unemployed and so they take any work they can, even if it is infrequent and poorly paid. There are few jobs available in the formal sector and unemployment figures are much higher if ‘unemployed’ is defined as not work-ing in a skilled job with proper legal protections.

Regardless of official figures, there was a sense among the informal workers interviewed by HRRAC that unemployment was getting worse, with fewer jobs available in all occupations. 36 percent of the construc-tion and agricultural workers interviewed by HRRAC said that, in the last year, the longest period they were without work was 5-6 months; 40 percent responded that the longest period was 7-8 months. The workers were asked about the main restrictions that prevent them from finding work. 83 percent of the work-ers focused on the obstacles created by the limited types of work available and by the erratic work hours of the jobs. 40 UNDP, “Assessment of Development Results: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Evaluation of UNDP Contribution,” 69 (2009), avail-able online at: http://www.undp.org.af/publications/KeyDocuments/ADR_Afghanistan.pdf. 41 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled, “An Urban Area Primary Source Study of Supply & Demand in the Labor Market” (2008), available online at: http://www.molsamd.gov.af/ (under “Key Documents”). 42 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, “Summary of the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment 2007/8: A Profile of Afghanistan,” 4 (2009) [hereinafter “NRVA”], available online at: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/asia/documents/afgh_brochure_summary_en.pdf. 43 UNDP, 58. Op. cit. 44 UNDP, 58. Op. cit.

Focus-Group Discussion, Construction Workers, Kabul: “What Are Your Opportunities for Find-ing a Job?” Construction worker 1: “Compared to the last few years, the job opportunities for construction workers have decreased. Because of this, everybody is stressed. In every field that people are working, whether it is painting or anything else, the job opportunities are decreasing.” Construction worker 2: “Finding a job in the chowq for us construction workers is now like hunting. There are packs and each pack that wins gets the jobs.”


Construction workers waiting in line to find a job in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar,

Lack of Standardized Ways to Find Jobs One problem that exacerbates the difficulty of finding jobs is the lack of standardized methods for distri-buting and publicizing available work. There are no registers that collect the names of informal workers who are looking for work or even any specific places where employers can advertise work that is available. Generally, individuals manage instead to find work through personal contacts but this is a slow and erratic method of finding employment. Overall, 75 percent of interviewees stated that they chose, or found, their cur-rent job because it involved traditional family work or because it was all that was available. This high percen-tage emphasizes how most individuals “fall into” a job rather than being assisted or pursuing the best available income or type of work according to their interests. Female home-based workers and farmers described how they wait in their homes and hope for work to arrive from friends and family. Construction workers said that they wait on the streets in a city or district centre from around 5am to the evening. Individual employers and companies will sometimes come and choose a few of these workers, but the potential employees never know what time they will arrive or how many workers will be required each day. 46 percent of construction and agri-cultural workers told HRRAC that they wait up to three hours before they are offered a job in the chawk; 31 per-cent said they wait up to eight hours and 20 percent said they wait between one to three days at a time. When employers do arrive, the workers frequently fight amongst themselves to be chosen. Our intervie-wees described how they feel like animals and lose all their dignity as they struggle to be selected. “If one person wants to build something then fifty people gather around and ask to be hired by him. This is because there are few jobs and a lot of people. When the school was built here there was a skirmish between the workers who wanted to be hired.” – construction worker, Bamyan. Another factor that adds to the difficulty of finding a job is that the police and municipal authorities regularly harass the men who are waiting to find work and move them from the streets. “The only place where we can stay to find a job is the chawk, but even there most of the shopkeepers complain to the police about our presence. Sometimes the police move us to another place. This is hard – no employer can find us if we are not in the chawk.” – construction worker, Herat.

Lack of Market Opportunities Workers also cannot find employment opportunities because they cannot access markets to sell their products. Agricultural workers, for example, described their difficulties storing and selling produce. Given the lack of unions and workers’ organizations, many farmers sell their products on an individual basis. This is an unproductive method of selling goods and leads to a duplication of effort. Most farmers do not know the best places to sell their goods or how to negotiate good prices. Instead, they sell their products in the nearest urban centre, transporting produce along dangerous and uneven roads. If the products are


Female farmer working on land, Bagrami, Kabul

damaged in transit, they are thrown away or sold at a reduced price. Farmers therefore requested assis-tance with proper packaging and storage of goods and training in marketing skills. Particular Problems Faced by Women Women workers face particular problems finding employment in Afghanistan because of the societal pressures that prevent them from working too far from the home. The opportunities to find jobs are also limited by the demands of unpaid domestic work.

“We are not allowed outside to work. We are only al-lowed to work on our relatives’ land and not on stran-gers’ land.” – women farmers, Kabul. “If we want to work in the village or inside the home, then we don’t have a problem. But if we want to work in the next village or in a distant place, then our family will not give us permission.” – home-based workers, Faryab. The difficulties faced by female home-based workers are described in detail in a separate 2010 HRRAC re-port entitled “Afghanistan’s Female Home-Based Workers.”

Irregular and Erratic Work Even when workers are able to find employment, their jobs tend to be irregular and erratic. 59 percent of workers interviewed by HRRAC said that their work was irregular and 79 percent said that they would like more hours per day in paid work. The workers cannot predict how many days of every week, or how many months of every year, will provide income-earning work.

“There are no jobs. When somebody comes to recruit or hire the construction workers on the street, a hundred of them run to get work. We are eighteen people in our family. We only have work for one or two days a week and the rest of the time there is nothing.” – construction worker, Herat. The irregularity arises in part because much of the work is highly seasonal. 73 percent of informal work-ers interviewed by HRRAC said that their work was seasonal. Many of the farmers, for example, are able to work less than three seasons in a year. In parts of the country with long periods of cold weather, such as Bamyan and the north-east, the farmers can only work six months a year. In order to feed their families during the winter season, they move to milder climates and bigger cities such as Jalalabad or Kabul to work as street vendors or as day labourers. 15 percent of construction and agricultural workers told HRRAC that they had moved within Afghanistan to find work in the past year. Such migration causes dis-ruption and instability for families. One man described how he and his family became itinerants, never able to settle in their search for work. “We migrated to Iran and we were there for three years. Then we came to Kandahar and then to Ka-bul and then again I travelled to Nangarhar for work.” – construction worker, Nangarhar. This seasonal migration increases the problems of the informal workers already in these cities, as the market becomes more saturated and there is greater competition. The construction workers and farmers in particular asked for the Government to generate a greater diver-sity of jobs so that they can find alternative work during the winter months. Farmers in Bamyan, for ex-ample, asked for factories to be built so that they can have a more reliable and year-round source of in-come. An official working at Herat Municipality who was interviewed by HRRAC emphasized the benefits of diversifying and expanding the economic opportunities and called on the Government and the private sector to build factories, focus on infrastructure projects and develop mining opportunities in order to help address the soaring unemployment.


Lack of Investment and Business Support Another problem that makes it difficult for informal workers to find employment is the lack of loans avail-able to support new businesses, particularly for low-income individuals. Interviewees described how it was almost impossible for them to secure loans or receive general business assistance from the Govern-ment. “I cannot get any capital to buy a shop or a booth. I earn 200 Afghanis a day and spend 300 Afghanis. If I had good investments, then I could rid myself of police harassment and have a shop.” – street ven-dor, Nangarhar. Farmers in particular called for an increase in loan facilities because they frequently rely on credit to sur-vive the winter months when work is scarce. Landowners then expect them to find money to buy seeds and fertilizer in spring. They therefore need loans to help them with this initial outlay in capital in order to secure employment. While some organizations do provide loans to informal workers, it appears that there are generally too many conditions attached to the loans, or the loans are short-term making it difficult to repay them on time. “There are a few organizations that give loans to farmers but they ask for their money to be returned quickly which is too difficult for us. We need a system of long-term loans with a better structure.” – farmer, Herat. The workers are also generally ineligible for the loans because they do not have any assets to use as a guarantee. 33 percent of street vendors and home-based workers, for example, said that the total value of their work assets only amounted to between 100-600 Afs. Such limited collateral makes it difficult for them to secure available loans. “International organisations help people in Afgha-nistan, but they only help those who have their own house and take the deeds of their house as a guaran-tee. People like us do not have any house deeds and so we lose this opportunity to receive help.” – street vendor, Faryab. One cooperative leader in Herat described how the Agri-culture Development Banks in Afghanistan used to pro-vide loans to farmers so they could buy fertilizer and wheat seeds. He called on the Government to re-establish these banks so that they could give short and long-term loans to people under fair conditions. A vendor from Nangarhar called for municipality officials to give the workers a license so that it would be easier for them to take a loan. That way, he explained, workers would have a better reputation amongst internation-al organizations and banks. At present, 76 percent of vendors and home-based workers borrow capital for their work from shopkee-pers and relatives, in part because these are the only sources of money and also because the workers tended to trust relatives and local shopkeepers. However, these sources provide only a limited amount of capital and can put a financial strain on the whole community.

Unstable Markets Another problem faced by informal workers is the instability of the price of goods. Frequent price fluctua-tions make it difficult for workers to establish and run businesses, undermining their ability to budget properly and afford their basic materials. Other problems arise from the lack of regulation of imports. For example, interviewees described how expensive yet poor-quality goods enter the Afghan market and are sold for inflated prices. “Now Pakistani urea [fertilizer] is on the market with the prices changing every day which causes problems for farmers. A farmer has three or four acres of land and has to pay 3000 to 4000 Afghanis


for black urea and 900 Afghanis for white urea. How can he afford such costs?” – finance manager of farmers’ cooperative, Nangarhar. Informal workers called on the Government to regulate the quality of equipment and products that enter the Afghan market and to make efforts to standardize the price of these items. The farmers also called on the Government to ensure that the price of the products grown in Afghanistan do not drop too low, mak-ing it impossible to earn an income. “The selling price of our produce in the bazaar is going down. Four kilos of wheat now fetches 65 Afg-hanis and four kilos of onions fetch 18 Afghanis. The cost of growing these crops is more than we are able to sell them for in the bazaar.”- farmer, Herat.

How to Generate Jobs: Sample Suggestions from Informal Workers Increase Technology and Infrastructure

“Instead of being given only small things like seeds and medicines, we need large-scale projects such as providing us with the support and technology necessary to build roads and wells. It is not possible for us to tackle these big expensive projects alone. We need things that will really help us to meet our needs.” – farmer, Faryab. “The Government should start by focusing on building roads.” – construction worker, Faryab. Provide Loan Facilities “The Government should re-establish the Agricultural Development Banks to provide loans to farmers.” – cooperative leader, Herat. “The Government should give a license to all workers so that it is easier for us to borrow money.” – street vendor, Nangarhar. Control Market Prices “The solution is that the Government should help us with market prices … As well as giving us tractors and fuel and seeds, they should also have control over the market prices to provide some stability.” – farmer, Kabul. Develop Mines “We have lots of minerals. If they developed the mines, then many unemployed people would be certain to find work.” – construction worker, Herat. Build Sugar Manufacturing Plants

“The Government should support us and we would also welcome assistance from the aid organizations to create manufacturing facilities for producing sugar. We have the lablaboo plant here which is an expensive plant. Although we have good harvests we have to give our crops to the cows during the winter because there are no manufacturing facilities.” – farmer, Herat. “The businessmen and the Government have not been willing to establish any manufacturing facilities. Factories would solve the unemployment situation and help those people who at present have no chance of earning a livelihood.” – construction worker, Kabul. Regulate the Flow of Working Migrants into Afghanistan

“The Ministry of Labour does not have any strategy to tackle unemployment. If they were really tackling the issue why would they allow foreign workers to come and work here so easily? The Ministry should investigate how foreign workers can come here without documentation and passports and take job opportunities from Afghan citizens.” – construction worker, Kabul. “The foreign workers such as Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Indians and Chinese are happy to work for low wages and this affects our job prospects so that Afghan people are unemployed and suffer.” – construction worker, Kabul. Find a Solution with the People “Only the Government can solve this problem of unemployment. Our Government should sit down and listen to us so that they know how the present situation causes such suffering. They should work with their people to find a workable solution to the problem. Also, international organisations and private companies should support the workers instead of the Government.” – construction worker, Kabul. “The workers and the Government must solve the unemployment situation together. If a decision is made by just one party, then it will be the wrong decision.” – construction worker, Kabul.


Section IV:

Insecurity of Retaining Employment

Contracts for Informal Workers Informal workers have little employment security because they are not protected by the law and do not receive formal contracts. Only 0.4 percent of construction and agricultural workers who were interviewed by HRRAC have open-ended written contracts; only 12 percent have written, fixed-time contracts. The majority of the workers (73 percent) have verbal, fixed time contracts. These verbal contracts are difficult to enforce and provide workers with little legal protection. Any law passed to protect informal workers must therefore take this aspect into account and find a way to regulate the high percentage of verbal con-tracts. Overall, the informal workers have few rights and are forced to perform work in unfair circumstances where they assume the majority of the risk. Most of the farmers interviewed, for example, do not own land and work instead for a landowner. They are paid either in cash or with produce, and generally keep only a small percentage of the profits. If the crops are destroyed, they receive nothing despite the fact that they often pay for the seeds and fertilizer. Construction workers complained that the informal hiring methods and lack of jobs mean they are pro-vided with no form of legal protection. “Employers come to the squares and say they need workers. We talk to them and agree a price but then they expect us to work later, for example until 5 pm. If we mention labor law they just hire anoth-er person.” – construction worker, Kabul.

No Permits or Licenses Many of the interviewees requested for the Government to supply work permits or licenses so that they could secure basic rights and receive recognition for their skills. There was wide recognition that a license would help workers secure better jobs and better working conditions.

“Anybody who has a license can work independently and freely without fear or intimidation. He can work in any place under any conditions and at any time he wishes.” – Municipality Officer, Faryab.

Landowner in Nangarhar explains the conditions he imposes on his employees: “My workers and I have a written contract that in-cludes the effects of natural diseases. If there are any diseases that destroy the crops, then the contract says that the worker has to bear the cost of the damage. I am careful to include this so that any loss caused by natural diseases won’t have a negative effect on me. If there is a drought, then I will not pay wages for the days when there is no water - the farmer does not get paid for those days. But if all the crops are destroyed because of a drought – but only because of drought and for no other reason – then the worker does not have to pay for this damage, I will pay for it. At harv-est-time I share the crop one part for the worker and three parts for me.”

Kabul contractor explains how he choos-es his employees: “The women come to us and ask for work and we give them materials for sewing after they provide us with some money in advance to cover these materials. Once the work is fi-nished we see whether it is any good. If it is a good standard, then we will make a contract with the woman. If it is bad quality, then we will return the woman’s samples and she will not get a contract. We do not return their money. We do not have any facilities to train people so we can only hire women who have skills.”


“If a person has a license, then they also have the ability to work. Having a work license is like having a car license. It is very effective. If you are able to drive but you don’t have a license, then people don’t trust in your ability. It is the same with work.” – construction worker, Kabul. Construction workers said that they wanted to receive permits so that they could improve their chance of finding and retaining employment. The Government, however, did not support their efforts to gain formal qualifications or licenses. Many of the construction workers who have permits appear to have gained them through connections. “Once an employer asked us if we had work permits. We didn’t so he wouldn’t hire us and he hired the permit holders, although those who had permits only got them through connections.” – construction worker, Kabul.

Street vendors were also keen to gain a permit or license in order to reduce the level of harassment they face from police. 90 percent of street vendors who were interviewed by HRRAC do not have a license or permit for their work. The vendors described how they have attempted to formalize their situation a little and have offered to pay tax to the Government so that they can feel secure in their jobs. According to the vendors, the municipality officials rejected their requests. No Fixed Location to Sell Goods One of the biggest problems that undermines the employment security of street vendors in particular is the fact that they are continually harassed and told to move on by shopkeepers and officials. This harass-ment makes it impossible for them to find regular customers and a dependable income.

“I have too many problems with the municipality officials. They don’t let me stay in this place or any other place I want to stay. The selling of vegetables must be done on a main street and not in a side street. You need the crowds to find customers. But the police and the traffic officials don’t let us stay on the main streets. We have to go to the side streets. We ask the Government to provide us with a better place where the police won’t harass us.” – street vendor, Nangarhar. Shopkeepers complain that the street vendors discourage customers and the police describe street ven-dors as a public nuisance with no right to sell items on the street. Generally, public officials who spoke with HRRAC resented the presence of street vendors and made every effort to restrict them to limited areas of a city. “There is no law in this municipality or any other place that gives vendors the right to sell things. We will never give them permission in the future.” – Municipality Officer, Herat. “The Municipality cannot give permission to everyone who works in every place. We can only give permission to those who have a specific place like shopkeepers. But we will not give permission to those who block traffic. Vendors disrupt the traffic and make problems for the public.” – traffic police, Nangarhar.

Group Discussion – Faryab Street Vendors: “Do you have a Set Place to Work?” Vendor 1: “We come to the city to work but we don’t have any shops. If the police allow us to stay, then we work. If not, then we cannot work.” Vendor 2: “When the police do send us away, they send us to a place where there is nobody apart from animals.” Vendor 3: “If the municipality wanted to help us, they could allow us to stay in the central square. This square can contain hundreds of people, so we could all have room. But nobody is sympathetic towards us so we have to move.”


HRRAC Researcher interviewing a vendor in Kabul city, HRRAC researcher interviewing a vendor in Kabul city

In Faryab, the street vendors are only permitted to work two days of the week: Monday in Maymana and Friday in Shirintagab. This means that the vendors can only work eight days of every month. The police harass them if they work other days. Such regulations make it very difficult for vendors to earn a livelihood. Street vendors described how they sometimes have to pay bribes to some officials so that they can stay in their loca-tion and keep selling their goods. In Jalalabad, the street vendors said that the municipality officers would regularly take about ten Afghanis from them. The vendors were un-sure, however, whether this money was a tax or a fine and did not know why it was taken from them.


Section V:

Insecurity of Enjoying Healthy and Safe Working Conditions

Physical Hazards at Work Informal workers in Afghanistan earn a livelihood in conditions that are unsafe and hazardous for their health. 70 percent of all informal workers interviewed by HRRAC stated that their general health was negatively affected by their work. 42 percent said they suffered from general body aches; 52 percent said they developed headaches while they worked; 51 percent said their work gave them backaches. The health of street vendors is affected, for example, be-cause they are forced to sell their goods in the middle of the street near moving cars and open sewers. Conditions during summer are dusty and hot, and then cold and wet during winter. As a result, 20 percent of vendors interviewed by HRRAC stated that their working conditions had a negative impact on their breathing. In addition, most vendors do not have access to clean water or toilets during their working day. Also, by standing in the streets all day, vendors are vulnerable to the dangers of suicide attacks, particularly in the southern districts. Construction workers work in dangerous conditions where they are exposed to the risk of falling mate-rials or unsafe scaffolding. The majority do not have protective clothing. They are also, like the street ven-dors, forced to spend many hours in the street waiting for work and are exposed to the weather, dust and to the dangers of suicide bombs. “Firstly, lack of security and suicide attacks worry us and secondly, the police and traffic come and dis-perse us.” – construction worker, Kabul. Farmers in most areas of Afghanistan face the risk of landmines in the fields and suffer physical exhaus-tion from working long hours without rest. Home workers, who generally work in cramped and poorly-lit surroundings and do not have good tables and chairs on which to work, often damage their eyes, backs and joints. Women workers are also forced to work through pregnancies and are exhausted by the need to balance paid work with unpaid domestic work, including caring for their children. These problems that are specific to women workers are discussed in more detail in HRRAC’s 2010 report “Afghanistan’s Fe-male Home-Based Workers.”

“I work at home sewing and decorating dresses but I work in a dark room that affects my health. We do not have elec-tricity so we face a lot of problems.” – home-based worker, Nangarhar. “In winter, due to the cold, my hands become frozen and I work less. But in summer and spring I can work more.” – home-based worker, Kabul. Given these conditions, it is unsurprising that 35 percent of all home-based workers stated that their eyesight was damaged by their work.

Old-Fashioned and Labour-Intensive Work Equipment The physical hardships experienced by the workers are exacerbated by the lack of modern equipment in Afghanistan. Farmers, for example, plough their fields with oxen-drawn ploughs; they put pesticide on their crops using a bucket and broom. They rely on labour-intensive traditional methods of farming that are extremely physically demanding.


Construction workers in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar

HRRAC researcher interviewing a farmer in Herat

“Now the only equipment available for cultivating raisins is a shovel and a plough. This is the only equipment that the farmers have.” - farmer representative, Kabul.

Long Hours of Work with No Rest When informal workers manage to find employment, they are often forced to work long hours with no provision for rest days or holidays. Farmers told us that they worked without break during the summer months and then had no work at all during winter. Home-based workers often went months without any requests for work and then were told to make a carpet in just a few weeks. Many times, construction workers and farmers told us that they were not even allowed to stop for daily prayers, and could not stop to attend mosque on a Friday.

“Farmers do not receive a good income and must work long hours. They must work in an employer’s field for seven months straight. During these months they have to work and farm all day and night. If there is anything that needs to be done on the employer’s field then they have to do it.” – farmer, Ba-myan. The length of the day for informal workers is also increased by the amount of hours they are forced to wait on the streets before they can even find a job. Construction workers told us that they got up in the early hours of the morning – generally around 4.30am in the spring and summer and around 5-5.30am in the winter – so that they were available whenever an employer requested workers.

High Levels of Stress and Abuse As described earlier in this report, informal workers not only face physical dangers but must also endure high levels of stress. Street vendors and construction workers who are working or searching for work on the streets are often abused by shop-owners and by some policemen and traffic officials. The workers are accused of criminal activities and told to move to the side-streets, away from potential cus-tomers and employers. Some policemen also put pressure on vendors to give them goods for free and demand bribes in exchange for allowing the vendors to keep working. “The municipality is helping us, but we are constantly harassed by police. Some of these police officers take the cards but they don’t pay for them. The police put pressure on us to give them free mobile cards.” – street vendor, Nangarhar. One of the greatest strains is that the workers have no control over their lives. They work when they can and they rest when they can. They perform any type of activity that they are told and cannot challenge their employers’ demands in the fear of losing their job. This is an existence that undermines their dignity and self-worth. “We walk from street to street like itinerants looking for work. Then when we find work, the employer ex-pects us to work for them for long hours. Our work is irregular and our job description is not defined – we must do all sorts of work. What we do depends entire-ly on the wishes of the employer.” – construction worker, Herat.”


No Compensation for Injuries at Work Only a couple of workers had received compensation for work-related injuries. These were construction workers in Maymana. Otherwise, the interviewees were not even aware that they could request this type of compensation. Of 277 interviewees who said that they had been injured at work, 82 percent of individuals paid for the treatment themselves. In only 16 percent of cas-es did the employer pay for the treatment. Such figures are partially a result of the lack of legal protection for the workers which results in poor employee protec-tions.

Worker Activity Health and Safety Hazards Construction Workers • dust, traffic fumes and security risks in street while waiting for work • stress and indignity of fighting to obtain work • police harassment • dangerous working conditions with no safety equipment • no protective clothing • long hours without rest • physically demanding work with old-fashioned equipment • limited access to toilets or clean water • exposure to harsh weather conditions • risk of suicide bombs while waiting for work on the streets Farmers • long hours without rest • physically demanding work with old-fashioned equipment • no protective clothing when using fertilizers or pesticides • limited access to toilets or clean water • exposure to harsh weather conditions • risk of landmines while farming • risk of suicide bombs while waiting for work on the streets Home-Based Workers • long hours without rest • physically demanding work with old-fashioned equipment • insufficient lighting for detailed work • dust from carpet-weaving process Street Vendors • dust, traffic fumes and security risks in street while waiting for work • police harassment • long hours without rest • limited access to toilets or clean water • exposure to harsh weather conditions • risk of suicide bombs while working on the streets


Section VI:

Insecurity of Income Levels and Social Protection

Low Income Levels Amongst Afghan Informal Workers The rate of pay is a significant problem in Afghanistan, even for formal workers. The cost of living in Afghanistan is relatively high and many families are forced to borrow money. Informal workers are in a particularly vulnerable financial position. 62 percent of households interviewed by HRRAC have seven to twelve members but, despite these large household sizes, there is only one income earner in 44 percent of households and between one to three workers in 98 percent of all households. The in-come earners who manage to contribute to a household are generally paid very low wages, as described by some of HRRAC’s interviewees in the boxes below. Such low income levels means that the majority of informal worker households are unable to find sufficient money to cover basic household needs. This is evident, for example, from the fact that 88 percent of informal workers house-holds interviewed by HRRAC buy food on credit at some point during the year. 42 percent buy food on credit be-tween three to four months a year and 24 percent between five to six months a year. Only 4 percent cook a meal three times a day and 26 percent eat meat less than once a month. 82 percent of informal workers also said that they were unable to save money and were therefore unable to deal with unexpected losses in income that might arise, for ex-ample, from a death or sickness of a family member. Weak Bargaining Position Exacerbating Low Income Levels Income levels are low not only because of the general poverty in Afghanistan but also because the workers are in weak bargaining positions. They are generally so desperate to find work that they accept very low wages and do not request higher salaries in case they are replaced by another worker. Their situation is

Street vendors in Herat discuss their income levels:

Street vendor 1: “Every day I stand next to the school wall and sell around 300 Afghanis worth of goods and I make around 80-100 Afghanis profit. There is no other worker in the family. I am the only one responsible for eight to nine people. I am in too much debt with the shopkeepers in my community. My family expendi-ture is at least 300 Afghanis a day. We only buy meat once every two to three months. If we do, we buy chicken meat.” Street vendor 2: “I must feed six people in my family. From 5am until 8pm I am standing here and only make 180 Afghanis. This is not enough for our keep and I take loans from the shopkeeper to get food. One day I only managed to sell one 50 Afghani mobile card, and my profit was only 5 Afghanis. How can we survive like this? When I make no money, there is nothing I can do. I must return home and hang my head in shame.”

Home-based workers in Bamyan discuss their income levels:

Worker 1: “I finish one blanket every ten to fifteen days and receive 300 Afghanis.”

Worker 2: “I finish one scarf in fif-teen days and receive 300 Afghanis”

Worker 3: “I finish a gand in twenty to twenty-five days and I make 1500 Afghanis.”

Worker 4: “I finish one kamis and shalwar in ten to fifteen days and I make 150 Afghanis.”


made even worse because employers will sometimes refuse to pay all the hours they have worked and, in the worst cases, will refuse to pay anything. “There is no set wage for daily workers. Workers suggest 200 Afghanis per day and the employer sug-gests 100 Afghanis, so we compromise at 150 Afghanis. Some employers come after 9am and say they are hiring us for half a day. Then they pay us no more than 100 Afghanis while we work about eight hours.” – construction worker, Herat. “Sometimes we are harassed by the landowners. They say that we didn’t properly tend the land, or we didn’t properly water it. This is after we have done a good job. They just look for ways to reduce our wages.” – farmers, Bamyan. Unfair wage conditions are imposed on informal farmers who rarely own land and are forced to accept the conditions set down by the landowner. Often, for example, farmers are paid in-kind rather than in cash. If they do not sell the produce they have grown then they are left without any money and have to make do with the produce – such as grapes, potatoes or saffron – that they have cultivated. “Every three to four days we are able to collect around fourteen kilos of grapes. If we are able to sell these grapes, we can make 180 Afghanis. But if we can’t sell the grapes, then this is all we have and we take them home for food.” – female grape farmer, Kabul. Farmers (and also construction and home-based workers) also complained that their wages were not al-ways paid regularly and were sometimes only given at the end of a long period of labour. “We work nine months to finish the work we have been given and only then do we get our wages.” – farmers, Herat. Another problem faced by all workers, but particularly those who work near the Pakistani border and amongst carpet weavers whose carpets are exported to Pakistan, is the payment of wages using Pakistani currency. Pakistani rupees, or kaldar, often lose their value and are not regularly used in Afghanistan. “Our problem is that our broker pays us with Pakistani kaldar and when the kaldar loses its value we are lost. We demand that we receive national currency for our carpets.” – home-based worker, Kabul.

Child Labour One significant repercussion of the irregular work and low wages for informal workers is a high level of child labour. The insecurity of employment and the low wages earned by households mean that every member of the family often has to work, including children. A number of our interviewees told us that they could not afford to send their children to school, and that they also needed the small amount of money that their children could earn.

“Our young children go on the streets to collect pieces of wood and cow-dung for fuel. Because of our bad life we cannot regularly send them to school.” –home-based worker, Faryab. “I had a good life until I was fifteen, but five years ago my father was killed and the heavy burden of supporting my family fell on my shoulders. Whenever I see students I become sad. I can’t go school. I have to work to cover life’s expenses.” – street vendor, Faryab.

Farmers in particular rely on the help of their children during the sowing and harvest seasons. Most of the farmers know this will have a negative effect on their children’s education but they said they had no other choice. No Social Assistance The workers live hand-to-mouth and are constantly struggling to cover basic household costs. One unex-pected disruption, such as sickness in the family or a period of drought, quickly leads to destitution. These workers have no safety net: the vast majority of interviewees said that they did not receive any type of benefits from their employer or the Government to help their family to manage difficult periods.


Very few informal workers receive any type of health insurance or care at work despite the fact that Article 52 of the Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to healthcare. As noted earlier in this chapter, 82 percent of informal workers who suffer an injury at work pay for the treatment themselves. As a result, any illness in the family, and the injury of the principal breadwinner in par-ticular, brings dire consequences for the household that can then affect the health of the whole family. The urgent need to make an income forces many individuals to keep working even when they are injured.

“For a long time I have had pain in my hand but I have to work; otherwise we remain hungry.” – home-based worker, Kabul.

In addition, although 82 percent of interviewees said that there was a health clinic within five kilometers of their homes, the lack of free or subsidized medicines has forced 53 percent of all interviewees to take a loan in the last six months to pay for medical treatment. “Even though there is a clinic, they do not give us free medicine and we have to pay 150 Afghanis for one tube of medicine.” – construction worker, Nangarhar. “My husband is sick. I borrowed 6000 Afghanis to pay for his medicine and our only income is the car-pet weaving I can do. I make one metre of carpet per month and earn 2000 Pakistani Kaldar (approx. 1000 Afghanis).” – home-based worker, Kabul. Such loans are so common because informal worker households tend to suffer high levels of illness, with 41 percent of individuals interviewed by HRRAC stating that at least one member of their household had suffered from a chronic illness. There is also a widespread lack of cheap or free medicines. This is the situ-ation despite the fact that two of the working principles of the Ministry of Public Health that are stated in the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) are: 1. Treating all people with dignity, honesty, and respect, and considering healthy life to be a basic right of every individual; 2. Ensuring equitable access to and provision of basic, essential, good-quality health services.45 Unless informal workers and their families are provided with better access to affordable medicines, the Government of Afghanistan will fail in its duty to uphold Article 52 of the Constitution and will fall short of the commitments set out in the BPHS.

45 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Public Health, “A Basic Package of Health Services for Afghanistan, 2005/1384,” vii, available online at: http://www.msh.org/afghanistan/pdf/Afghanistan_BPHS_2005_1384.pdf.

“The state shall provide free pre-ventative healthcare and treat-ment of diseases as well as medical facilities to all citizens in accor-dance with the provisions the law.” Article 52, Constitution of Afgha-nistan.


Section VII:

Insecurity of Gaining and Retaining Work Skills

Low Levels of Education and Training According to the UNDP, Afghanistan has the second lowest literacy rate in the world, with only 28 percent literacy amongst adults.46 Informal workers also receive low levels of employment training: In the past three years, only 10 percent of all HRRAC interviewees received any formal training. As a result, the work-ers are obliged to find low-skilled and easily-accessible jobs. 74 percent of informal workers interviewed by HRRAC said that they would like to attend training courses. The principal reason the workers wanted this training was so they could earn a higher salary. However, many workers also wanted to improve their skills and become qualified for better jobs. The informal workers told HRRAC that they were unable to receive training because no institutions were available to provide low-cost and effective training. “I found a chance to study in an institution. I went to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to take an exam on plastering and to get a permit but my efforts ended in vain because I could not get one. The Ministry does not take into account the need to provide training facilities for workers.” –construction worker, Kabul. The lack of official training resources means that 68 percent of all informal workers interviewed by HRRAC have received their work training from friends and family members. Such forms of job training are particularly common for women: 77 percent of the women workers who were interviewed stated that they had received training from their friends and family. Only 0.9 percent of both male and female infor-mal workers received on-the-job training and only 1 percent of women and 4 percent of men benefitted from Government training services. Contractors and employers told HRRAC that they could not afford to provide training. As a result, they preferred to hire individuals who were already skilled. “We only contract those people who are completely familiar with carpet weaving and who have expe-rience because then they will have a proper job and it will not cost us too much. If we hire inexpe-rienced people, then this will be too expensive – we can’t afford the time to train them.” – contractor for carpets, Bamyan. 46 UNDP, “Human Development Report 2009: Afghanistan” (2009), available online at: http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_AFG.html.


Need for Strategic Training and Capacity Building Any training that is provided to informal workers must take their specific circumstances and needs into consideration. For example, some workers said that they would like to attend training courses but their economic situation made it impossible. They said that they could not afford to take time off to attend courses that were unpaid. “I can’t afford to go to any training courses. If I don’t work today my family will remain hungry.” – construction worker, Kabul. In addition women workers are unable to attend training courses outside the home because of social and cultural restrictions. “There should be courses provided for women in the village until the older generation change their at-titude and become more enlightened. We cannot go to the city to take courses. People will ridicule our husbands so they will not allow us to go out of the home.” – home-based worker, Nangarhar. Workers in places with ongoing fighting and unrest are unable to attend trainings in urban centres be-cause of the dangers of travelling.


Section VIII:

Insecurity of Representation One of the most serious problems faced by informal workers in Afghanistan, and one that prevents them from countering the factors that contribute to their impoverishment, is their lack of voice and representa-tion. Informal workers will only become empowered and gain the ability to take action and defend their interests once they are able to organize and present common demands to policy-makers. Organizing, however, is not sufficient in itself. Afghan informal workers also need a representative voice in Govern-ment and on the international stage – both through MPs who represent their interests and through lobby-ing groups. No Trade Unions or Representative Groups Cooperatives and unions certainly exist in Afghanistan and there is a long history of union activity in the country. A cooperative leader in Herat said that 9000 farmers were registered with cooperatives in the province and an official in Faryab described how 300 workers’ groups existed in his area. However, the majority of farmers who were interviewed in Herat and Faryab said that there were no cooperatives or representative groups in their area. Few informal workers had any form of representation across all five provinces: In total, only 7 percent belong to a cooperative and only 6 percent are members of a workers’ organization. The majority of workers (89 per-cent) who are members of a cooperative are part of a producers’ cooperative that provides support and coop-eration amongst members for buying supplies and equipment and for marketing goods. Despite the low rates of membership, workers were keen to have cooperatives and workers’ groups to represent their interests. They were aware of the benefits that such representation could bring and dis-cussed how unions could lobby the Government to assist them with finding jobs and helping them to im-prove their working conditions. One farmer in Kabul, for example, said that the Government could work with collectives to challenge abuses by businessmen and to drive up the prices that farmers were able to receive for their products: “Now the businessmen come and buy our products for any price they like. There is no standard and no prin-ciple. If the Government purchased our products through a collective, then that would not only help the far-mers but it would benefit the Government too.” – farmer, Kabul.

Factors Undermining Effectiveness of Unions and Representative Groups The few cooperatives and workers’ organizations that operate in Afghanistan are generally regarded as ineffective and unprofessional. Workers described how they were asked to provide membership fees to join the unions yet received no benefit in return. “There’s a deficiency of cooperatives. When we went and registered at the cooperative, they took 900 Afs from each of us. They said that they would give us urea. But we didn’t get anything even though the cooperative’s promise was that they wouldn’t make a profit out of us. We are still waiting.” – farmer, Faryab. “Nangarhar is an agricultural province and its people are farmers but the facilities for farming do not exist: urea, agricultural chemicals and seeds do not reach the cooperatives and are not distributed be-tween farmers. In the past, there were these types of facilities for farmers, but since the new Govern-ment came to power there has been no help for farmers.” – account manager of farmer’s cooperative, Nangarhar.


It is clear that certain factors undermine the effectiveness of unions and representative groups, including inefficient administrative processes and corruption; difficulties registering unions; a lack of resources for workers’ group; and a lack of time amongst workers. Inefficiency and Corruption One complaint from cooperative leaders is that, when money or technology is sent for distribution amongst workers, it often arrives at the wrong time, following a long delay and administrative process. In addition, workers believed that the cooperatives sometimes steal the assistance that was sent. In order to reduce the possibility for corruption, they asked for the assistance to be sent directly to them.

“The cooperatives have betrayed us and defrauded us – they received lots of seeds but they didn’t give them to us. Maybe they sell them in the bazaar.” – farmer, Nangarhar.

Difficulty Registering Unions and Representative Groups Only cooperatives that have received permission from the Ministry of Agriculture can provide loans to workers. This permission is only granted after a long registration process that is too burdensome and time-consuming for many cooperatives. Such bureaucratic processes undermine the efforts of coopera-tives to assist workers. No Resources Provided to Cooperatives by the Government Cooperative and union leaders said that they were unable to provide any support to workers because of a lack of resources and Government support. One leader described how, thirty years ago, cooperatives pro-vided proper assistance to workers. Now, however, the lack of Government support means that the union representatives are generally unable to help. Insufficient Time Amongst Workers to Dedicate to Representative Groups While the workers complained about the lack of unions and representative groups, they also said that they did not spend time searching for or establishing these groups because they did not have the time. They said that they could not afford to be absent from their work or job search, especially if they were dedicat-ing time to groups that were unlikely to achieve their objectives.

Focus Group Discussion, Farmers, Faryab: “What are your Experiences with Cooperatives?”Farmer 1: “We have a cooperative but they only gave us urea as a loan on one occasion. This is it. One time help.” Farmer 2: “The cooperative asked all the farmers in two villages to provide a total of 65,000 Afghanis in fees.” Farmer 3: “The cooperatives took people’s money and didn’t provide us with anything in return. So it is clear that we have not received any benefit from the cooperatives.” Farmer 4: “The cooperatives are actually in debt to us. They have our money and we get nothing in re-turn.” Farmer 5: “Although the cooperatives promised to assist us by giving us seeds and tractors, they didn’t. This shows the problems.”


A farmer holds one of his plants that was rendered unmarketable by parasites. With co-operative assistance, the plants could have been salvaged and the farmer’s livelihood protected.

Lack of Government Interest in Informal Workers In addition to the lack of assistance from workers’ groups, most of the workers complained that the Government ig-nored their situation and did nothing to address their problems. They were aware that certain Ministries should help them – such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Af-fairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Wom-en’s Affairs – but they never hear anything from them. When the workers were asked about approaching the Gov-ernment to protect their rights, there was a uniformity of response: that it would be useless to approach officials because they are already aware of the problems but do nothing to improve the situation. Even when workers organized themselves into a coopera-tive or union and their representatives approached the Government, they were ignored and rejected. “Three years ago the Ministry of Agriculture gave me forms asking questions about the problems of farmers and their needs. I distributed three hundred forms to farmers and they filled out the forms and I returned them to the Ministry, but till today we haven’t heard any answer or received any support.” – farmer representative, Nangarhar. “Farmers have frequently voiced their problems and we have informed officials and delivered our sug-gestions, but we have received no help.” – official in farmers’ cooperative, Kabul.

Focus Group Discussion, Farmers in Kabul and Vendors in Nangarhar: “How Much Support Does the Government Provide to Informal Workers?”

Kabul Farmer: “Our representative in the Parliament is a qari of the Government. He hasn’t come to our community once. Even though he is our representative, we have never seen his face.” Nangarhar Vendors: Vendor 1: “Since our Parliament representative was elected as an MP, I haven’t seen him again in the community and I don’t know where his office is. So how I can raise my voice with him?” Vendor 2: “Our representative only came here during the campaign and made promises. After he was elected he disappeared.”


Section IX:

Recommendations Many of the recommendations below will require a coordination of efforts. Solutions for labour market issues are generally best achieved through dialogue and cooperation between employers, workers and the Government. The ILO had adopted this model of tripartism and HRRAC strongly encourages this approach in Afghanistan. Only in this way will successful and widely-supported solutions be found to the multitude of problems facing Afghanistan’s informal workers. While many specific recommendations are provided below, the lack of infrastructure (roads, electricity, water), basic education and security will continue to undermine any efforts to improve employment con-ditions. It is essential, therefore, that the Government and the international community continue to focus on improving both the infrastructure and security within Afghanistan. However, as mentioned at the be-ginning of this report, a lack of employment opportunities also undermines the insecurity of the country. All these issues must therefore be addressed simultaneously, with full awareness of their interconnectivi-ty. To the Government: Provide Informal Workers with Legal Protection, Including a Code of Conduct for Employers - It is imperative that the Government provides informal workers with some degree of legal protec-tion. Such protection would give the workers tools to challenge some of the most egregious viola-tions of their rights. - The easiest way to provide the workers with legal protection and social insurance is to broaden the definition of “worker” in the current Labour Code to include informal workers. Alternatively, a specific law could be drafted for informal workers that is suited to their particular needs and situ-ation. The legal options should be considered with the participation of civil society, lawyers and workers’ and employers’ representatives. - While new legislation is under consideration, a Code of Conduct for Employers should be created and distributed to all employers, contractors and informal workers. - In addition to amending the Labour Code, or introducing new legislation, a specific labour dispute system should be established to deal with employment disputes, including those in the informal economy. Ratify, at the Minimum, the ILO Core Conventions to which Afghanistan is not a Party, and Ensure Regular Reporting to the ILO - Afghanistan should, as the Government has promised, ratify the remaining ILO Core Conventions to which it is not a party. In addition, it should regularly fulfill its reporting requirements before the ILO. - Such reports would allow Afghan civil society and the international community to monitor Afgha-nistan’s progress regarding workers’ rights. Increase Policy Coordination Between Key Economic and Social Ministries and Employers’ and Workers’ Groups - In order to ensure that Decent Work is made a central goal for all workers, it is essential that key economic and social Ministries work together to interact with employers’ and workers’ organiza-tions. This would involve coordination between, for example, the Ministries of Justice, Labour, Economy, Public Health, Commerce and Industries, Women’s Affairs, Agriculture, Education, Pub-lic Welfare, Rural Rehabilitation and Development, as well as governmental bodies such as the


Traffic Department and other municipalities. Such policy coordination is critically important so that employment issues are taken into consideration in macroeconomic, trade and industrial de-cisions. Assist with the Establishment of Independent Labour Inspection Units for Informal Workers - An independent professional body should inspect working conditions for informal workers to en-sure that basic rights and freedoms are protected. Provide Centralized Locations for Informal Workers to Find Employment - Informal workers struggle every day to find work but they do not know where to find employers. The Government should provide workers with a centralized location where employers can adver-tise work and where workers can register their skills and wait in a clean and safe environment. Currently, informal workers are forced to wait in dangerous conditions and to fight for work in an undignified manner. - Particular attention must be paid to the situation of women workers. Women are often restricted to their homes or villages. They cannot travel to central locations in the nearest town. A system for advertising and providing work must therefore be devised for women. Ideally, the scheme would be run by women and job opportunities would be circulated around homes. - After workers have registered their skills, they should be issued with worker cards that could al-so, as discussed below, be used to provide healthcare and other social assistance. Provide Licenses and Qualification Certificates to Informal Workers - The Government should recognize the positive role of micro-scale activities for Afghanistan’s economy. They should encourage these activities and increase their productivity by providing in-formal workers with licenses and certificates. Licenses will help reduce the amount of harassment directed at informal workers and will increase their professional standing so that employers can trust the work skills of individuals. - It is important, however, that any licensing scheme promotes rather than undermines the work-ing opportunities for informal workers. Street vendors, for example, should not be given licenses that limit their activities to side-streets away from the crowds and only allows them to work for limited periods of the week. Instead, vendors should be given a license that allows them to work in places where they are visible and able to conduct a good trade. Provide a Safe and Visible Location for Street Vendors to Sell their Goods - As mentioned in the previous recommendation, street vendors need to be able to sell their goods in safe and visible locations. The Government and municipalities should provide vendors with a specific location where there is a regular stream of people and easy access to shelter, toilets, food and water. Provide Free or Highly Subsidized Healthcare for Informal Workers - If, as suggested above, informal workers are registered and provided with cards, then they could use these cards as proof of their low income and present them at local hospitals. The hospitals should then provide free or heavily subsidized healthcare to informal workers. In this way, the Government could fulfill its obligations under Article 52 of the Constitution and adhere to the working principles set out in the BPHS. Consider Creative and Effective Methods of Providing Social Protection to Informal Workers - The provision of social protection, including insurance, pension schemes, disability benefits and maternity leave, is critically important for informal workers. Not only are the employment oppor-


tunities for informal workers insecure, but these workers are also likely to be exposed to serious occupational safety and health hazards and therefore urgently need social protection. - There are, of course some obstacles to providing social protection to informal workers: it is diffi-cult at present to document all the informal workers who exist in Afghanistan and they also do not pay taxes to cover the expense of the social protection. Creative methods therefore need to be considered that suit the needs of Afghanistan. One solution implemented by other countries, for example, involves taxing not the employers or employees but the revenue generated by a particu-lar occupation. This would only work where taxed products are involved but it is one way to raise funds for providing social protection. Other potential social protection models for informal work-ers that have been developed in countries such as India should be considered. Collect Data on Informal Workers - The informal economy constitutes 80-90 percent of Afghanistan’s economy. The Government should dedicate time and resources to understanding this significant portion of the workforce. This is a critical step in ensuring that adequate help and support is provided to Afghanistan’s in-formal workers. To the International Community: Provide Long-Term Micro-Credit that does not Require Collateral - Many job opportunities in the informal economy come from small-sized enterprises where indi-viduals attempt to establish a business selling goods. The workers who hope to start these enter-prises are in desperate need of money to invest in creating business opportunities. However, they do not have any assets and therefore cannot take loans that require collateral. They also need long-term loans so that they have sufficient time to make enough money to repay the debts. The workers called on the international community to work with the Government to develop loan schemes that are suited to the situation of informal workers. More work clearly needs to be un-dertaken on expanding and refining Afghanistan’s microfinance initiatives. Provide Training Programmes Suited to the Specific Needs of Informal Workers - There is a critical lack of training programmes for informal workers that are suited to their par-ticular circumstances and needs. For example, the international community, Government, NGOs and employers need to consider ways to train informal workers so that a small wage is provided to the workers who cannot afford to miss a day’s work. Also, home or community-based training courses need to be provided to women because of social and cultural pressures that keep them in the home. - Training schemes should ideally also involve basic literacy and general empowerment skills, in-cluding education about the workers’ legal rights and negotiation techniques. Introduce Health and Safety Programmes and Occupational Health Check-Ups - In addition to the legal protections that should be extended to informal workers, the international community should work with the Government to establish programmes to educate employers and informal workers about basic health and safety conditions at work. Free health check-ups should also be provided to workers who earn an income in particularly unhealthy conditions. Assist Government in Collecting Data on Informal Workers


Annex A:

Methodology and Respondent Profiles HRRAC was assisted by AREU in designing the field research, with the support of ACTED and ActionAid. The donor for the project was Oxfam Novib and technical in-field support was provided by ACTED, CHA, ACBAR, CCA and Shohada Organization. The main aim of the research was to gather basic information about Afghan informal workers and to document their perspectives of their social and economic situation. Another goal was to discover how informal economy workers hoped to improve their working conditions. The research project was designed between January and July 2009. Field research was conducted from August 1 to October 31, 2009 in five provinces: Faryab, Nangarhar, Kabul, Herat and Bamyan, in both rural and urban districts. Sixteen researchers (seven male and nine female) worked to collect data for the re-port. The security situation in Afghanistan played a significant role in the final selection of research loca-tions. Although HRRAC staff visited dangerous districts with ongoing fighting, including regions of Herat, Faryab and Nangarhar, certain provinces with particularly high levels of conflict were avoided. Although the field research was only conducted over a three-month period, Afghan HRRAC researchers often spent over twelve hours a day in the field and worked seven days a week. They utilized extensive local connections. A large amount of information was therefore collected over the three months, covering many groups of individuals in various districts. To conduct the research, three survey methods were used: questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions. In total, 1493 people were involved in the survey. Of these, 1327 answered the ques-tionnaire, 26 were interviewed in an in-depth manner and 140 were present in the focus-group discus-sions. The HRRAC researchers also submitted reports based on their observations and evaluations of the living and working conditions of informal workers in each province. The questionnaire has four sections covering personal and household information; basic household secu-rity; main work activity information; and specific conditions for particular forms of work. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-six individuals, including municipal and Governmental officials, the police, representatives of workers, cooperative officials, contractors and employers. These third-party interviews were conducted to gather information regarding how informal economy workers were viewed by Government officials and society at large. In addition to the questionnaires and in-depth interviews, HRRAC conducted twenty-six focus-group dis-cussions. Each group was composed of five to six workers from the same type of employment. The group discussions were gender-segregated and moderated by a HRRAC researcher who explained the purpose of the research and asked individuals about their working conditions, allowing them to focus as they wished on particular aspects of their working life, including a lack of training, job security and income security. After interviewees provided consent, the majority of interviews were taped so that the information was properly documented for future review. Photographs were taken of consenting interviewees so that the images could be used for future advocacy work. HRRAC made it clear at the beginning of every interview that the organization is a non-political group and separate from the Government. The names of interviewees have been withheld to protect the identity of all individuals.


Profile of Respondents Employment Status Category The research was limited to four types of informal econ-omy work: agricultural work, construction work, street vending and home-based work. These are all popular sources of livelihood for informal workers in Afghanis-tan.

Location HRRAC researchers visited five provinces, including a number of remote districts within these provinces. Our researchers visited communities in Qarabagh, Mirbacha-kot, Kalakan and Bagrami in Kabul; Behsod and Surkhroad in Nangarhar; Yakawlang, Dar-e-Fuladi and Shashpul in Bamyan (some of these points are at the very rural edge of the provincial capital, at least two hours from the city centre); Injil and Guzara in Herat; and Pah-toonkot and Shirintagab in Faryab. Other Basic Characteristics


Limitations The security situation in certain provinces limited HRRAC’s ability to collect information from these areas. HRRAC had initially planned to conduct interviews in Kandahar but ultimately assessed that it was too dangerous. Another limitation was collecting information from women workers. Male relatives were not always will-ing to allow the women to be interviewed. If interviews were conducted, the women were often reluctant to say anything controversial in case their husbands, brothers or fathers discovered what had been said. Generally, women were not willing to be taped or photographed.


Annex B:

Government Responses to HRRAC’s Advocacy on Informal Workers On December 9, 2009, HRRAC held a session in Kabul with Afghan MPs and representatives from the Min-istries of Justice, and Labor and Social Affairs to discuss the lack of legal protection for informal workers. This was the first in a planned series of advocacy meetings with Government officials. HRRAC hopes in this way to encourage dialogue between civil society and the Government and also ultimately to include em-ployers’ and workers’ organizations within discussions. The following officials attended the meeting:

Name CommissionMs. Safora Ailkhany Central Inspection and Law OversightMr. Mohammad Hashim Watanwal Central Inspection and Law OversightMs. Gharghasht Sulaimankhail Central Inspection and Law OversightMs. Shah Gul Rezaee Central Inspection and Law OversightMs. Saadat Fatahee Women, Civil Society and Human RightsMs. Fawzia Koofee Women, Civil Society and Human RightsDr. Nematullah Health, Sports, Youth, Labor & LaborersMs. Safia Siddiqi National Economy, Rural Development, Agriculture & Livestock and NGOsMr. Abdul Majid National Economy, Rural Development, Agriculture & Livestock and NGOsMs. Najla Dehqannezhaad Legislative Mr. Abdul Wasay Ministry of Labor & Social AffairsMr. Mohammad Hanif Ministry of JusticeOfficial Comments Mr. Abdul Wasay, Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs

• Informal workers face many problems but these cannot be covered by one law. • Complete revision of the Labor Code is impossible but it might be possible to add an ap-

pendix to the Labour Code that addresses informal workers. • The Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs (MoL&SA) already has a strategic work plan to

help with the registration and identification of workers. • As part of the National Development Plan, the MoL has given workers, including those in

the informal economy, licenses and IDs. • The Ministry has also been providing workers with a series of trainings along with

certificates so that they can use it as a license. • We plan other initiatives such as sending workers abroad for training.

Mr. Mohammad Hanif, Representative from the Ministry of Justice

• The special provisions regarding the informal workers that HRRAC is talking about should be mulled over by the MoL&SA and sent to the Ministerial Council/ Government for the approval of the President. In other words, this legal document does not need to be sent to the Parliament because it is not a separate piece of legislation.

• One of the main problems is implementation of the Labor Code or any other labor legisla-tion.

• The Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs should conduct an in-depth study of the Labour Code and see which provisions need to be revised and then send their recommendations to the Parliament.

Dr. Nematullah

• It is good to look at the Constitution but this includes general rather than specific rights and cannot really protect informal workers in the way they deserve.

• Article 48, for example, contains only empty words because no-one is really focused on ensuring that work is the right of everyone.

• Article 48 of the Constitution does not oblige the Government to any commitments towards informal workers. Moreover, Articles 52 and 53 have a general tone (all citizens) and do not address specific issues concerning informal workers.

• It is therefore essential that the Government provide a specific Labor Code that addresses the needs of informal workers.

• Everything that is mentioned in international conventions must be included in the legisla-tion for informal workers.


HRRAC hopes to continue these discussions to encourage a close analysis of the situation of informal workers. For now, HRRAC urges the Government to begin considering and implementing the recommen-dations presented in this report.

• The Labor Code provides a system for formal workers, not the workers that HRRAC were talking about – the informal workers. As we all know, specific supplement laws/appendixes (i.e. concerning informal workers) are sent to the Ministers’ Council, not the Parliament, for approval.

• A specific law/code for informal workers is needed

Safia Sediqi • As all the articles in the Labor Code are not clearly interpreted, the Labor Code is incomprehensive. For example, if a worker is injured, it is not clear who is responsible for covering the costs of the injury and the insurance. The current Labor Code only guarantees the rights of formal workers.

• Revisions should be made to the Labour Code and an appendix should be added to cover the needs of informal workers.

Abdul Majid MP • You have sought our attention for a matter of vital importance. • It is not possible to produce a new code just for informal workers because supplemental

laws, such as public health services, vocational education and private sector, which can cover their rights and needs do exist.

Fauzia Kofi MP • There is nothing in the conventions and recommendations of ILO that is against Islam or any religious laws. Many times when codes or laws come before Parliament, their main concern is whether they are against Islam but decent work standards are not against our religion.

• The Labour Code only covers a very small fraction of the country’s workers and it focuses principally on the needs of Government and NGO employees. For example, there is no clear definition of home-based works in the Code.

• The currently law does not address the health insurance of informal workers. • We should also make a comparative analysis of what is possible in practice compared

with what is already in the law. • We need further discussion to look at whether there should be an appendix to the cur-

rent Labour Code or whether a separate piece of legislation is required for informal workers.


Annex C:

Constitutional Provisions Guaranteeing Rights Relevant to Informal Workers Respect for Human Rights and Non-Discrimination

Government Commitment to Generate Employment

Right to Education and Train-ing

Right to Social Protection Right to Social Dialogue

Article 6: The state will create a prosperous and progressive society based on social justice, preservation of human dignity, protection of human rights … equality between all peoples.

Article 48: Work is the right of every Afghan. Working hours, paid holidays, employment and employee rights and related matters shall be regulated by the law. Choice of occu-pation and craft shall be free within the bounds of law.

Article 44: The state shall devise and implement effective programs to create and foster balanced education for women, improve education of nomads as well as eliminate illiteracy in the country.

Article 52: The state shall provide free preventative healthcare and treatment of diseases as well as medical facilities to all citizens in accordance with the provisions the law.

Article 34: Freedom of expression shall be inviolable.

Article 22: Any kind of discrimination and distinction between citizens of Afghanistan shall be forbidden. The citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law.

Article 10: The state shall encourage, protect as well as ensure the safety of capital investment and private enterprises in accordance with the provisions of the law and market economy. Article 13: The state shall design and implement effective programs for developing industries, expanding production as well as protecting activities of craftsmen to raise the standard of living of the people.

Article 46: Establishing and administering higher, general and specialized educational institutions shall be the duty of the state. The citizens of Afghanistan shall establish higher, general and specialized educational as well as literacy institutions with permis-sion of the state.

Article 53: The state shall adopt necessary measures to regulate medical services as well as financial aid to survivors of martyrs and missing persons, and for reintegration of the disabled and handicapped and their active participation in society, in accordance with provisions of the law. The state shall guarantee the rights of retirees, and shall render necessary aid to the elderly, women without caretaker, disabled and handicapped as well as poor orphans, in accordance with provisions of the law.

Article 35: To attain moral and material goals, the citizens of Afghanistan shall have the right to form associations in accordance with provisions of the law.

Article 49: Forced labor shall be forbidden. … Forced labor on children shall not be allowed.

Article 14: The state, within its financial means, shall design and implement effective programs to develop agriculture and animal husbandry, improve economic, social, and living conditions of farmers’ … livelihood.


Annex D:

Informal Workers’ Rights Under the Afghan Constitution and International Law

Informal Workers’ Rights Legal Instrument Ratified or Otherwise Applicable to Afghanistan that Promotes Decent Work Standards

Constitution of Afghanistan

ILO Conventions UDHR ICCPR ICESCR CEDAW CRC

1. Employment Provision The right to employment opportunities Arts. 10, 13 & 14 ILO Constitution Art. 11 Right to work Art. 48 ILO Constitution Art. 23 Art. 6 Art. 11

2. Fundamental Rights at Work Non-discrimination Art. 22 ILO Constitution C. 111 Art. 2 Art. 3 Art. 2 Art. 2 Art. 2 Elimination of forced labour Art. 49 C. 105 Art. 4 Art. 8 Equal and fair remuneration ILO Constitution C. 100 Art. 23 Art. 7 Art. 11 Art. 32 Education and training Arts. 44 & 46 ILO Constitution Art. 26 Arts. 6 & 13 Arts. 10 & 11 Art. 28

3. Social Protection Rights Healthy and safe working conditions ILO Constitution Art. 23 Art. 7 Art. 11 Art. 32 Adequate rest ILO Constitution Art. 24 Art. 7 Arts. 31 & 32 Provision for family needs ILO Constitution Arts. 16 & 25 Art. 23 Art. 10 Art. 11 Art. 18 Social security (compensation for lost income for sickness or in-

jury; care in old age) Art. 53 ILO Constitution Arts. 22 & 25 Art. 9 Art. 11 Art. 26

Healthcare Arts. 52 & 53 ILO Constitution Arts. 21 & 25 Art. 12 Art. 11 Art. 24 4. Social Dialogue

Right to representation/to join unions ILO Constitution Arts. 20 & 23 Art. 22 Art. 8 Art. 14 Art. 15 Right to freedom of expression Art. 34 Art. 19 Art. 19 Art. 13


Annex E:

Examples of Minimum Basic Rights Contained in the Labour Code that Should, According to the Constitution and International Law, be Extended to All Workers

Example protections currently provided only to formal workers under the Labour Code

Article 4: Prohibition of Compulsory Work Article 9: Non-discrimination on Recruitment Article 39: Breaks and Paid Leave “The employees are entitled to … breaks for performance of prayers and eating.”

Article 107: Provision of Health and Occupational Safety Conditions “The organization [employer] has the responsibility to ensure hygienic and safe working conditions, utilization of safety measures in order to prevent any accident related to work and production, and ensure hygiene in order to prevent occupational diseases.”

Article 108: Observing Safety Technique Methods in Construction Work“The person in charge of the organization is duty bound to provide for occupational health and safety conditions, to use the safety technique equipment in order to prevent accidents due to work and production, and to bring about health conditions as a means of protection against occupational diseases.” Article 112: Provision of Safety Equipment “In those types of work which are carried out under conditions harmful to health or where there is a special temperature or refrigeration or where there is the likelihood of contamination of employees, special clothes and footwear, masks, eye glasses, gloves and other protective devices as well as preventive and curative food materials will be put at the disposal of employees, free of charge, in accordance with set standards.”

Article 114: Provision of Medical Primary Services “In the event that untoward accidents and unexpected diseases occur at the worksite, the organization would be obliged, as the case may be, to 1) provide first aid services and conditions; 2) transfer the employee concerned to medical centres and provide for treatment conditions; 3) when the employees is cured, transfer him to his/her place of residence.”

Article 124: Additional Time for Breast-Feeding Mothers“In addition to their rest and food breaks, nursing mothers should be provided with not less than 30 minutes break every three hours in order to breast feed their babies in the children's room at the worksite. These breaks are included in the working time.”

Article 125: Not Rejecting Pregnant Women in the Workplace“It is forbidden to refuse to employ women or to reduce their wages because of pregnancy or nursing (feeding) their children.”

Article 135: Securing Social Protection “1) Social protection will be put into effect through financial participation of the organization and employees.2) The level of social protection is improved in equivalence with development and growth of national economy.”


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