Experts at workshop in Cept varsity call for holistic approach to uplift of urban poor.
With increasing commercial development in the western part of Ahmedabad, Savitaben, who works for the construction arm of Self Employed Women's Association (Sewa) in Ahmedabad, gets numerous calls stating requirement of women labourers in that area.
However, workers- most of whom live in eastern Ahmedabad- refuse to take up the work as they need to commute a lot, spending more money on transport than they earn.
l Urban poor living in kaccha houses on Sabarmati riverbed, also a site for the ambitious Sabarmati Riverfront project have been made to shift to the outskirts of Ahmedabad, causing loss of employment opportunities for them on the riverbed.
These were some of the examples presented at a day-long workshop on 'Decent Work and Social Security' at Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (Cept) University on Tuesday. Awards to Ahmedabad for its services to the urban poor should have impressed the participants of the workshop. On the contrary, experts who had gathered there seemed disappointed by the unbalanced growth of the city, which neglects employment and shelter requirements of the poor.
The workshop, organised by Centre for Urban Equity, Sewa and National Alliance on Social Security (Nass), was attended by Sher Verick from International Labour Office (ILO), Prof Darshini Mahadevia, Prof CN Ray, Prof R Parthasathy from Cept, Manali Shah from Sewa and Ashrafi A Mehsania.
Explaining the concept of 'decent work', Verick said that this concept was launched by ILO a decade ago. It did not mean just giving a job but also providing dignity, peace in community and society and democracy to people.
"There are four dimensions of a decent job: creating jobs; guaranteeing rights of work; extending social security and inclusion for promoting social equity, housing and health security; and promoting social dialogue to increase productivity," he said.
Verick pointed out that rapid urbanization, economic growth and structural change are not without challenges associated with them, which include providing decent jobs, environmental integration and social security. He also pointed out that without security of shelter there is no guarantee of jobs.
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