Informal Workers-Neglected & Victimized:

“We will create a stateless and classless society and there will be job opportunities for all. Every Afghan will have equal rights and opportunities. Religion is used as a means by the ‘high class’ portion of a society to deprive the poor of their basic rights and justify their wrongdoings to the poor.” Said the Soviet Union to justify their intrusion and invasion of Afghanistan.

Almost all the Afghans were greatly angered by their religious views, which resulted in not only their defeat but also the collapse of their regime and union. However, the creation of a classless state with job opportunities along with other benefits for everyone were amongst the attractions that appealed to a big mass of the Afghan society thanks to King Zaher Shah’s negligence of the poor and limiting his kingdom boundaries to Karez-e-Meer, Paghman and Sorobee and the establishment of a ‘Sardar’ class.

Even today some Afghans still approve of socialistic regime simply because of job opportunities and other benefits like the government-owned cooperatives, establishment of the coupon system for the purchase of the basic commodities and the fact that the by-then government ministers and other high-ranking officials couldn’t own and have one tenth of what they do today. 

While fighting the Soviet regime with sickles, axes, spades and other basic tools that weren’t even considered weapons, little did Afghans realize that when an elected government will be established, the same Sardar – victimized poor people will remain victims of the capitalism, what is touted to be a great economic and social model for any country. After the establishment of the Interim government, the average Afghans had set their hopes high thinking the government would at least create jobs considering the fact that billions of dollars were promised and millions were pouring in the country. However after seeing the unemployment rate rise to 40% (ANDS) and 42% citizens living under $14 (ANDS) a month, the decline in the hope graphs can be easily inferred.

According to a reference made by a HRRAC study to a World Bank study, 80 – 90% of the economy is formed informally or by informal workers. In other words, home-based subcontracted workers (quilt sewers, rug weavers, embroiderers etc) and self-employed workers (street vendors, construction workers, small-scare farmers and entrepreneurs) are the producers of the 80 – 90% of the Afghan economy. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), these workers are neither recognized nor protected under legal and regulatory frameworks.

Mind you, the street vendors, the construction workers, the quilt sewers, rug weaves et al that you run into weren’t born informal workers. They are the real Mujahideen, widows, students, former military and civil employees who are laid off for various reasons and survivors of the more than 3 decades of the different wars in the country. Wholly speaking, they are the same people who were once victimized by the Sardars of King Zahir Shah and now they are victimized by today’s capitalistic regime. The reason for not mentioning Sardar Dawood Khan’s regime is that it was too short and the other regimes never had any legitimacy in the eyes of the Afghans.

These informal workers are deprived of their basic rights, such as (long-term) employment, fixed wages (there is no minimum wage) and hours, health insurance, maternity leaves, paid leaves and any other benefits that both the constitution and the labor code of a country guarantee. On top of that, most of them give up education as working informally leaves them with little time to concentrate on other matters. Mind you, they are not happy with what they are doing, but have to settle with it due to familial responsibilities, low incomes, having no capital to establish a big business, lack of English language proficiency and computer skills and a host of other issues.

Their working conditions are hazardous and seriously harm their health conditions. For example, a woman who sews quilts usually does so under low light that terribly affects her eyesight, spinal column, backbone and hand joints. A construction worker does not have the required and standard gloves, boots and hard caps, which makes him vulnerable to injuries and death at the construction site. A rug weaver’s lungs are usually drastically affected by the dust that blows in her nostrils and mouth while weaving drugs. The examples are plenty. In one unique case, an informal worker had to start working after a week her baby was delivered. One has to have a heart of steel to be able to sit and listen to the informal workers’ health problems.

“Today, Pakistani construction workers come to our country and work.” Said President Karzai in one of his speeches. Mr. President, thank you for taking pride in the employment of the Pakistanis by Afghans. However, has anyone brought to your attention that an Afghan construction worker waits for work in Kotay Sangee and goes home without finding a job for days? Some construction workers do complain that Pakistani construction workers steal their work. Although Afghan construction workers may deny it, Pakistani workers are more skilled and professional and, hence, get more work than Afghans do. However, isn’t it the Afghan government’s responsibility to build the capacities of the Afghan construction workers and Afghan informal workers, in general?

In a recent research conducted by Human Rights Research & Advocacy Consortium (HRRAC), a landowner revealed that if, after leasing his piece of land to a farmer, the crops are destroyed by natural or any other diseases, the farmer will be responsible for the damage. Isn’t this worse than servitude? Where is the Ministry of Labor when contracts with such clauses are signed? Mind you, this is common practice.

A great chunk of the informal workers are street vendors. They have a tough time finding spots for their carts or places to stand. They work under the mercy of the police or traffic police officers. Some of these officers are “kind” and let them stay at one place after the vendors bribe them with a little money or a sale item from their carts. Others simply drive them away from one corner to another and slash their carts’ tires. The funniest part is that the very spot forbidden for the street vendors at a given day becomes their so-called market the following day.

The informal workers’ standard of living is piteous. Most of them have to survive with one meal per day, live in tents or under an enclosure barely fenced by four walls and a roof that we can’t call a house, some of them have beggars in their household and …

In conclusion, informal workers are the majority that is almost completely overlooked although they are very much visible around us. Asking for support from President Karzai’s government is talking to deaf ears. Usually President Karzai prioritizes matters that embarrass him and his administration internationally like the Shia Family Law, corruption etc or the ones that could be security threats. So, we will explain it to him how neglecting the informal workers could become a great security threat. Right now, Talibanization, suicide attacks, armed robbery, kidnapping etc are amongst the key problems the government is facing. Unlike the job market for informal workers that isn’t so welcoming, the Taliban and other criminals welcome new recruits even as you are reading this paper. Mr. President, if the government is not providing job opportunities and the Taliban are offering a few dollars with a rocket launcher to shoot at an international force or ANA and ANP vehicle, how long will it take for an informal worker to ignore that option and wait for legit work? Similar inferences about suicide attackers, armed robbers and so on could be made. Putting oneself in their shoes will help a great deal. Presenting this innocent majority of the society to the Taliban and other unwanted figures is no different than giving away the lifetime opportunity of establishing a long-term security from 2001 – 2005. Yesterday the government overlooked and underestimated the Taliban. Today the government is begging them to reconcile, but it is yet to happen. Today the informal workers are neglected. Is the government looking for an opportunity to have to beg them to reconcile tomorrow, too?

By: Zaid E