Poverty & Social Impact Analysis of Workers' Welfare Fund in Pakistan

1. Poverty & Social Impact Analysis of
Worker’s Welfare Fund in Pakistan
Dr. Vaqar Ahmed
Sustainable Development Policy Institute
21st December 2012
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2. Outline
• Literature Review
• Methodology & Data
• Program Evolution
• Discussion on Process Review
• Results
• Housing
• Education
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3. Evidence from Scientific Literature
Country Programme Number of Monthly Population Targeted
Title Beneficiary Disbursement
Household (in US $)
Argentina ProgramaFamilias 500,000 40 to 80 per child Household heads,
females and
children
Brazil BolsaFamilia 11,100,000 30 per household, Extremely poor and
7 per child poor
households
Chile Chile Solidario 256,000 14 per child Extremely poor
households
Ecuador Bono-de- 1,060,000 15 per household Households and
DesarrolloHumano children
Guatemala MiFamiliaProgresa 250,000 For education and Extremely poor
health: households
20 per household and children
Jamaica Program of 100,000 100 per household Poor households
Advancement
Mexico Oportunidades 5,000,000 Education: Extremely poor
12 to 23 per households
household
Peru Juntos 454,000 33 per household poor households
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and children

4. Methodology and Data
• Review of Existing Information
• Past studies not easy to find
• Aggregate evidence from existing surveys such as PSLM
• Qualitative
• Focus Group Discussions
• Key Informant Interviews
• Quantitative
• Household-level Survey
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5. Methodology and Data (cont..)
• Design of Focus Group Discussions
– Participation was provincially representative
– Representation was also ensured in a manner that most
income groups of industrial sector workers are available
– In terms of educational attainment we ensured maximum
possible representation from each levels i.e. primary,
secondary and tertiary
– In terms of sectoral distribution we had fair amount of
representation from several sub-industrial sectors e.g.
textile, leather, oil and gas, consumer goods etc.
– Majority participants have near 20 years of affiliation
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6. Methodology and Data (cont..)
• Design of Key Informant Interviews
• Specific enquiries regarding process review of:
• Housing Schemes
• Educational Grants
• Medical Grants
• Vocational Trainings
• Marriage Grants
• Death Grants
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7. Results & Discussion
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8. Evolution of WWF 1971 - 2002
1971 1995 1997 2000 2002
• Housing • Cycles, • Marriage • Death • Educational
• Sewing Grants Grants Grnats
Machines
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9. Beneficiaries Self-Assessment
• Given that inflation is increasing at a much faster pace
than incomes, WWF instruments are of substantial
relief in overall terms
• Significant improvement in claiming of rights
• 1990s processing time could go up to 12 months
• Long wait due to political approval
• 92 percent of educational grant beneficiaries (in FGD)
report having children now serving at incremental
positions
• Reported increase in household’s own literacy level
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10. Individual Vs. Community
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11. Community-level Self-Assessment
Asymmetric
Complain of Misuse of WWF
trickle down
Discrimination Facility
effect
Children with
Within one’s Misuse by
access to WWF
organization political parties
more privileged
Differentiation
Liaison with Allotments of between regular
WWF houses and contract
employees
Subletting Rights of retired
housing facility employees
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12. Case Study in Process Review
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13. Grievance Redressal Mechanism
Union
Factorty Provincial Federal
leader/
worker Government Government
caretaker
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14. Grievance Redressal Mechanism
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15. Grievance Redressal Mechanism
• Workers not aware of documentation on grievance
• Access to grievance channels
• Provincial office not easy to access
• Reporting related to grievances addressed weak and
not publically available
• Most frequent grievances
• Frequently asked questions
• Time delays 15

16. Instrument-wise Discussion
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17. Housing Facility
• Procedural issues
• Management of records
• Forecasting of demand
• Synchronization between planning and budgeting
• Preference for factories located in area (what
about growth in peri-urban areas)
• New construction
• Irregular due to funding shortages
• Repair & maintenance
• State of drainage may be a separate case study
• Contamination of drinking water 17

18. Total Residential Schemes (Numbers)
45000
39938
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000 13852
10000 8092
5000
0
Plots Developed Houses Flats
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Annual growth rate of labour force in the medium term: 3.5 percent annually

19. Housing Facility
• Manpower Issues
• Security Arrangements
• Management of common spaces
• Quantity Factor !
• Almost 60,000 industrial workers have benefited to date
from the WWF housing scheme. 114 housing schemes are
completed and some 26 schemes are under process of
completion.
• To much emphasis on brick and mortar and less on
improving governance of existing assets
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20. Educational Facility
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21. Educational Facility
• Workers’ children had access to some of the very
prestigious universities in Pakistan
– Quaid-I-Azam University Islamabad,
– University of Engineering and Technology Taxila,
– National University of Science and Technology,
– Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Science and Technology,
– Fatima Jinnah Women University, Foundation University,
– Riphah International University,
– Islamic International University and
– COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Lahore
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22. Educational Grants (Numbers)
385 2971
21711
56958
15213
Punjab Sindh KPK Balochistan Islamabad 22

23. Trends in Educational Grant (Numbers)
10000
9000
8000
7000 Punjab
6000
5000 Sindh
4000
3000
2000 KPK
1000
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
A case for building capacity post-devolution/Disparities in performance
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across provinces

24. Improvements in Educational Grants
• Started with tuition fee
• Now tuition fee + monthly stipends
• Access to any HEC recognized institute (public or
private)
• However…noted delays in fee disbursement
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25. Requisite Documentation for Educational Grants
• Computerized National Identity Card attested by the employer.
• Copy of factory registration certificate under the Factories Act 1934, Mines Act
1923, and the Shops and Establishment Ordinance 1969.
• Copy of Factory Card duly attested by the employer.
• Worker job description duly attested by the employer.
• Social Security card (R-5) or EOBI card duly attested by the employer.
• Copy of Appointment letter duly attested by the employer or a certificate of service
in original bearing complete contents of employment.
• Copy of student card attested by the head / authorized officer of the educational
institution.
• CNIC/B Form of the student issued by NADRA and attested by the employer
• Certificate of enrolment issued by the head of the educational Institution.
• A copy of notification regarding registration or affiliation of the institute concerned
with government, directorate, HEC, etc.
• An affidavit by the student on a stamp paper of Rs.20, duly attested by the Oath
Commissioner
• Original payment vouchers, or copies thereof duly attested by the head of
educational Institute / authorized officer regarding educational expenses /boarding 25
charges/mess charges or other expenditure.

26. Policy Recommendations
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27. Policy Recommendations
• Streamlining operations in line with Results Based
Management
• Key Performance Measures
• Efficiency Indicators
• Alignment with other social protection programs
• Synergies may involve linkages with BISP, Zero-Hunger
Program and provincial cash transfers
• Biometric systems for evasion checks
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28. Policy Recommendations
• E-governance
• Case of NADRA/BISP, Emergency Relief Cell
• Reduction in red-tape through unique identification
• Demand-side forecasting
• Labour statistics
• Research Wing at Islamabad Office
• Grievance Redressal Mechanism
• Learning from Punjab Government  combating Dunge
• Role of technology  NDMA using sms messaging service
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29. Policy Recommendations
• Enabling Feedback for Improvement
• Reverse channels to counter check the complaints
• Dissemination of grievances addressed
• Learning from experiences
• Capacity building of dedicated staff
• BISP training on Latin American case studies
• Need for greater coordination between provinces and with
center  intranet portal
• Funds Management
• Risk Assessment 29

30. Thank You
www.sdpi.org, www.sdpi.tv
vaqar@sdpi.org 30