Caring for Those Who Care

Somewhere, someone is succeeding, doing well, or moving to the next stage of life. Behind that progress, someone else may be taking care of essential daily needs. Parents may have spent years caring for that person, supporting their education and helping them through difficulties. Teachers have guided their learning. Hospital workers have cared for them during illness. Family members, friends, and many others have offered time and support along the way. Much of this care happens quietly, yet it helps people grow, recover and move forward. A mother wakes during the night to feed her baby. A father comforts a restless child and gets the children ready for school before leaving for work. A son or daughter takes an ageing parent to hospital and waits for hours. A domestic worker prepares meals, cleans the house and looks after children before returning to their own family. These responsibilities require time, patience, and physical effort. Yet, when we describe someone as “not working,” we often overlook the care they provide every day.
The International Day of Care and Support, observed on 29 October, brings attention to this work and the people who depend on it. According to ILO, the global care workforce includes 249 million women and 132 million men. By 2030, the number of people needing care is expected to reach 2.3 billion, including an additional 100 million older persons and 100 million children aged 6 to 14. That is why this day calls for stronger care and support systems and greater recognition of those who provide care, whether paid or unpaid.
Care work consists of two activities: direct, relational, or personal care activities, such as nursing an ill partner; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning. Unpaid care work is care work provided without a salary by unpaid carers. Unpaid care is also work and is a crucial dimension of work. Paid care work is performed for money or profit by care workers. There is a wide range of personal service workers, such as nurses, teachers, and personal care workers. Domestic workers, who provide both direct and indirect care in households, are also part of the care workforce. The ILO recognises both as part of the care economy. The care economy includes paid and unpaid work that helps people meet their daily needs, stay healthy and live with dignity. It covers care provided at home, in schools, hospitals and communities by teachers, health workers, domestic workers, family members and friends. This care supports people of all ages, including persons with disabilities, and benefits both individuals and society.
The value of care becomes clear when it is unavailable. A parent may have to leave work because affordable childcare is unavailable. A person recovering from surgery may struggle to manage at home. An older person may miss medical appointments because no one can accompany them. Behind each situation lies a need that affects the whole household. Someone must provide the care, pay for it, or manage without it. Women carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work worldwide. Women perform 76.2 percent of all unpaid care work, spending 3.2 times as much time on it as men. This unequal responsibility can restrict their education, employment, income, and rest. Sustainable Development Goal 5 addresses the issue directly. Target 5.4 calls for recognition of unpaid care through public services, infrastructure, social protection, and shared responsibility within families.
Paid caregivers need protection as well. Domestic workers can carry substantial responsibility inside private homes, where employment conditions may be difficult to monitor. The ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), provides an international standard for decent domestic employment. Article 10 addresses working hours, overtime, rest and paid annual leave. It requires weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours. Article 9 protects workers’ possession of their identity documents and their freedom to leave the household during rest periods. These are provisions of the Convention; their domestic enforceability depends on the applicable legal framework.
Protection should also reach those working in childcare, nursing, education and other care services. Sustainable Development Goal 8 connects decent work with fair remuneration, labour rights and safe workplaces. Its targets include equal pay for work of equal value, the elimination of forced labour and child labour, and protection for workers in insecure employment. Care services cannot remain dependable if the people delivering them face unsafe conditions or cannot earn a reasonable living.
In Pakistan, stronger care and support systems require investment in services and legal protection for those who provide care. Affordable childcare near workplaces, community support for older persons, accessible services for persons with disabilities and assistance for family caregivers could help meet everyday needs. Reliable water, transport and nearby health facilities could ease the burden on households. Employers can also help through suitable leave and working hours that recognise family responsibilities. These measures need laws and institutional support that protect care workers’ rights and provide access to social protection.

In Pakistan, the Punjab Domestic Workers Act, 2019, and the Islamabad Capital Territory Domestic Workers Act, 2022, provide legal frameworks to regulate domestic employment and protect workers’ rights. The broader social security framework includes the Provincial Employees’ Social Security Ordinance, 1965, which provides benefits for covered employees and their dependants in cases such as sickness, maternity, employment injury or death. Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa repealed the Ordinance within their respective provinces through the Sindh Employees’ Social Security Act, 2016, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Employees Social Security Act, 2021. These protections depend on the coverage and eligibility requirements of each law. For care workers, their practical value lies in accessible benefits, clear information about rights, responsible employers, and effective remedies when those rights are denied.
Caregiving can involve affection, skill and deep personal commitment. It can also involve fatigue, financial pressure and isolation. A caregiver needs someone to share the responsibility, time away from demanding duties and access to help when necessary. The International Day of Care and Support gives these needs a place in public discussion. Its value will be seen in the conditions of daily life: a worker receiving wages on time, a parent able to remain in employment, a caregiver getting enough rest, and a person receiving support having a say in how they live.