TIME- BANKING
Time Banking (TB) is a method of valuing time as an opportunity cost of unpaid activities. For example, the time a woman spends cooking could instead be used for learning computer skills or job hunting. TB is a system where the hours spent on unpaid labor are valued in terms of time credits, which women can accumulate and use for various purposes beyond household work. It’s a movement that encourages people to utilize their time and skills to help each other.
Main Tenets of Time Banking:
-
No Monetary Cost: The currency in TB is Time Credits, where one time credit equals one hour of work. Traditional currency is never exchanged or required.
-
Equal Value for Everyone's Time: Regardless of a person's skill, education level, or the type of work provided, one hour of work equals one time credit. TB is built on equality.
-
Community Focus: The system relies on members providing services to one another in exchange for time credits. This gives members more time that they can invest in education, skills training, political participation, or leisure. TB helps build stronger communities based on reciprocity and respect.
​
Benefits of Time Banking for Women and Communities
Time Banking (TB) helped women, their families, and communities by valuing unpaid labor in terms of time credits. These credits can be exchanged for services, skills training, and other community activities. The main principles of TB include no monetary cost, equal value for everyone’s time, and a strong focus on community. This system creates networks where people help each other, using their time and skills to address community challenges and build stronger connections.
MIGRANT WORKERS SURVEY
A project to map the problems and challenges faced by Migrant workers and further to recommend a sustainable policy framework was taken up by SFURTI in association with SWANITI, a Delhi based organisation in the year 2022-23.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need to overhaul social protection for vulnerable groups, especially informal sector laborers and migrant workers. Despite various schemes of the central and state governments, many remain uncovered. Maharashtra, with 62.5% of its workers in the informal sector, plays a crucial role in shaping labor policies and ensuring effective programs for migrant laborers.
Our aim was to recommend to the Government of Maharashtra pointers to create an inclusive, sustainable policy framework and improving public service delivery to cover maximum number of vulnerable and marginalized populations. Our main objectives were to:
1. Identify gaps in existing measures and strengthen policy enforcement.
2. Collaborate with experts and organizations to design inclusive policies.
3. Develop actionable recommendations and an implementation plan.
4. Support the government in pilot-testing interventions, building capacity, tracking progress, and evaluating efficacy.
We engaged with stakeholders from the government, academia, industry, and civil society to create a sustainable policy framework and collaboratively resolve pressing labor issues.