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An illustration poster outlining the different types of work done by home-based workers aimed at enhancing workers’ stories and understanding the wide variety of activities in the sector.
Toolkit designed in response to a demand of HNSA’s membership. It aims to offer an understanding on global and domestic garment supply chains, the issues aced withing these supply chains and highlights existing legal instruments. The tool kit is meant for trainers and organisers.
by Dave Spooner and Celia Mather
by Marlese von Broembsen and Sarah Orleans Reed This 2020 guide explains the OECD Guidelines for Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) and MNEs’ responsibilities to workers in their supply chains. It contains provisions that relate specifically to homeworkers. This guidebook explains how the complaints process works, with examples, and suggests how homeworkers’ organizations might use the OECD Guidance as part of their advocacy strategies to secure decent work for homeworkers.
A guidelines for building membership-based organizations. Success stories from around the world highlight the importance of mobilizing workers. (Also available in Spanish).
Six booklets (also available in French, Portuguese and Spanish)
This series of training manuals aims to improve the financial independence and capacities of home-based women producers, particularly those involved in fair trade activities. It developed out of the trainings done in Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda. The series goes through the steps of leadership development; cooperative and independent financing; and the broadening business skills such as product consistency and pricing:
A facilitator’s guide for home-based workers in Africa. These training materials were produced in collaboration with the Kenyan and Ugandan working groups.
To support trainings with local groups, facilitators can use these illustrated posters have been developed to go with the Guide.
With ‘Strength in Solidarity’ as its guiding principle, HomeNet South Asia pursues an agenda of empowerment for women, home-based workers across South Asia. It ensures that this agenda is responsive, democratic, and representative. These are the key areas it pursues initiatives and programmes in:
In 2009, Bulgaria ratified the ILO Home Work Convention (C177) and Recommendation (R184) – and amended its Labour Code. However, it has not enforced the legislation and according to the trade union, UNITY (TUSIW “Edinstvo”), the government argues that the legislation does not apply to homeworkers because they do not have contracts.
In 2014, WIEGO assisted UNITY in writing a letter to the ILO, setting out its views. This letter is mentioned in the official report of the Committee of Experts, and in 2014, the Committee asked the Government of Bulgaria to respond to Unity’s allegations. The Bulgarian government was obliged to submit its next report on 1 September 2018.
by Marlese von Broembsen, August 2019 This paper interrogates the potential of contemporary international law instruments to realize decent work for homeworkers. It grounds the discussion with reference to data on homeworkers in Bulgaria.
ILO report analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Globally, 260 million women and men are employed in home-based work, including 35 million in developed countries.
In recent years, home-based work has grown in Pakistan. This growth is due to an increase in the number of women doing home-based work, while the number of men in home-based work has declined.
There are several million home-based workers in Bangladesh, who represent 5 percent of non-agricultural employment and 12 percent of agricultural employment.
Between 2011-12 and 2017-18, the number of home-based workers decreased significantly. The drop was greater than the drop in India’s total employment and was largely due to the significant decrease in the employment of women in home-based agricultural work.
India’s growth story is a paradox. While India has seen impressive growth in its Gross Domestic Product and per capita income, these gains have not been evenly distributed.
The Second Draft Code on Social Security (2018) Vs The Third Draft Code on Social Security (2019) – A Comparison From the Perspective of Unorganised Sector Workers.
Home-based workers produce goods or services for the market from within or around their own homes. In developed, developing and under-developed economies, home-based workers produce a wide range of goods and services. This study was undertaken in collaboration with the Harvard South Asia Institute (SAI) and the Tata Trusts on ‘Livelihood Creation in India’.
Equipo de Trabajo Fundación SOL, Marzo 2017
Ugandan Home-Based Workers displaying traditional dance and attire.
Messages of solidarity from HBWs from Vietnam, Philippines, IndonesiaCambodia, Laos and Thailand.
HomeNet South Asia takes us on a journey through the history of the HBWs movement.
The fast fashion mantra rules the global garment industry – spurning supply chains that crisscross the globe. Homeworkers sit at the bottom of these supply chains, taking up a range of jobs that contribute significantly to the end product. However, they remain invisible and command little bargaining power.
There are over 260 million home-based workers around the world and over 50 million of these reside in South Asia. In a fast-paced, globalized world, home-based workers – a majority of them women – have become integral to global and local economies. Yet, they remain invisible and unrecognized.
