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What We Do / Campaigns
HWW calls on UK Retailer, Primark, to Recognise Homeworkers’ Rights
Homeworkers Worldwide is calling on Primark, a major UK clothes retailer, to recognise that homeworkers are an important part of the workforce producing garments for the world market and to ensure that homeworkers in their supply chains are entitled to the same minimum rights as other workers.
Primark Leaflet
Tell Primark what you think and help us put pressure on them to improve conditions.
4.9 MB Word document
Press Release - HWW calls on UK retailer Primark to recognise HomeWorkers' Rights
27.5 KB Word document
Campaigning for the rights of Homeworkers
Campaigning, lobbying and advocacy work are important for improving conditions for homebased workers. While other workers may have economic power and can use this to negotiate with employers for improvements, homebased work, particularly dependent homework, is nearly always precarious.
Homebased workers in many different countries have started organising. Through setting up their own democratic, independent organisations they have a collective voice and can fight for their demands. However, since their work is often irregular, it is important for them to identify others who can support them.
Trade union alliances
Dependent workers - homeworkers - have made alliances with trade unions organising formal workers in factories and with consumer groups. For example, the Textile, Clothing, and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) has led a public campaign for improving conditions for garment workers. In Europe, groups like Clean Clothes Campaign and Labour Behind The Label are also campaigning for better conditions for all workers in the fashion industry.
Advocacy and lobbying
Other advocacy and lobbying work has been done locally and nationally, sometimes focusing on the demands of own-account workers for better provision of credit, for social security or for support for production and marketing of craft products.
In the nineties, the key demand internationally was for the International Labour Organisation to adopt the Convention on Home Work - finally achieved in 1996.
Homebased workers' key demands are for:
- regular work and a living wage
- recognition for homebased workers as workers and for their rights
- recognition of their right to organise and of their organisation;
- basic social protection, particularly for health, maternity and old age.
- for rights for all kinds of informal workers, particularly homeworkers, in global production chains.