homeworkers are largely ignored by the trade unions. BOB WOOD spoke to PEGGY ( ALEXANDER of the Leeds-based National Group on Homeworking about the role of unions in organising homeworkers and the potential impact of minimum wage legislation. THE NATIONAL Group on Homeworking (NGH) is a membership organisation open to any individual or orsanissuon wat wants to do something about homeworkers' rights.
We're supported by local autonues, church groups. trade unions, advice agencies and individuals. The GMB is the only union which is a full member at the moment, but we are working closely with MSF and the TGWU.
Trade unions are one of our priorities. We work to ensure that the needs of homework. ers are met as far as possible because most of the time they are was colon ers in unis country who are members of trade unions is negligible and I think that there are a lot of reasons for unions haven't offered bomeworks anything.
For example, the GMB has recently produced a new health and safety pack that says nothing about health and safety outside the workplace. We are doing a lot of work with trade unions to improve this.
At the moment we are working with the Scottish TUC to produce a code of practice basically for trade un. ion negotiators, so that we can Say think aoout the homeworkers as well."
Many trade unionists are Dership costs is to sack people in the workplace and to put the work out to homeworkers. Poor rates of pay and conditions for newords on unustine If you are doing collective bargaining, you try and get the best for everyone in the workFEATURE place, even if they may not all be union members. When an hourly rate is being negotialco. *clink its important to think about piece rates for people working at home.
We believe in the right to work at home and that it should be a choice. Obviously it isn't now, but it should be. What we've got to work tois not affecting what's going We work with the MSF looking at teleworkers. It's a totally different emphasis from the Scottish TUC, who Low pay for homeworkers can undermine conditions in unionised workplaces ditional" forms of homeworking: sewing: packing and so We want the unions to see homeworking as a trade union issue. if you are concerned with employment rights for all, how can you miss out this group of workers? We reason that there are over a million of them. They are mainly women and a lot of them are black.
It's important that the trade union movement does something. In the long term. it could see an increase in memOne problem is the question of membership subscriptons, because it people are working insularly and for a unions have successfully organised homeworkers" to pay dues when they haven't got the work In other parts of the world, Wage.
there are bonerecling tere are nomeworking groups in many European countrics, Apart from Ciermany (where it's the church) in all the European countries in't the trade unions which do the organising. important. The socialist trade union federation in Holland with women, particularly has set up a Women's Union Asian women, who a year ago would not have gone further which is open to al women whether they work or not. It than the end of the stfeet, but provides training and child- now they're going to meetings in the centre of Leeds. last sure that the other unions are year a homeworker who had looking at policies for women. never done anything like it beThey have taken up the issue fore coming involved in the of homeworking in a big way. homeworkers' movement.
In India, the SEWA (Self- stood up and spoke at a EuroEmployed Women's federa- гtion) are an inspiration to evervone around the world What they've done with less resources than we've got is amsang. socy are mercas ingly important in the state of Gujarat where they are based. A great deal has been done to organise credit unions and awful lot going on in other countries but not in this coun try. If unions want to organised homeworkers they've got ¡ and Carl (Birmingham) to re-think how they work.
In Bromley in Leeds I Your bank .. there's a local homeworking unit which has worked with a I Bank address group of women setting up a Your name .
They realised Your bank sorting code they were all losine out by I Your account number. getting ripped off by the 'middiemen': people giving out Your address the work and taking a percentI Post code..
They were all on different rates and so on. There is also a Homeworkers Association developing in West Yorkshire. Some of the homeworkI .....day of ..... ers want to organise social occasions - they never get out manded by me in writing. of the house. you know!
Fi Signed.
Oreanisation builds confi| Date..
work at home they are told they are self-employed. But cases taken to Industrial Tribunals show that they Asian women, who a year ago would not have gone further than the end of the street, are now going to meetings in the centre of Leeds. are not really self-employed. The problem is that if you complain, you lose the work Being an employee gives you certain rights which are denied to homeworkers - matemity leave and holiday pay. for example. It's a bit like the situation in the building industry with so much casual of homeworkers in the debate about the minimum wage. If minimum wage legistation homeworkers won't be cluded. Employers will disa far better chance than in the National Lottery! i This month's lucky winners are Steve Hall (Manchester), Stuart (Birmingham). I Please pay to the Co-operative Bank PLC, 78-80 Cornhill, London EC3V 3NJ, sort I code 08-02-28, for the account of Socialist Outlook Supporters' Fund, account numI ber 70186297, the sum of £......... in figures (€...... in words) on the self-employed is a good way wage. Homeworkers won l be in a position to challenge that.
It won't just be homeworkers and building workers aft fected. The whole workforce will be under threat. So it's vital that any minimum wage legislation refers to workers. not emplovers, It's interesting that homeworkers were covered by the old Wages Council legislation because that referred to workers.
we found in a survoy that some of the best paid home. workers (compared to other neworke - they werc still paid poverty wages) were Asian women doing sewing work, because they were working in an area covered by the old Wages Councils. The rates were below the old Wages Council minimum but were significantly higher than The other issue that any minimum wage legislation would need to look at is the question or piecework and Someone sitting in a factory in decent conditions is going to produce at a much faster rate than a homeworker with caten arond Most homeworkers face childcare problems. They children have gone to bed. The need for childcare is as great for prople who work in the home as it is for those who work outside the home.
One of the main problems homeworkers have is finding It would certainly help if jobs were advertised with Job aren't at the moment) and if there was some kind of regulation scheme. Unfortunately this is the go oftina Croup.
National Group on Homeworking Office 26. 30-38 Dock Street. Leeds. LS10 ILF. tel: (0113) 245 4273. ...(month) 1995 and thereafter every month until counterto PO Box 1109, London, 10 N200
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 88, August 1995 Page 15
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