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(from CCC Newsletter
No.11 July 1999)
A Code for Homeworkers: Australia's Fair Wear Campaign
"I work 14 hours a day, every day of the week. Last week I earned
$1.70 an hour,
that was with my husband and two children giving me a lot of help.”
-- Jenny, a homeworker in Australia
In Australia, it is estimated that there are over 300,000 home-based outworkers
in the textile, clothing, and footwear industries. That's 15 homeworkers
for every factory worker.
The Fair Wear Campaign, which is a coalition of churches, community organisations,
and
unions (the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA)),
has publicized the wages and working conditions of homeworkers making clothes
for well-known manufacturers and retailers. The campaign aims to assist
homeworkers in the clothing, textile, and footwear
industries to achieve their rights to a living wage, to organise, and to
work in a safe and
healthy environment.
In 1997 the Textile Fashion Industry of Australia and the TCFUA negotiated
a "Homeworker's Code of Practice" that requires retailers and
manufacturers to ensure that homeworkers sewing for their labels receive
minimum wages and the benefits and working conditions stipulated under Australia's
awards system. The union is mandated to monitor working conditions. This
Code of Practice is unique in addressing the specific problems of homeworkers
and in it's strong provisions requiring companies to disclose detailed information
on contractors, subcontractors, and the use of homework to the union. In
1998 the Fair Wear Campaign got going and focused on getting companies to
sign on to the code. That same year the TCFUA brought charges against Nike,
Adidas, and 11 other apparel companies for failing to meet legal requirements
for homeworkers sewing their products. Since then Adidas has agreed to settle
at the mediation stage and to sign the Code of Practice. So far Nike has
refused. The case against Nike is expected to be heard in Australian Federal
Court in August of September. Stay tuned!
For more information on this camapign, contact Fair Wear: fairwear@vic.uca.org.au
box to go with this:
In 1996 the International Labour Oranisation adopted the Convention on Home
Work. What does the Convention mean in practice and how can this document
be used to transform the daily lives of homeworkers? For more information
on the scope of the Convention and ideas for action, see
“Using the ILO Convention on Home Work,” a publication of 1999
HomeNet, available via the Fair Wear Campaign or HomeNet’s UK office.
E-mail them at homenet@gn.apc.org. |
