what is HomeNet?

HomeNet is representing, organising and supporting homebased workers around the world to improve their working and living conditions.

HomeNet is an international solidarity network, for homebased workers and their organizations in Asia, Africa, North and South Americas, Australia and Europe.

Around the world women and their families work to produce the clothes, shoes, food, agricultural and forest, electronic components, manufacturing, assembling and packing of goods that are sold in our shops and markets. Homeworkers provide a range of clerical and information services and produce a range of traditional and contempory art and craft works.

There is an estimated 300 million homebased workers in the global workforce. Most are part of the growing informal sector, who have no recognition as workers and no legal rights. Homeworkers in many instances have no access to a living wage, safe working conditions or basic living standards.

Homeworkers can be found in every country, they are mostly women and usually invisible. They are not recognised as part of the workforce or as making an important contribution to the economy. Organizations of homebased workers are setting up to win rights and recognition for these workers.

The first of these organisations was the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), of Ahmedabad, in India, a trade union for women workers in the informal sector, including homebased workers. Other groups have been set up in South East Asia; South Africa; North America and Europe. In some cases, new women's trade unions have been set up; in others, non-government organisations have formed networks or cooperatives for homebased workers.

There have been growing contacts between different groups in both North and South. In 1994, a meeting was held to set up an international network—HomeNet—to extend these contacts and to coordinate international lobbying work, focusing in 1995 and 1996 on the International Labour Organisation.

The aims of the network are:

To build an international network for homebased workers and their organisations as well as non-government organisations, cooperatives, trade unions, researchers, women's groups etc. including all those directly or indirectly undertaking work in this field.
To coordinate an international campaign for the improvement of homebased workers' conditions of work at national, regional and international levels.
To collect and disseminate information on homebased work to members of the network and other interested organisations.
To assist in obtaining technical assistance for, and act as a channel of the same to homebased workers.

The network publishes a regular newsletter as part of the process of exchanging and disseminating information on homebased workers and their organisations. We welcome comments, criticisms and contributions to the newsletter.

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