Women urge governments to remember outworkers.

Fanning the fire for homeworkers' rights

The plight of homeworkers (outworkers) was one of the many messages expressed during the International Women's Day march from Town Hall to Hyde Park on March 8.

International Women's Day has been variously seen as a time for asserting women's political and social rights, for reviewing the progress that women have made, or as a day for celebration, with 2008 marking 80 years since the first International Women's Day was celebrated in Australia.

Advocate for homeworkers (outworkers), FairWear, has reported homeworkers are mostly women who make clothes in their houses situated in the suburbs of Australia for as little as $3 to $4 an hour. They often work up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

Homeworkers make clothes for our major retailers, designers and even suppliers of school uniforms. They are some of the lowest paid and most exploited Australian workers.

With state and federal awards insufficient to protect workers and prevent exploitation in the Australian garment industry, a code of practice was developed by the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union, together with representatives of the retail and manufacturing industries.

The code is a self regulatory system that monitors the production chain from retailer to outworker, to ensure legal wages and conditions. Some outworkers have been paid their award entitlements for the first time as a result of companies becoming accredited to the code of practice.

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April 2008 contents