Homeworker

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Homeworkers or home workers are defined by the International Labour Organization as people working from their homes or from other premises of their choosing other than the workplace, for remuneration, which results of a product or service specified by the employer. There are an estimated 300 million homeworkers in the world, though because these workers generally function in the informal economy, and are seldom registered and often not contracted, exact numbers are difficult to come by. Recently, the phenomenon of homework has grown with increased communication technology, as well as changes in supply chains, particularly the development of Just In Time inventory systems.

Homeworkers differ from entrepreneurs, or self-employed, or family business, in that they are hired by companies for specific activities or services to be done from their homes. Homeworkers do not own or operate the business they work for. Though there is a significant body of highly skilled homeworkers, particularly in information technology, most homeworkers are considered low skilled labour. Recently, working conditions have worsened for homeworkers, and they are becoming a point of concern for international development organizations and non-governmental organizations.

[edit] References

Global trade and home work: closing the divide by Annie Delaney, Gender and Development,Vol 12, No 2, pp 22-28, July 2004
Home Work Convention C177, 1996 by ILO, available at

http://www.itcilo.org/actrav/actrav-english/telearn/global/ilo/law/iloc177.htm

Organising home-based workers in the global economy: An action-research approach by Ruth Pearson, Development in Practice, Vol 14, Nos 1&2, pp136-148, February 2004