Who are Home-Based Workers and Homeworkers?
Home-based workers are those who do paid work within their homes or the surrounding grounds. They produce goods for local or global value chains and are of two basic categories.
- Self-employed home-based workers: Assume all the risks of being independent operators. They buy their own raw materials, supplies and equipment, and pay utility and transport costs. They sell their finished goods mainly to local customers but sometimes to international markets. Most do not hire others but may have unpaid family members working with them.
- Sub-contracted home-based workers (called homeworkers): Are contracted by individual entrepreneurs or firms, often through an intermediary. They are usually given the raw materials and paid per piece, but cover many costs of production: workplace, equipment, supplies, utilities, and transport. They typically do not sell the finished goods themselves, and often do not know where or for whom the goods will be sold. In both categories, these workers deal with low incomes, irregular and/or cancelled work orders, unreliable supply of raw materials, delayed payment, and rejected goods. The majority are women. Larger economic trends such as fluctuating demand and rising input prices affect both groups, but particularly the self-employed.
Our Objectives
The main objectives of HNK are stipulated in our constitution, as follows:-
- To raise visibility and gain recognition of HBWs as workers at the county and national government levels.
- To build and provide solidarity amongst HBWs around common issues at the counties and national level, and strengthen the membership of HNK by recruiting additional members
- To cooperate in marketing artisanal products in local, regional and international markets with the aim of improving the livelihoods of member organizations
- ?To build and/or strengthen strong, democratic and accountable HBWs organization which protect HBWs rights everywhere
- To compile and make available information on potential trading partners, export procedures to various countries, market trends and other relevant information.
- To work in collaboration with the government and other authorities in order to develop a conducive policy environment that encourages the development of homebased work legislation and support.
- To encourage cooperation in areas such as training, production, product development and marketing and to mobilize funds/resources.