Events

NGH organises and attends numerous events to raise the profile of homeworkers and raise awareness of homeworking issues. See below for information on recent and forthcoming events.

The Tolpuddle Festival – July 2008

Celebrating the struggle for workers’ rights and trade union freedom

NGH attended the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival for the first time this year. The festival took place from the 18-20th July in Dorset. It is run by the South West TUC, and commemorates the six agricultural labourers who were transported to Australia in 1834 as punishment for forming a union. A massive trade union campaign secured their free pardon and their return to England.

NGH staff and volunteers ran a stall in the main marquee at the festival, asking festival-goers to back our campaign for homeworkers’ rights. Over one hundred people signed letters to their MPs in support of the ILO Convention on Homeworking, which would guarantee equal rights for homeworkers if it was ratified by the UK government.

Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, was one of the speakers on the main stage at the festival. In his speech on vulnerable workers he particularly highlighted homeworkers, who often earn less than the national minimum wage and have little job security.

On Sunday afternoon as the festival drew to a close, the National Group on Homeworking took part in the traditional banner parade through Tolpuddle village.

Meeting with the Low Pay Commission – July 2008

Every year the Low Pay Commission collects evidence on how well the minimum wage is working, and makes recommendations to government on what level it should be set at and how to improve the system. This year the Low Pay Commission particularly wanted to meet with homeworkers to find out more about how they are paid in piece-rates, and what could be done to ensure homeworkers get the pay they are entitled to.

In July NGH arranged a meeting with the Commission and homeworkers from Bradford, Rochdale and Derbyshire. The meeting provided the Commission with lots of useful information on the rates of pay homeworkers are receiving – often way below the minimum wage – and what homeworkers think should be done to support them in getting the decent pay they deserve.

Hard Work, Hidden Lives: Launch of Commission on Vulnerable Employment Report - May 2008

On May 7th NGH attended the launch of a major new report by the TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment.

The Commission on Vulnerable Employment (COVE) has been gathering information and evidence on the causes and consequences of vulnerable employment, by talking to employers, unions, workers and organisations like NGH that exist to support vulnerable workers. It has concluded that two million UK workers are 'trapped in a continual round of low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm.'

Key recommendations from the Commission include:

• To counter widespread ignorance of employment rights, particularly among vulnerable workers, there should be a major awareness programme and better funding of employment rights advice.
• A new Fair Employment Commission involving employers, unions and civil society groups should co-ordinate the work of enforcement agencies, monitor awareness of employment rights and make recommendations to Government.
• There should be a reform of employment status law that denies rights and any security to workers who do not count as employees as they do not have a contract of employment.


Linda Devereux, of NGH said,

We hope policy-makers will pay real heed to the Commission’s findings and take action. Currently homeworkers, and other vulnerable groups, can be denied basic employment rights because the law on employment status is unjust and unclear. This has to change. 

NGH worked together with the Commission to provide information on homeworking and to ensure the Commissioners were able to discuss the problems of vulnerable employment with homeworkers themselves. These meetings made a big impression on the Commission, and homeworkers’ stories appear in the final report, which is available on the COVE website.

http://www.vulnerableworkers.org.uk/

Linda said

Homeworkers seized the opportunity to work with the Commission on Vulnerable Employment, to tell their personal stories and to raise their concerns regarding low pay, irregular work and a lack of employment rights. It is the direct involvement of vulnerable workers themselves that gives the Commission’s findings such authority and credibility. 

Adjournment Debate on Homeworking - January 2008

On Tuesday 22nd January an Adjournment Debate on homeworking was held in Westminster. An adjournment debate is simply a way of having a general debate in the Commons without requiring the House to vote. They provide an opportunity for MPs to raise an issue of particular concern about their local constituency, or national government policy - and to obtain a response from a government minister.

The debate was introduced by Fabian Hamilton MP (Leeds North-East), who outlined the many problems faced by homeworkers and called for a change in the law to extend employment status to homeworkers.

He explained,

‘The subject is of huge importance to thousands of people in this country – predominantly women – who carry out work on behalf of employers in their own homes either because they prefer to work at home, or, as in the majority of cases, because they have no option but to work from home. Home workers miss out on employment rights, because they lack employee status or because their status is unclear. Home workers who have worked for a company for several years, often on low wages, find that they have no protection under the law, because they are not employees. Many of them are deemed by their employers to be self-employed, leaving them ineligible even for the minimum wage. The law is unclear: short of taking the employer to a tribunal, it is virtually impossible for home workers to be certain of their rights under the law.’ 

Fabian Hamilton, and other MPs, also cited personal examples of homeworkers who had faced difficulties, including members of NGH.

Despite the powerful evidence and passionate arguments of the MPs supporting our bid for a change in the law, the response from the Minister for Employment Relations, Pat McFadden MP, was disappointing and showed the government is continuing to resist all calls to extend employment status to homeworkers. Pat Mc Fadden referred back to the 2006 Employment Status Review and said,

‘On the basic distinction between employees, workers and the self-employed, the Government decided not to change the legal framework… I shall not today announce a shift away from the conclusion reached by the Government in the employment status review... The review was concluded two years ago and there is no plan to start that piece of work again, now that it has been decided that there should not be a basic change in the legal status of the self-employed, workers and employees.’ 

National launch of ‘Subject to Status’ research report - November 2007

The NGH research report ‘Subject to Status’ was launched at a reception at the House of Commons on Wednesday 21st November. The launch, hosted by Fabian Hamilton MP and Ann Cryer MP was attended by MPs, homeworkers, NGH supporters and allies.

Homeworkers from across the country attended the launch to describe their good and bad experiences of working from home, and what should be done to ensure all homeworkers get the rights and respect that they deserve.

Commission on Vulnerable Employment - 2007

The TUC has set up a new Commission to look into the issues surrounding vulnerable employment.

On May 31st 2007 NGH members and homeworkers from the Rochdale Homework Support Group met with members of the Commission on Vulnerable Employment (COVE) in Manchester, to discuss some of the problems they face. They agreed they needed more access to information about their rights. The group also discussed how pressures on companies to keep costs down lead to homeworkers being paid low wages, often below the legal minimum.

Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, explained that the Commission would be making recommendations based on four key areas:

• access to information
• enforcement of existing rights
• where rights need to be strengthened
• how different organisations can work in partnership to support vulnerable workers

For further information visit http://www.vulnerableworkers.org.uk/

International Workers Day - May 2007

May Day (May 1st) is recognized as the International Workers’ Holiday, chosen over 100 years ago to commemorate the historic struggle of working people throughout the world. May Day is important not only for its historical significance, but also as a time to organize and speak out around issues that are impacting working people today.

NGH took part in the traditional May Day march in London on May 1st, as part of our work to raise the profile of homeworkers within the Labour Movement. The march ran through central London, from Clerkenwell Green to Trafalgar Square – and a wide array of trade union and other political banners was on display.

Workers from around the world were represented in London, with community groups, unions and political organisations representing workers from a huge range of countries, including Turkey, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Iraq amongst others. There was a strong showing from the UK trade unions as well – three of which had important events to mark on May 1st. The May Day march coincided with a strike by the public services union PCS, and the merger of Amicus and the TGWU – who have come together under the new name ‘Unite’.

Homeworkers petition minister to demand employment rights - March 2007

The National Group on Homeworking met with the employment minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP to demand employment rights for homeworkers. Homeworker members of NGH took part in the meeting on 28th February, explaining to the minister why current employment law is letting them down and denying them basic rights.

Linda Devereux, director of NGH said,

‘Homeworkers are vulnerable to exploitation because the law is so unclear in this area. Many are denied basic rights like holiday pay and protection against redundancy. Homeworkers should receive full employment rights, but many are discriminated against simply because they work from home.’ 

The meeting was arranged by Leeds MP Colin Burgon, who has been supporting NGH in its employment rights campaign.

Colin Burgon MP said,

‘Vulnerable workers need decent employment rights and protections. We need a change in the law so that homeworkers can have confidence that they are properly protected. The National Group on Homeworking is campaigning hard on this issue, and working with them I realise what a valuable contribution they make in supporting vulnerable workers.’ 

At the meeting the Minister for Employment Relations was presented with a campaign petition endorsed by over 30 major organisations. The petition was supported by Oxfam, Age Concern, Muslim Council of Britain, the Ethical Trading Initiative and many others.

To view the list of signatories in full, and learn more about the campaign, click here:

http://www.ngh.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigns/spot-the-difference--- employment-rights-for-homeworkers

Annual General Meeting - December 2006

The National Group on Homeworking’s AGM took place on 4th December 2006 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The meeting was attended by NGH members, and staff as well as representative from our partner organisations. Following the formal business, the meeting discussed what more we can do to build support for our Spot the Difference – Employment Rights for Homeworkers campaign.

Employment Rights Campaign Launch - Summer 2006

Homeworkers met with MPs on 23rd May to launch the National Group on Homeworking's campaign on Employment Rights for Homeworkers. Homeworkers from across the country spoke to MPs about their own experiences of trying to access employment rights, and explained that current rules on employment status are unclear and unjust. The meeting was a success and we received strong pledges of support for our campaign.

May Day 2006

May 1st is International Labour Day, when working people across the world join together to stand up for better employment conditions and respect for workers. In the UK the TUC is organising a national demonstration in London on Monday May 1st - calling for greater trade union rights under the banner ‘Modern Rights for Modern Workplaces.’

The National Group in Homeworking supports the call for improved trade union rights. We would also like to see unions doing more to recruit and involve homeworkers.

The National Group on Homeworking joined a regional rally in Leeds on Saturday 29th April, to support calls for better union rights for all workers, and also to raise the profile of homeworking within the trade union movement.

Annual General Meeting – December 2005

The NGH AGM met on Friday December 9th at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The people attending included NGH members and staff, representatives from HomeWorkers Worldwide, Boots and an academic on a study trip from China.

The meeting began with an update on NGH’s financial position – welcoming the news that NGH’s position was now secure for three years thanks to a grant from the Big Lottery Fund and additional funding from Comic Relief, the Esmee Fairburn Foundation and the Oxfam UK Poverty Programme.

There was then a presentation and discussion in memory of Viji Srinavasan. Jane Tate, of Homeworkers World Wide introduced a video on Viji’s life and work. Viji was a lifelong campaigner for womens’ rights and founder of the Adithi women’s organisation. She was also the regional coordinator for Homeworker World Wide in India and formed strong friendships with women workers and rights campaigners across the world. The video was followed by memories and recollections of Viji from those present who had known her.

Finally, there was a general discussion on the work on NGH, and our progress in raising the profile of homeworkers and the issues around homeworking. The meeting closed with time for coffee and a chat before we went our separate ways.