Labour Protection

Homenet has been consistently advocating for the labour status of homeworkers and other workers in the informal economy . We have attempted to reveal the evidence of discrimination against homeworkers in the labour legislation and other labour policy agendas.

In 2000, Homenet Thailand with the support of ILO launched the study “ Legal Issues among Homebased workers “ which has reported the types of contract which varied from job contracting to purchase and sale, working conditions, health and safety, and welfare. After the conclusion of the study in 2002 , Homenet Thailand proposed guidelines for the law to protect homeworkers. Finally, in 2003, the draft legislation was submitted to the Labour Commission of the Parliament. The draft legislation and the report can be obtained on request.

Social Protection and Social Security

Since the financial crisis of 1997, social protection has become one of the key policy agendas of many governments in Southeast Asia. Homenet Thailand considers social protection as one of the key political demands for the workers in the informal sector. The fact is there is no social security for them while other welfare schemes are only good for the very poor people. Homeworkers and other informal workers see themselves as dignified income earners and there is no reason for them to live on the dole. They want social security.

Homenet Thailand has done several studies on various indigenous schemes since 1995 and attempted to pursue an insurance scheme run by the network. Unfortunately , the financial crisis has thwarted further attempts to promote the plan. However, a pilot scheme was launched in 2002 in Homenet North to gain experience in making the health insurance work in the network . In 2003-2004 , Homenet Thailand is conducting a study on the appropriate scheme as part of the project “ Social Protection for Homebased Workers in South and Southeast Asia: Learning from Action and Research”. Nevertheless, the demand for social security has been voiced in many occasions; i.e., International Women’s Day and May Day in 2002-2003 . The network representatives also have submitted their demands for social security security coverage of workers in the informal sector to the Ministers of Labour several times

Occupational Safety and Health

HomeNet Thailand is pleased that significant headway is being made at national level towards proper safety and health at work for homeworkers. In the year 2001, a study was conducted assessing the health impact on homebased workers of hazardous work in six areas: bronze ware, weaving, fishnet making , gem polishing, sewing , and seedling production. The study has raised public awareness on health issues among the workers in the informal economy.

A pilot project on the application of WISE ( Work Improvement for Small Enterprise ) was launched among the bronze ware producers in Bangkok ( Homenet affiliate) as early as January 2001 . An ILO seminar was held in November 2002 in Bangkok , with the plan to launch the pilot schemes in other areas .The participants included representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MOLSW), the Ministry of Public Health, and the employers’, employees’ and homebased workers’ sectors. The seminar identified five Thai provinces for an occupational safety and health action plan for homebased workers.

Efforts by the MOLSW are underway to cover homeworkers in the Ministerial Order on occupational safety and health . The MOLSW has urged its offices in 10 provinces to work specifically for homeworkers’ affairs. Other key initiatives include the publication of an OSH training manual, Working Manual for Safety , and better access to information for homebased workers.

In 2002 –2003 , Homenet Thailand has conducted 17 trainings on OSH in three regions, the North, Northeast and Bangkok . The application of WISE Techniques and JSA ( Job Safety Analysis ) has been very useful for homeworkers . The training of trainers as well as the production of a special manual for OSH training for homeworkers were achieved with the support of ILO – Regional Office in Bangkok.

 

Consolidating and Expanding the Network through the Mapping

Ever progressive, HomeNet Thailand was involved in a ‘mapping’ programme with HomeNet members in India, Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. The three-year programme was launched in February 2001 and a progress meeting was held in Bangkok in July of the same year.

The programme had the two-fold aim of carrying out action-research to support new organizations of homebased workers, at the same time building a common framework of information for advocacy and lobbying purposes centrally. In addition , we also launched the collection of data from our individual members in the regional networks in order to create the database of all members of the organization .

We are building on our existing network and new contacts in the south of Thailand. At the same time, we are consolidating the existing network to advance the membership -based organization. At present, Homenet Thailand has collected the profile of 3,902 homebased workers.