A living wage and the right to join a trade union are widely accepted as the basic rights that should be ensured for workers.  However, the issue becomes more complicated surrounding homeworkers and other forms of precarious work.

A growing trend within the garment industry are employment patterns such as long-term temporary contracts, sometimes through a labour contractor, short-term contracts and day workers, and subcontracting. While these forms of employment can be positive when chosen by workers – in particular, homework – they are not positive when employers use them to replace permanent employment, to circumvent their legal obligations to workers, or to divide and rule their workforce.

Many workers are not given a contract, and feel too intimidated to request one.  However, even when contracts are issued, employers still abuse their power and flout the terms.   Jing, a worker in a Chinese factory, told researchers:

"Our contract is worth nothing. The factory management never give us what is written in the contract. They talk of not working more than three hours' overtime - I can't remember having a day when I worked less than three hours' overtime."

Another mode of precarious employment is the growth in agency workers inside factories: workers who are essentially factory employees, but whose employment relationship is with a middle- man.  Almost without exception, these workers face lower pay, harder targets, and a more uncertain future.

Having a short term contract, or having no employment contract at all as short-term or day labourer, is one of the most frightening and tenuous positions to be in as a worker.

Homeworkers – mainly women producing a variety of items from their own homes – also suffer from unreliable employment. Their situation is however, usually far worse than other workers – wages are often about one third or one quarter of the legal minimum, work is irregular and they usually have no social security or employment rights.

Unfortunately, precarious employment is not a rare occurrence, or something that takes place only during busy times.The flexibility of this employment makes life difficult for workers, but works in favour of the company using them; an increasing trend seen far too often in the global garment industry.