Democracy for unpaid workers

Unpaid work

Unpaid work involves no monetary transactions and covers activities performed both in the household and in the community. Unpaid work contributes to the wellbeing of individuals, families, the community and, more generally, the economy. Without unpaid work, many things would simply not get done.

There are two types of unpaid work. There is unpaid household work and unpaid volunteer and community work. Unpaid household work supports families and individuals. Unpaid volunteer and community work builds networks in the community and enables society to function more efficiently and with less reliance on government involvement.

Voluntary work

Voluntary work is basically unpaid work/labour. Voluntary workers (volunteers) are required by a number of non-profit organisations because these organisations tend to operate solely for a social or community benefit.

See image 1

Main contributors to unpaid work

Females have traditionally performed more unpaid work than males. Even in paid work, the average female wage in Australia is often lower than the average male wage. In paid work, however, trade unions have fought for more equal rights for females. With regard to more equal household work, it is up to individuals to fight for equality.

Females are the main contributors to unpaid work in the household, contributing about 65 percent. This figure is much lower than it would have been prior to the 1960s. Females were traditionally responsible for household duties, while males went to work.

See image 2

Males and females contribute more equally to volunteer and community work. In 1997, women contributed 56 percent and men contributed 44 percent to volunteer and community work. In 1997, unpaid household work accounted for 91 percent of the value of unpaid work and unpaid community and volunteer work made up 9 percent.

Issues in voluntary work

There are issues that arise when people work voluntarily on an ongoing, regular basis. In general, many organisations are developing voluntary employment policies so that volunteers are managed appropriately. An unfortunate situation occurs when voluntary workers are exploited or taken for granted. This is when unpaid workers are not treated the same as paid workers or because their efforts are not appreciated.

Many non-profit and community organisations use large numbers of volunteers, so they need to develop policies for voluntary workers. Voluntary workers need to be covered by insurance in the event of accidents or incidents (generally known as personal injury and indemnity insurance). Sometimes, organisations using voluntary workers ensure that individual volunteers take out their own personal insurance cover, so they are not liable for accidents and injuries that may occur.

See image 3