Organizing in South Africa's Informal Economy: An Overview of Four Sectoral Case Studies

In Focus Programme, Series on Representation and Organization Building. Working Paper, No. 60

Abstract:
This paper brings together and analyses case studies from four sectors of South African informal economy: clothing, construction, street trading, and taxi industries. The report discusses challenges of organising informal workers, such as the complexity of informal labour relations and the fluidity of employment. Short and long term strategies for organizing informal workers are also discussed, including service provision and advocacy for better working conditions. Moreover, the importance of establishing institutional arrangements for representation of informal workers‟ organizations is emphasized.