WIEGO Blog

The hall was filled with official delegations, representatives and environmentalists, activists and organizers from more than 150 countries representing in the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) 5.2 in Nairobi, Kenya.

“We are the face of recycling in the world, we are the hands that clean the world, we are the real heroes of the planet and nothing you try to do without recyclers is going to work.”

In this interview, Elizabeth Tang, General Secretary of the International Domestic Workers’ Federation (IDWF), tells us what she hopes to see achieved in the world of work 25 years from now and about the importance of organizing for domestic workers.

The rights of “everyone” or “every worker” laid down in international law should be the bedrock for building more inclusive cities. Realizing health and safety in public workplaces will require the provision and maintenance of physical and other infrastructure. Street and market vendors need legislation in place that enables them to hold governments accountable for providing this infrastructure and a safe work environment.

In their first direct engagement, informal worker representatives and officials of the CNDH’s Program of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Mexico discussed the living and working conditions of informal workers, policy frameworks and possible pathways for defending informal workers’ right to work.