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Change doesn’t come passively, especially for the world’s most invisible workers. That’s why informal workers across the globe have been rallying together, forming stronger and savvier membership-based organizations and standing up to demand recognition and rights. These five stories exemplify the...
What will work look like in a future of robots and automation? This question has taken the year by storm, but the debates often overlook the reality for more than half the world’s workers — those in the informal economy. We look back at five WIEGO blog posts from 2018 that rethink headlines about...
Waste pickers may keep cities clean, but they face hazardous conditions on the job. Their health and wellbeing is at risk on a daily basis. As they collect and sort urban waste, they are exposed to dangerous materials and workplace conditions, among other issues. Earlier this year, WIEGO launched...
Photos by Jonathan Torgovnik About half-a-million people flow through Warwick Junction every day — every one of them a potential customer for the thousands of informal traders selling everything from fresh fruit to prepared meals, from clothing to hardware to traditional medicine. For over a hundred...
Modernization in cities is meant to ease the commute for workers and offer convenience — to make lives easier. But too often, it’s the poorest urban workers who pay the price for change. Just after 4 a.m., Lima is asleep, streets nearly empty and sidewalks deserted except for a few women in...
By Mike Rogan Nearly two decades ago, Marty Chen, the founding international coordinator of WIEGO, sketched a pyramid diagram to describe the structure of the informal economy in a way that captured the diversity of risks. The image, which was based on reviews of the available data by two WIEGO...
This week, we sit down with WIEGO’s new Urban Policies Programme Director, Caroline Wanjiku Kihato, to learn more about her background and research interests, as well as where she sees opportunities to better involve informal workers in the future of cities. In addition to her role with WIEGO, she...
The theme of World Habitat Day 2018 is municipal solid waste management and creating “waste wise cities.” In this article, WIEGO’s Waste Sector Specialist argues that a “wise” approach to waste management must take into account the role played by informal waste pickers and pursue a livelihoods...
By Chidchanok Samantrakul and Sarah Orleans Reed After relentless evictions against their livelihoods, on 4th September 2018, Bangkok street vendors marched on the government house to demand a halt to these actions. The march was led by a new, city-wide street vendor organization that has recently...
With Avi Singh Majithia Delhi’s Qutub Minar, the tallest minaret in the world, rises high above many of the capital city’s landmarks, but will soon have less boastful competition: a growing mountain of waste that is now towering over the city. The Ghazipur landfill has reached a height of 65 metres...
Videos / Slideshows / Audio
Millions of women work long hours, in dangerous conditions, for little pay. They are fighting for change, with the help of ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Watch this video to learn how.
Workers Education/Organizing Materials
This manual helps street vendors learn more about the regulations that govern public space and how to defend the right to work in public space. It describes successful actions taken by street vendor organizations. And it offers information to help you organize and negotiate with local government.
WIEGO Working Papers
Mike Rogan reviews how informal workers are taxed, why there is growing interest in taxing them, and whether they should be included in the tax net.