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By Carlin Carr Manop Kaewpaka, 35, never expected to be a garment worker. At 18, he left his remote village in the northeast of Thailand and headed to Bangkok to continue his studies. When he arrived, he was shocked by the costs in the city and quickly had to drop the idea. Economic necessity took...
By Leslie Vryenhoek In a Nairobi slum, the women of Bega kwa Bega are checking linens—table runners, decorative cushion covers and an ingenious pan carrier—and then packaging the pieces. A buyer from Italy is coming to collect the 400-piece shipment in two days and the women must ensure each item...
Informality is often defined as the failure to pay taxes due. And informality so defined is seen as a key challenge for the revenue systems of developing countries: so much so that “reducing informality” is often a central objective of tax reforms . The standard targets of such reforms are those...
The poor face many challenges in accessing health services. However, argues Laura Alfers , WIEGO’s Deputy Director of Social Protection, the working poor, especially informal workers, “experience particular barriers to access based on the nature and place of their work, and may have occupational...
What happens to informal employment during an economic crisis? The conventional wisdom is that the informal sector—which consists of small, unincorporated enterprises—acts as a safety net for vulnerable workers during periods of crisis. The assumption is often that job losses in formal sector...
By Sonia Dias and Ana Carolina Ogando While academic studies increasingly focus on waste picking and solid waste management, including the threats and risks faced by informal recyclers, there is still a gap when it comes to understanding the gender dynamics and sexual division of labour involved in...
The fact that waste pickers are capable of voicing their concerns, responding to challenges, and contributing to cities and to the urban economy is very often ignored. The recently released Informal Economy Monitoring Study’s (IEMS) comparative report for waste pickers has brought to light evidence...
Revaben and her husband Narsingbhai sell vegetables from the sidewalk along one of eight new model roads in Ahmedabad, India. Between about 9:00 in the morning and 9:00 in the evening, they sit on upside-down plastic crates amid huge mounds of fresh ginger, peppers, garlic, cilantro and green beans...
In most developing countries, well over half the urban workforce is informal. Yet informal workers - and their livelihoods - tend to be ignored or excluded in city planning and local economic development. No amount of social or financial inclusion can make up for exclusion from city plans and...
The sign at the entrance to the Vaal Park Recycling Centre in South Africa bears 23 logos, each representing a public or private partner that has come on board to help make this initiative a success. And at the heart of this centre is a team of determined workers—all formerly waste pickers on the...
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.