There is No Recovery Without Informal Workers: The View from 2021
- December 8, 2021
- Online
Date: December 8, 2021
Time: 9:30am – 11:30am Eastern Standard Time
Languages: English with French, Spanish, and Hindi interpretation available.
Informal work accounts for over 60% of all global employment and 90% of employment in developing countries, the International Labour Organization reported in 2018. In the first wave of the pandemic, the ILO projected that informal workers would be among those most severely affected, predicting sharp growth in relative poverty levels. Over a year on, labour experts now warn that workers are not recovering as quickly as first expected. They warn of a “great divergence” in recovery between developed and developing countries.
Drawing on the experience of thousands of workers across 12 cities, WIEGO will share all-new global data from its IDRC-funded COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy Study to highlight:
- How different sectors of informal workers are faring in 2021;
- What the pace of “recovery” looks like based on workers’ occupation and gender, and what national and municipal governments are doing right —and wrong — to support economic recovery in the informal economy; and
- What governments can do to avoid a “great divergence” in recovery for the majority of the world’s workers.
Panelists
Mike Rogan (Research Lead, COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy Study, WIEGO)
Sally Roever (International Coordinator, WIEGO)
Shalini Sinha (India Country Representative, WIEGO)
Shalu, Home-based worker leader, Delhi, India
Johnson Doe, Kpone Landfill Waste Pickers Association, Accra, Ghana
Chicago Crosby, Sure We Can, New York City
Mohamed Attia, Street Vendor Project, New York City
The panel will be moderated by Erin Tansey, Director, Sustainable Inclusive Economies, IDRC. The event will launch WIEGO’s Round 2 Global Findings for the COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy Study.
