Governments, employers and workers come together every year in Geneva to debate and negotiate international labour standards and recommendations that address pressing issues in the changing world of work. At this year’s International Labour Conference (ILC), delegates will discuss innovative approaches to tackling informality as well as strategies to promote decent work in the platform economy.
As part of the process to prepare for this year’s ILC, WIEGO is co-organizing a three-part webinar series on Formalizing the Informal Economy:
- Worker-Centred Positions – Thursday April 24 - Register to Attend
- Practical Examples from Workers’ Organizations – Thursday May 8 - Register to Attend
- Digital Labour Platforms: Opportunities or Threats for Workers in Informal Employment? – Thursday May 15 - Register to Attend
Each session will be 2 hours long, and include perspectives and positions from workers in informal employment, practical examples and case studies and a space for questions and answers aimed at building consensus and solidarity.
The series will include speakers from HomeNet International, International Alliance of Waste Pickers, International Domestic Workers Federation, International Trade Union Congress, Self-Employed Women’s Association of India, StreetNet International, Unión de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Economía Popular of Argentina and more.
About the Series
Webinar 1: Formalizing the Informal Economy: Worker-Centred Positions will focus on the role of the ILC as a space for labour standard-setting, its relevance to workers in informal employment and what is at stake at this year’s ILC general discussion on informality. Representatives from trade unions and the global networks of workers in informal employment will share their negotiating positions including what formalization looks like from their perspective, and key considerations for developing effective interventions.
Webinar 2: Formalizing the Informal Economy: Practical Examples from Workers’ Organizations will further unpack the latest debates about formalization approaches and provide a more in-depth look at what worker-centred formalization approaches can look like. Through practical examples and experiences, panelists will share examples of formalization processes for self-employed workers in informal employment (such as street vendors, waste pickers and home-based workers) as well as wage workers working in informal conditions (such as domestic workers).
Webinar 3: Digital Labour Platforms: Opportunities or Threats for Workers in Informal Employment? will shift gears and focus on the ILC standard-setting discussion on Decent work in the platform economy, including the implications of digital labour platforms for workers in informal employment more generally. More details to be provided at a later date.