In June 2022, the 110th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) is being held in a hybrid format due to COVID-19 restrictions. During the round of negotiations in June, a general discussion on Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy will take place with the intention of agreeing on a common definition. 

During the ILC two-week sessions, a delegation of workers representing the Global Alliance of Waste Pickers, the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF), HomeNet International, Self-Employed Women Association of India (SEWA), StreetNet International, and WIEGO will participate in the virtual meetings to bring the voices and experiences of the most marginalized workers to demand principles and practices that respond to their particular needs and demands. 

Together, organizations of workers in informal employment across the world are committed to making decent work a reality for ALL workers. There is a need to recognize alternative models of work and production, equitable and redistributive, that recognize and value all forms of work – including informal work. Experience has shown that bottom-up models – such as cooperatives, mutual societies, and associations in the social solidarity economy – contribute to reducing inequality. 

The transformation required to achieve such a model is overdue.

This year’s general discussion at the 110th International Labour Conference on Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy should build on the principles for an inclusive definition that recognizes the crucial role of workers in informal employment, with an emphasis on supporting diverse social and solidarity economy models as key drivers of economic and social development.

Promoting social and solidarity economy principles

The international networks of workers in the informal economy and WIEGO welcome the ILO Report on Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) prepared for the ILO’s 110th Session and believe that the conclusions of the general discussion on the SSE must be built on the foundation of international instruments referring to SSE units and the ILO decent work agenda. A definition that ensures the application of rights in the field of work and that distinguishes SSE units from other economic activities is essential. We call for the promotion of a distinct identity for the SSE that differentiates it from both the public and private sectors.

Referencing ILO Recommendations 193 (on cooperatives) and 204 (which contains provisions that provide an agenda for action) is important with a view to transitioning from the informal to the formal economy and thus having access to comprehensive labour and social rights. The ILO Office should further strengthen the partnership with representative organizations of workers in the informal economy, including SSE units, to optimize the lessons from the experience of cooperatives appropriately.

ILC 2022 General Discussion on Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy Presentation of the Office Report, 30 May 2022: English, Spanish and French

Proposed resolution and conclusions concerning Decent work and the social and solidarity economy: English, Spanish and French

Sonia George, General Secretary of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Kerala during General Discussion Committee on proposed resolution and conclusions concerning Decent work and the social and solidarity economy

Notable events where WIEGO Partners participated

• Edileuza Guimarães, President of ATEMDO Brazil and HomeNet International representative at the International Labour Conference (ILC), addresses Plenary, 08 June 2022.
   

• Lorraine Sibanda, StreetNet International President and Official Delegate at the International Labor Organization (ILO) address to Plenary, 06 May 2022.
   

• Norah Padilla, GlobalRec and WIEGO Official Delegate at the International Labor Organization (ILO) address to Plenary, 06 May 2022. (Video in Spanish)
   

• Jemimah Nyakongo, HNI International Working Committee member and Chairperson of HomeNet Kenya spoke at the General Discussion Committee at the International Labour Conference 2022 on Decent Work and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE).
   

• Paola Caviedes, speaking on behalf of Unión de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Economía Popular (UTEP) and WIEGO at the International Labour Conference General Discussion Committee on Decent Work and the social and solidarity economy.
   

• Janhavi Dave, International Coordinator of HomeNet International, explains why ILO Home Work Convention No. 177 must be recognized.
   

• Sonia George, General Secretary of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Kerala intervention during ILC negotiations highlights home-based workers’ experiences and the need for international instruments to help protect and recognize the sector.
   

• Sonia George, General Secretary of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Kerala tells ILO her expectations for the discussions on Social Solidarity Economy.

The #ILC2020 will discuss a proposed definition of the social and solidarity economy taking into account its values, principles and organizational forms.

Sonia George, General Secretary of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), tells us her expectations for the discussions. pic.twitter.com/lcbDFeklIm

— International Labour Organization (@ilo) May 31, 2022

Securing decent work for nursing personnel and domestic workers, key actors in the care economy

Representatives of the International Domestic Workers Federation have been following the conversation on Securing decent work for nursing personnel and domestic workers as the third item on the ILC Agenda. This is the first occasion on which Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 on decent work for domestic workers and Convention 149 and Recommendation 157 on nursing personnel have been the subject of an ILO General Survey. 

Read the Committee of Experts on the application of Conventions and Recommendations

More information

• Homeworkers need to be better protected, says the ILO. Read in English, Spanish and French
• ILO Voices: Social and Solidarity Economy, Our Cooperative has dignified the work of waste pickers, an interview with Martha Elena Iglesias. Read in English, French and Spanish
• ILO Podcast: Soluciones locales para desafíos globales: el rol de las cooperativas para promover el trabajo decente, 31 May, 2022. Listen here
• Decent work and the social and solidarity economy, ILO Report, 110th Session, 2022. Read here
• Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators: Sonia George, General Secretary of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA,) Kerala. Read more
• Resources on Cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE) and the Informal Economy. Read more
• Spotlight interviews with Cooperators: SEWA Cooperative Federation in India: Towards self-reliance, ILO 2017. Read here
• Advancing cooperation among women workers in the informal economy: The SEWA way, ILO 2018. Read here
• ILO Contributes to an International Cooperative Week event on women cooperative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, ILO, IDWF, SEWA, SNI, HNI, WIEGO. Read here
• Cooperatives and the ready-made garment supply chain; ILO, Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 11, 2019. Read here
• Waste pickers’ cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations; ILO, Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 12, 2019. Read here
• Cooperating out of isolation: Domestic workers’ cooperatives; ILO, Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 2, 2014. Read here
• StreetNet International: Organizing street vendors towards formalization and economic empowerment. Spotlight interviews with co-operators with Oksana Abboud, 2019. Read here
• Social and Solidarity Economy, HomeNet International. Visit here
• StreetNet International, Resolution 19 on the Social and Solidarity Economy. Visit here
• Academy on Social and Solidarity Economy (12th edition). Visit here
• Global Networking: Informal Workers Build Solidarity, Power and Representation through Networks and Alliances by Chris Bonner and Françoise Carré, WIEGO Working Paper No. 31. Read here

Media contacts

• Kendra Hughes (in Ottawa): +1613-8-7-2724; Kendra.Hughes@wiego.org (English, Spanish, French)