Extending Social Protection to Workers in Informal Employment

The extension of social protection to workers in informal employment is a major global policy concern highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers in informal employment make up over 60% of the global workforce, representing two billion people, yet they are often excluded from all forms of social protection. Our work focuses on producing research to support more inclusive social protection policies and programmes, as well as supporting organizations of workers to more effectively engage in global, regional and national level policy spaces, through research, advocacy and workers’ education.

Our social protection systems mapping initiative includes briefing notes and podcasts, exploring topics such as financing, governance, registration and delivery.

ActivitiesLatest Research

Our latest social protection research project focuses on the economics of social protection; specifically challenging what we consider to be key economic orthodoxies that undermine the extension of universal social protection. In collaboration with several international organizations, we have produced research assessing the design of social protection schemes for workers in informal employment, with a strong focus on workers’ experiences of schemes.

ActivitiesPolicy Analysis and Engagements

WIEGO is an active member of coalitions and platforms working on universal social protection. This includes the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, observer membership of the Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B), and the Universal Social Protection 2030 initiative. During 2020 and 2021, we participated in the Social Protection Alternatives for COVID-19 Expert Advice (SPACE) group, providing advisory services to bilateral and multilateral institutions working to extend relief to workers in informal employment. In Southeast Asia, we work to support policy engagements at regional level between worker organizations of informal workers and ASEAN.

Watch: Is Social Protection to Blame for Informality?

ActivitiesMobilizing for Social Protection

WIEGO supports organizations of workers in informal employment to build their capacity to work on social protection issues and to use social protection as a mobilizing and organization-building tool. During 2024, we ran an inaugural WIEGO School on social protection, which focused on financing and making the economic case for social protection.

We provide technical support on social protection to worker organizations in the Dominican Republic, Cambodia, Laos, Nigeria, Paraguay and Peru.