Organising Informal Transport Workers

By Chris Bonner on January 01, 2006

Abstract:
This broad overview report combines general information with information from four case studies: National Union of Transport and Allied Workers (NUTAW) and Zambia Bus and Taxi Workers‟ Union (ZBTWU) in Zambia; National Transport Workers‟ Union (NTU) in Philippines; and Syndicat National des Zemidjan du Benin (SYNAZEB) in Benin. In addition, other examples from different contexts across the globe are brought up more briefly. The report analyses the organizing experiences, strategies, and methods of unions organizing informal transport workers.
The unions that are examined in this report organize people in a wide range of working arrangements in the informal passenger transport industry, ranging from vehicle owners and owner-drivers to employed drivers and drivers who rent or lease vehicles. While some of the unions draw a line into only organizing employees, the boundaries between the different categories are often blurred. There are three major issues around which the unions try to organize: improvement of incomes and working conditions; provision of welfare services; and development of financial support systems – such as formation of cooperatives. The unions also often engage in negotiations with different levels of government.

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