Pune Waste Pickers’ Innovative Efforts to Fund the Extension of Decent Work and Social Protection

By Poornima Chikarmane, Lakshmi Narayanan on March 31, 2023

Underinvestment and structural exclusions in social protection have never been more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic. A challenge is the belief that employer contributions to the financing of social protection are not possible in the informal economy.

Taking inspiration from India’s long experience with welfare boards, which provide social protection for self-employed workers and are generally financed by economic actors who benefit from their labour, informal workers’ organizations in Pune are exploring innovative approaches to forging relationships with entities outside the typical frameworks of employment to gain additional financing for social protection.

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