Traders in Collective Bargaining: Lessons from a Market in Kyrgyzstan
An estimated 60,000 people work at Kyrgyzstan’s Dordoi Market – the largest market in Central Asia – in more than 20 types of trades. Despite the scale of informality in the country and difficulties in organizing, a trade union was established at the market in 1997 to address the traders’ needs. The union signed a Cooperation Agreement in 2022 with the market administration, the Dordoi Association, with the aim of safeguarding the rights and improving the working conditions of its members. Even though it does not establish binding duties on the parties, the Agreement serves as an example of how unions of self-employed workers can benefit from establishing common goals for cooperation with actors that shape their working conditions.
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