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By Sonia Dias and Ana Carolina Ogando While academic studies increasingly focus on waste picking and solid waste management, including the threats and risks faced by informal recyclers, there is still a gap when it comes to understanding the gender dynamics and sexual division of labour involved in...
The fact that waste pickers are capable of voicing their concerns, responding to challenges, and contributing to cities and to the urban economy is very often ignored. The recently released Informal Economy Monitoring Study’s (IEMS) comparative report for waste pickers has brought to light evidence...
Revaben and her husband Narsingbhai sell vegetables from the sidewalk along one of eight new model roads in Ahmedabad, India. Between about 9:00 in the morning and 9:00 in the evening, they sit on upside-down plastic crates amid huge mounds of fresh ginger, peppers, garlic, cilantro and green beans...
In most developing countries, well over half the urban workforce is informal. Yet informal workers - and their livelihoods - tend to be ignored or excluded in city planning and local economic development. No amount of social or financial inclusion can make up for exclusion from city plans and...
The sign at the entrance to the Vaal Park Recycling Centre in South Africa bears 23 logos, each representing a public or private partner that has come on board to help make this initiative a success. And at the heart of this centre is a team of determined workers—all formerly waste pickers on the...
Urban informal workers represent the broad base of the urban economy in most developing countries. On average, these account for well over half of the urban workforce and, where estimates are available, over a quarter of gross domestic product in these countries. And yet the activities — the...
More than 140 informal worker leaders from Lima and other cities in Peru gathered in November to create a common platform of demands and proposals to put forward to the 2016 presidential candidates. The National Meeting of Informal Workers, a two-day meeting convened by WIEGO and the Friedrich Ebert...
Photo: Juan Arredondo/Getty Images Reportage This year’s Human Development Report , the United Nations Development Programme’s flagship publication, revisits the relationship between work and human development. The report argues that work can act as a catalyst of human development, among other...
By Laura Alfers and Francie Lund In 2007, the Thai government took an extraordinary step and instituted universally free public health services funded by general taxation. The Thai public health system has had impressive results, including decreased infant mortality rates, increased life expectancy...
By Tania Espinosa Sánchez Pope Francis has made the environment and the poor a top priority since assuming his massively influential position as head of the Catholic Church. Yet the leader’s focus is not new; he has been working to bring more dignity to the lives of the world’s invisible workers...
Videos / Slideshows / Audio
Millions of women work long hours, in dangerous conditions, for little pay. They are fighting for change, with the help of ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Watch this video to learn how.
Workers Education/Organizing Materials
This manual helps street vendors learn more about the regulations that govern public space and how to defend the right to work in public space. It describes successful actions taken by street vendor organizations. And it offers information to help you organize and negotiate with local government.
WIEGO Working Papers
Mike Rogan reviews how informal workers are taxed, why there is growing interest in taxing them, and whether they should be included in the tax net.