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For immigrant street traders in Durban, life was hard and lean before COVID-19. When South Africa imposed a strict lockdown in response to the pandemic, their earnings dropped while costs soared, making their lives more difficult than ever. Nokwanda (not her real name), who arrived in South Africa...
Homeworkers in the garment industry are the most vulnerable and exploited link in the supply chain and Cape Town homeworker Chevonne Jacobs found that having more than one source of income was her saving grace when COVID-19 hit. Selling cosmetics on commission provided a critical trickle of cash...
Ernestine Mohloboli, a former artist who now makes a living collecting waste in Johannesburg, has long been a proponent of organizing reclaimers. For years, many reclaimers resisted joining. But when COVID-19 shut down their livelihoods, the African Reclaimers’ Organisation became a lifeline.
Hunger during South Africa’s early COVID-19 lockdown was widespread among domestic workers. A domestic worker from Zimbabwe, who lives in Cape Town, found that among the most painful parts of the lockdown for her and other immigrant domestic workers was being hungry while watching their employers...
A determined advocate in the struggle for traders’ rights, Romilla Chetty was desperate to get her trading stalls at Durban’s Warwick Junction back up and running after South Africa’s strict early COVID-19 lockdown was lifted. To prove to local authorities that adequate measures to prevent COVID-19...
When COVID-19 hit, it was South African waste picker Justina Kgoele's resourcefulness that got her through the worst of the crisis. Forced to make new plans to survive, Justina tells of how she liaised with the African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) to get food parcels and PPE to those who'd lost...
The following document describes the work of the SEWA's community workers. This Workers’ Lives essay offers an intimate look at those who work in the Shakti Kendras, the wide range of services they provide in a challenging policy environment, and what they gain in return at the end.
With lives and livelihoods governed by so many forces beyond their control, women coffee producers like Jenipher Wettaka know it takes more than a global movement to make lives and livelihoods better. It takes a cooperative spirit in their communities to cultivate change. This publication looks at...
Choma Choma Nalushaka made an arduous journey from war-torn Congo to South Africa—then waited years for his family to join him. He has established himself as a street barber in his new home in Durban, but the challenges of an informally-employed refugee are many.
From her Delhi home, Farida-ben embroiders garments for foreign retailers. Denied an education and other options, she has done this work since she was a girl. Today, her membership in the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and her involvement with an ethical, SEWA-based producer company have...
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.