THEME: Precarious and Informal Work  TITLE: Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour  PUBLISHED BY: International Labour Organisation (ILO)  WHO IS THIS FOR:  This report estimates the profits generated from forced labour in the world today. These profits reflect the wages effectively stolen from the pockets of workers by the perpetrators of forced labour through their coercive practices. Understanding and addressing these illicit profits is critical to achieve progress in the fight against forced labour. 28 million people were trapped in forced labour on any given day in 2021. Forced labour is a criminal offence and a serious violation of fundamental human rights. Beyond the individual consequences for the victims, forced labour comes with economic and social costs for the entire society. This ILO report, which is funded by the government of France, will shed light on the link between forced labour and the economic incentive structures driving it. Those working in labour research, trade union leaders and labour academics will find this useful. Download here Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work  TITLE: Craft Supply Chains in Africa: Consolidating our findings  PUBLISHED BY: Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing WHO IS THIS FOR: The indigenous knowledge, traditions, creativity and skills encapsulated in the crafts we find across Africa give them an intrinsic value that no industrial production can match. But is that value recognized, and are the craft makers – many of whom are women home-based workers – recognised along the supply chain and fairly rewarded? HomeNet Africa (HNA), in partnership with WIEGO, embarked on a process to unpack the complicated chains, their many actors and challenges. This, with a view to increasing home-based workers’ knowledge of craft supply chains in Africa; for them to use the knowledge to strengthen their organisations and to help build their capacity to engage with the actors, and ultimately begin to improve their livelihoods. This study was concentrated in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. Download here Craft Supply Chains in Africa: Consolidating our findings

THEME: Building Democratic Trade Unions  TITLE: Global Rights Index 2023  PUBLISHED BY: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)  WHO IS THIS FOR:  The 10th edition of the authoritative Global Rights Index shows that the global cost-of-living crisis has been met with a crackdown on the rights of working people in every region of the world. The Global Rights Index is published by ITUC and records labour rights rights abuses and national ratings that can be viewed by country and region. As a comprehensive review of workers’ rights in law that ranks 149 countries, it is the only database of its kind. The 2023 Index shows that key measures of violations of workers’ rights have reached record highs, recording that “across both high-income and low-income countries, as working people have faced a historic cost-of-living crisis and spiralling inflation driven by corporate greed, governments have cracked down on the right to collectively negotiate wage rises and take strike action.” The index provides crucial information to those working in the progressive labour movement, including educators, journalists, policy makers, shop stewards and more. Download here Human Rights Index 2023

THEME: Precarious and informal work TITLE: The Road to Decent Work for Domestic Workers PUBLISHED BY: International Labour Organisation (ILO) WHO IS THIS FOR: Domestic workers play an invaluable role in many societies, providing essential direct and indirect care services to private households. As care workers, they work at the foundation of our families, societies and economies. However, their contributions have often been undervalued. An ILO report, published in 2021 found that 81 per cent of domestic workers were informally employed, due either to gaps in legal coverage or gaps in implementation. Yet the growing global need for care services means that the demand for domestic workers is likely to grow. The question is, under what conditions? This report serves as a concise summary of the in-depth research conducted in 2021. It presents key findings, country-level good practices, and detailed methodological advice. In Chapter 5, it presents a novel 5 step strategy that will guide policymakers, employers, and organisations, providing practical solutions to empower and improve the lives of domestic workers worldwide. At each step, reference is also made to ways in which the ILO can provide technical assistance. Organisations and unions working with domestic workers and in the informal […]

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work  TITLE: Defending Waste Pickers’ Livelihoods: Lessons from Litigation in Latin America PUBLISHED BY: Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) WHO IS THIS FOR:  Waste pickers have won several legal actions in Latin America over the past two decades. This latest edition of Law & Informality Insights – Defending Waste Pickers’ Livelihoods: Lessons from Litigation in Latin America – reflects on how this was achieved, using three examples that illustrate the types of claims and decisions that helped protect waste picker livelihoods in the region. Download here Defending Waste Pickers’ Livelihoods: Lessons from Litigation in Latin America

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: Domestic Workers During the Covid-19 Crisis: Pathways of Impact, Recovery and Resilience in Six Cities PUBLISHED BY: Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) WHO IS THIS FOR: Domestic workers provide essential direct and indirect care services for households globally, and yet they experience some of the most vulnerable situations. They earn a fraction of the monthly wages of formal employees, and only one in five domestic workers is covered by employment-related social security (ILO 2021). The Covid-19 pandemic only worsened domestic workers’ socio-economic disadvantages. Bereft of social safety nets, the sting of job losses during the pandemic and resulting income losses threatened to be especially painful to domestic workers. Those who remained employed were required to be in others’ homes, and often multiple homes, exposing them to heightened risks of catching the virus, often without access to health care. This report explores how the pandemic has exposed and worsened domestic workers’ legal, economic and social plight. It looks at how Covid-19 accentuated the mismatch between the necessity for domestic workers’ labour to sustain households and their precarious working and living conditions. Those working on the informal, domestic worker and migrant worker sector, including […]

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: Waste Pickers During the Covid-19 Crisis: Pathways of Impact and Recovery in Five Cities PUBLISHED BY: Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) WHO IS THIS FOR: Over the Covid-19 period, WIEGO, working in collaboration with member-based organizations of workers and their allies, assessed the impact of the crisis on different groups of informal workers, including waste pickers, through a longitudinal multi-city study. This report presents findings from the eight study cities where waste pickers were part of the sample: Accra, Ghana; Ahmedabad, India; Dakar, Senegal; Delhi, India; Durban, South Africa; Lima, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico; and New York City, United States of America. This unique dataset provides evidence and insights on the degree and pathways of impact of the Covid-19 crisis on waste pickers, including a decrease in monthly earnings, and an increase in heavier physical labour. Those working on the informal sector, including unionists, policy-makers, worker educators and researchers, will find this useful. Download here Waste Pickers During the Covid-19 Crisis: Pathways of Impact and Recovery in Five Cities

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: StreetNet International Global Report 2021 – 2022 PUBLISHED BY: StreetNet International WHO IS THIS FOR: This report presents an overview of StreetNet projects, finances, activities and campaigns, as well as a snapshot of affiliate organisations regarding their membership, advocacy efforts, challenges and achievements. StreetNet is a global alliance of street vendors, informal market vendors, informal cross-border traders and hawkers. StreetNet affiliates are membership-based trade unions, associations, collectives, formal and informal, representing and advocating for the rights of street vendors. This report will be useful for organisations, trade unions and policy makers working and organising in the informal economy sector. Download here StreetNet International Global Report 2021 – 2022

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: Social Contracts and Informal Workers in the Global South PUBLISHED BY: Edward Elgar Publishing WHO IS THIS FOR: The Covid-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and injustices, the attendant economic crisis disproportionately impacting workers in the informal economy, who make up over 60% of the world’s workers. The fallout has reinforced prior calls for the need for a new social contract – one which accounts for the reality of widespread informal employment. But what does that really mean? In this volume the editors and contributors seek to answer this question by integrating social contract theory with the experiences of organisations of informal workers in the Global South. Instead of ideologically driven ‘top-down’ calls to revitalise the social contract, it advocates for ‘bottom-up’ initiatives focused on the demands of the working poor in the informal economy, and outlines a vision for a social contract grounded in this reality. Study circles, labour academics and activists and those working with the informal sector will find this useful. Download here Social Contracts and Informal Workers in the Global South

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: Advocating for informal cross-border traders – Experiences from West and Central Africa PUBLISHED BY: StreetNet WHO IS THIS FOR: This short report showcases the experiences of StreetNet affiliates from West and Central Africa in advocating for informal cross-border traders, after following a training series of webinars focused on the topic. Study circles, labour academics and activists and those working with the informal sector will find this useful. Download here Advocating for informal cross-border traders – Experiences from West and Central Africa

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: Working for nothing in the platform economy: Forms and institutional contexts of unpaid labour PUBLISHED BY: SOLIDAR WHO IS THIS FOR: The advent of digital labour platforms – and its acceleration during the pandemic – require researchers, civil society organisations, and policymakers to question the impact of this new mode of labour on workers’ livelihoods and the quality of their jobs. This paper aims to offer an in-depth account on the forms and conditions of unpaid labour in the platform economy, as these represent a crucial element in the way that working lives are precarious under platform labour regimes. The researchers delve into three major economic sectors where platforms are thriving – food delivery, care and domestic services, and freelancing professional services; and five European countries – France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland. Trade union leaders, labour activists and researchers will find this useful. Download here Working for nothing in the platform economy: Forms and institutional contexts of unpaid labour

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: World Employment and Social Outlook 2021: The world of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work PUBLISHED BY: ILO (International Labour Organisation) WHO IS THIS FOR: The report offers a comprehensive picture of the experience of workers and businesses on online web-based and location-based platforms, drawing on surveys and interviews with some 12,000 workers and representatives of 85 businesses around the world, in multiple sectors. It also provides insights into the business model of digital labour platforms, examines regulatory responses around the globe, and presents a way forward to ensure that all platform work is decent work. This report will be useful for those working and organising in the informal economy. Download here World Employment and Social Outlook 2021: The world of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work  

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: WIEGO Publications Catalogue 2020/1 PUBLISHED BY: WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) WHO IS THIS FOR? WIEGO is a global network focused on empowering the working poor, especially women, in the informal economy to secure their livelihoods. This comprehensive catalogue reflects the research, advocacy and organising publications WIEGO has produced. It contains downloads of books, publications series, advocacy materials and more, on topics ranging from Covid-19 emergency responses, workers’ health, bargaining collectively, and policy briefs, amongst others. This valuable resource will be useful to educators, activists, leaders, organisations and individuals working in the informal economy. WIEGO publications are freely available. Download here WIEGO Publications Catalogue 2020/1

THEME: Precarious and Informal Work TITLE: La situación de los derechos humanos de las personas recicladoras en América Latina: una mirada desde estándares internacionales LANGUAGE: Spanish WHO IS THIS FOR? This report examines the human rights situation of waste pickers in six countries in Latin America. The report contributed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) citing violations suffered by waste pickers in Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua and Uruguay in their annual report. A suite of workers’ materials is currently being developed to share the findings of this report with waste pickers. The report is available in Spanish. It will be useful for those in worker education in informal and precarious sectors, study circle groups and informal/precious work NGOOs and organisations. Download here Click here to download and read more