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Following a
recommendation from its World Women’s Committee, PSI presented a
set of policy recommendations on strategies and alliances in relation to
workers in the informal economy at its Executive Board in 2003.
PSI is committed to facilitating the organisation of workers in the
informal economy in representative membership organisations. It
recognises that women represent the great majority of workers in the
informal economy and it is therefore essential that there is a gender
focus in this work.
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Informal Economy Workshop Nairobi
2003
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Who are workers in the
informal economy?
A new concept of
informal employment:
Informal employment is
defined as employment without secure contracts, worker benefits, or
social protection. It is comprised of two basic
components:
Women workers are
disproportionately represented in informal work all over the world.
Informal work represents an extreme degree of exploitation of working
people. Women workers are exploited economically as well as socially
– as women and as women workers.
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More...
News and updates
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INDIA: HMS organise the workshop for the informal sector members
Hind Mahila Sabha (Indian Women Association), a PSI affiliate from India, has initiated a bridge between informal sector and formal sector in their organisation. On 30 and 31 October 2009, a workshop was organized by Hind Mahila Sabha (Street Vendors Wing) in association with NASVI in Kanpur city. It also sought the participation of All India Catering and Tourism Corporation Employee’s Union. The workshop has seen participation from a large number of street vendors and there was also a very active participation of women and youth street vendors (nearly 50%).
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Precarious work is focus of 2009 labour film festival
The third annual Geneva Labour Film Shorts Festival features fourteen films from around the world produced by, for, and about unions and working people. Two out of four stories submitted by PSI about migrant health care workers in England will be shown at the Festival. The films show a brief look at how migrant workers contribute to the labour force in the NHS and the connection between working abroad and the life they have left behind. The event will take place in Geneva on 16 June from 19h00 to 22h00.
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South Korea: A meaningful step for irregular workers
26 October - The Korean Health & Medical Workers Union (KHMU), a PSI affiliate, and the Korean Health & Medical Employers Association (KHMEA) signed the 2007 collective agreement on 19th October. The 2007 collective bargaining has attracted social attention and public concern in terms of finding a collective solution to the problem of irregular workers.
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South Africa: one court victory - one tragic death
A Streetnet International press release reports that the eThekwini Municipality was ordered by the High Court of South Africa to restore possession of goods to Roshan Singh, Acting Chairperson of the Phoenix Plaza Street Traders Association(PPSTA).
Another informal vendor is shot by a member of a private contract service hired to clear informal traders off Park Station in Johannesburg.
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More...
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Policy Recommendations
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Informal Economy Workshop Nairobi 2003
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Strategies and
Alliances in relation to the organisation of informal
workers
The World Women’s Committee at its meeting on May 15-16
2002 in Berlin, adopted a set of policy recommendations which were
subsequently endorsed by the 2002 Executive
Board:
Organising
workers in the informal economy
- PSI renews its
commitment to facilitating the organisation of workers in the
informal economy in representative membership
organisations;
- Women
represent the great majority of workers in the informal economy
and it is therefore essential that in all its work on the informal
economy, PSI ensures a gender aware approach;
- PSI and its
affiliates recognise the wide diversity of organising methods and
strategies, which reflect national circumstances and
priorities;
- PSI and its
affiliates will seek to ensure that at national and international level,
labour laws and international instruments are extended to include
workers in the informal economy.
Click here to see the full
text
"Discussion
Paper to World Women’s Committee
2002": an introductory
discussion paper outlining some of the key issues for public sector
trade unions in relation to workers in the informal
economy.
Training Programmes and Publications
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Links
Click here to
see links to other websites on informal economy and women workers.
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