IRENE - Seminars on women workers in the informal economy

Workers in the informal economy

ORGANISING IN THE INFORMAL ECONOMY
An international conference of membership-based organisations (unions, federations, associations, alliances and networks) who are directly organising workers in the informal economy, was held in Ahmedabad, India from 3-6 December 2003.

The conference had the following objectives:

Sharing of experiences between organisational practitioners, and identifying the issues affecting informal workers;

Development of strategies to intensify organisation in the informal economy;

Identification of existing and new partnerships and alliances;

Identification of processes of representation at international forums (e.g. ILO, WTO, etc.)

Discussion about co-ordination between organisations of workers in the informal economy, and development of mechanisms for such co-ordination.

To take further steps after the discussions and conclusions adopted at the International Labour Conference in Geneva on "Decent Work in the Informal Economy" in June 2002, it is very clear that the most basic way to promote decent work in the informal economy is to increase and advance the level of organisation and representation of workers in the informal economy.

ORGANISING COMMITTEE:
An international organising committee has been constituted, consisting of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) of India, HomeNet Thailand, the Ghana Trades Union Congress, the Nigeria Labour Congress and StreetNet International. The international organising committee has agreed to work on the outcome of the conference. Find below the conference resolution with its conclusions and recommendations.

You can download the report (pdf file, 4 pg, 171 Kb) here:

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