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SOUTH ASIA SUB-REGIONALWORKSHOP ON ORGANISINGSTRATEGIES FOR INFORMALSECTOR WORKERS
16th and 17th December 2013Kathmandu, Nepal
Organised by General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC)
SOUTH ASIA SUB-REGIONALWORKSHOP ON ORGANISINGSTRATEGIES FOR INFORMALSECTOR WORKERS16th and 17th December 2013Kathmandu, Nepal
Organised by General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC)
SOUTH ASIA SUB-REGIONALWORKSHOP ON ORGANISINGSTRATEGIES FOR INFORMALSECTOR WORKERS16th and 17th December 2013Kathmandu, Nepal
Organised by General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC)
Introduction
The Informal Sector in South AsiaSouth Asia is one of the least developed regions in the world, comparable to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Countries in South Asia rank lowest in almost all human development indices. This situation
continues despite the region being the second fastest growing region in the world in the last few
years. This indicates that GDP growth did not result in any improvement in the lives of vast sections
of the population.
One of the reasons for this is the so-called ‘jobless growth.’ This jobless growth phenomenon is most
apparent in India. In other countries where jobs are created like in the Bangladesh garment industry,
the jobs are of low quality without security, low-paying, and very unsafe as demonstrated by the fires
and building collapses.
Further, a large number of people continue to work in agriculture, in the urban informal sector, or in
unprotected jobs in the formal sector. The share of workers in informal employment in the non-
agricultural sector is 83.6 per cent in India (2009–10), 78.4 per cent in Pakistan (2009–10) and 62.1 1per cent in Sri Lanka (2009). And these are the countries which are driving the ‘growth’ train in
South Asia. Added to this, most South Asian countries exhibit very low rates of female labour force
participation. Overall, the estimated labour force participation rate for women in South Asia was just 2
31.8 per cent in 2012. The low rate of women’s participation in the labour force is attributed to
cultural factors. What the official statistics hides is the large number of women in the informal sector
and those who work as own-account workers.
By all accounts, the number of working people in South Asia has increased over the last few years.
Young workers and women can be seen doing various kinds of work - rural workers, domestic
workers, sex workers in India, hotel workers in Nepal, factory workers in Pakistan, garment workers
in Bangladesh, and plantation workers in Sri Lanka. One of the main reasons for people entering the
informal sector as waged labour is the increasing ‘development’ and the resultant dispossession.
People and communities who are surviving through subsistence farming or making a living through
fishing are being deprived of their livelihood as land is being acquired for capital’s spatial expansion.
As a result of this mode of development, people are being rendered landless and forced to enter the
informal sector as waged labour. This type of waged labour does not provide any protection or
respect workers’ rights.
3
1 ILO Laborsta database; http://laborsta.ilo.org/informaleconomyE.html2 ILO Global Employment Trends, ILO, Geneva, 2013
South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Introduction
The Informal Sector in South AsiaSouth Asia is one of the least developed regions in the world, comparable to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Countries in South Asia rank lowest in almost all human development indices. This situation
continues despite the region being the second fastest growing region in the world in the last few
years. This indicates that GDP growth did not result in any improvement in the lives of vast sections
of the population.
One of the reasons for this is the so-called ‘jobless growth.’ This jobless growth phenomenon is most
apparent in India. In other countries where jobs are created like in the Bangladesh garment industry,
the jobs are of low quality without security, low-paying, and very unsafe as demonstrated by the fires
and building collapses.
Further, a large number of people continue to work in agriculture, in the urban informal sector, or in
unprotected jobs in the formal sector. The share of workers in informal employment in the non-
agricultural sector is 83.6 per cent in India (2009–10), 78.4 per cent in Pakistan (2009–10) and 62.1 1per cent in Sri Lanka (2009). And these are the countries which are driving the ‘growth’ train in
South Asia. Added to this, most South Asian countries exhibit very low rates of female labour force
participation. Overall, the estimated labour force participation rate for women in South Asia was just 2
31.8 per cent in 2012. The low rate of women’s participation in the labour force is attributed to
cultural factors. What the official statistics hides is the large number of women in the informal sector
and those who work as own-account workers.
By all accounts, the number of working people in South Asia has increased over the last few years.
Young workers and women can be seen doing various kinds of work - rural workers, domestic
workers, sex workers in India, hotel workers in Nepal, factory workers in Pakistan, garment workers
in Bangladesh, and plantation workers in Sri Lanka. One of the main reasons for people entering the
informal sector as waged labour is the increasing ‘development’ and the resultant dispossession.
People and communities who are surviving through subsistence farming or making a living through
fishing are being deprived of their livelihood as land is being acquired for capital’s spatial expansion.
As a result of this mode of development, people are being rendered landless and forced to enter the
informal sector as waged labour. This type of waged labour does not provide any protection or
respect workers’ rights.
3
1 ILO Laborsta database; http://laborsta.ilo.org/informaleconomyE.html2 ILO Global Employment Trends, ILO, Geneva, 2013
South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
One of the main issues of workers in the informal sector is the lack of visibility and recognition.
Several own-account workers like street vendors, domestic workers, and sex workers doesnot even
identify themselves as workers. And when they do identify themselves as such, it is a long struggle to
gain visibility and recognition from the State as well as from other civil society actors. The very
nature of their employment and work make it difficult for them to organize and to bargain
collectively. Moreover, in the context of the informal sector, collective bargaining necessitates a
process very different from that of the formal sector. The challenge of gaining visibility and
recognition is further intensified by the fact that most workers in the informal economy come from
the most marginalized sections of society.
In the face of all these challenges, informal workers across South Asia have been organising and
building sustainable organisations. Depending on the sector and the workers within it, the
organisations have taken different forms – unions, women’s organisations, youth organisations, or
NGOs. These organisations have faced impediments in organising, gaining visibility and recognition,
and negotiating with employers and local governments. However, they have overcome these
difficulties in creative ways and gained gaining support and solidarity from other groups. Eventually,
they have been able to form alliances. These are lessons that ought to be shared and learnt.
In order to deepen our understanding on organising informal workers in South Asia and to examine
the various ways by which organisations can work together, AMRC held a workshop on informal
workers’ organising in South Asia. The workshop includes focused discussions on the following:
Difficulties in organising and building sustainable organisations
Experiences in gaining visibility and recognition
Different forms of organisations that informal workers establish
Challenges in organising
Identifying bargaining targets
Strategies used in bargaining
Challenges in bargaining
Building alliances with other groups
The way forward
Central to the discussions is the concept of participation of women workers and other marginalised
sections the society within the organisations being formed — both as active members and leaders.
This is very applicable in the South Asian region as we find very few working class women taking
leadership even in working class women’s organisations. This is crucial in building democratic
organisations and effective collective bargaining based on the demands which are truly
representative of all the workers in the informal sector.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
WORKSHOP SUMMARY
The workshop was attended by about 30 participants from five countries in South Asia – Bangladesh,
India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The two-day workshop had presentations of the situation of
informal workers in each country as well as the organising strategies being used by various unions
and other groups.
Following the welcome of participants by GEFONT and AMRC, the objectives of the workshop and
the process preceding it in South East Asia were shared with the participants.
There were country presentations on organising strategies followed by different unions and groups
in the participating countries. The following shows the different issues that came up during the
discussions.
Highly labour intensive and heavy manual work
Prevalence of bonded and attached labour
Long and odd working hours
Health hazards
Low organisational coverage
Large number of self-employed
Poor level of skills and lack of access to trainings
Verbal contracts and casual employment
Guided by social relations; home based–family based pattern
Feminisation of work
Use of child labour
No social protection
Subsistence work and use of unpaid family workers
Harassments including sexual, ethnic/caste based and locality based
No coverage by labour law and no recognition by the state
No recognition of the individual as worker and the activity as work
Summary of proceedings
Nepal
Characteristics of informal economy in Nepal
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4 5South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
One of the main issues of workers in the informal sector is the lack of visibility and recognition.
Several own-account workers like street vendors, domestic workers, and sex workers doesnot even
identify themselves as workers. And when they do identify themselves as such, it is a long struggle to
gain visibility and recognition from the State as well as from other civil society actors. The very
nature of their employment and work make it difficult for them to organize and to bargain
collectively. Moreover, in the context of the informal sector, collective bargaining necessitates a
process very different from that of the formal sector. The challenge of gaining visibility and
recognition is further intensified by the fact that most workers in the informal economy come from
the most marginalized sections of society.
In the face of all these challenges, informal workers across South Asia have been organising and
building sustainable organisations. Depending on the sector and the workers within it, the
organisations have taken different forms – unions, women’s organisations, youth organisations, or
NGOs. These organisations have faced impediments in organising, gaining visibility and recognition,
and negotiating with employers and local governments. However, they have overcome these
difficulties in creative ways and gained gaining support and solidarity from other groups. Eventually,
they have been able to form alliances. These are lessons that ought to be shared and learnt.
In order to deepen our understanding on organising informal workers in South Asia and to examine
the various ways by which organisations can work together, AMRC held a workshop on informal
workers’ organising in South Asia. The workshop includes focused discussions on the following:
Difficulties in organising and building sustainable organisations
Experiences in gaining visibility and recognition
Different forms of organisations that informal workers establish
Challenges in organising
Identifying bargaining targets
Strategies used in bargaining
Challenges in bargaining
Building alliances with other groups
The way forward
Central to the discussions is the concept of participation of women workers and other marginalised
sections the society within the organisations being formed — both as active members and leaders.
This is very applicable in the South Asian region as we find very few working class women taking
leadership even in working class women’s organisations. This is crucial in building democratic
organisations and effective collective bargaining based on the demands which are truly
representative of all the workers in the informal sector.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
WORKSHOP SUMMARY
The workshop was attended by about 30 participants from five countries in South Asia – Bangladesh,
India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The two-day workshop had presentations of the situation of
informal workers in each country as well as the organising strategies being used by various unions
and other groups.
Following the welcome of participants by GEFONT and AMRC, the objectives of the workshop and
the process preceding it in South East Asia were shared with the participants.
There were country presentations on organising strategies followed by different unions and groups
in the participating countries. The following shows the different issues that came up during the
discussions.
Highly labour intensive and heavy manual work
Prevalence of bonded and attached labour
Long and odd working hours
Health hazards
Low organisational coverage
Large number of self-employed
Poor level of skills and lack of access to trainings
Verbal contracts and casual employment
Guided by social relations; home based–family based pattern
Feminisation of work
Use of child labour
No social protection
Subsistence work and use of unpaid family workers
Harassments including sexual, ethnic/caste based and locality based
No coverage by labour law and no recognition by the state
No recognition of the individual as worker and the activity as work
Summary of proceedings
Nepal
Characteristics of informal economy in Nepal
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
4 5South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Interventions and strategies of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT)
Informal economy and workers
Interventions and strategies of Labour Education Foundation (LEF)
Campaign for registration and recognition
Organising
Guaranteeing minimum wage
Developing and extending the social protection system
Building awareness and rights-based education work
Ensuring justice in the market for self-employed workers
Developing micro cooperatives and self-help groups
Political lobbying and policy intervention
GEFONT’ sinterventions have taught them that organising becomes easier when it comes with some
benefit/welfare package. GEFONT also learnt that both workplace and residential localities have to
be targeted in organising, issues of children and women should be given emphasis, and wages have
to be considered as the basic area for actions by the unions.
Constitutes 70 per cent of the total workforce of 68 million workers
Not covered by labour laws
No access to social protection or welfare fund
Very low wages, i.e., way below the minimum wage
Use of bonded labour in agriculture and in brick kilns
Predominantly in agriculture and home-based work
Male-dominated in street vending and small enterprises
Female-dominated in home-based work
Family labour common in agriculture
Focused on home-based workers
Forms literacy centres in communities
Organises study circles as a strategy for organising home based workers
Raises awareness among trade unions during the study circles
Forms cooperatives
Through all these processes, trade unions are being organised and registered. Some of the organised
sectors are bangle workers and power loom workers. Political bargaining with the government
through mass mobilisations is important and effective.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Informal sector in Sri Lanka
Interventions and strategies of Ceylon Federation of Labour
Interventions and strategies of Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union
Informal sector and workers in Bangladesh
Predominantly in farming, small enterprises, and self-employed
Usually engaged in small-scale production
Use of family and unorganised labour
Use of indigenous/low technology
Workers outside the purview of labour legislation
Health and safety issues
Unregulated wages and working hours
No social security measures
Usually, no employer - employee relationship
Low union density and penetration
Creates sub-committees for informal sector
Serves as a liaison between the federation and informal workers associations
Provides legal aid and assistance for informal workers having encounters with the authorities,
especially during demolitions
Liaises with public authorities to obtain licenses, permits etc. to self-employed workers
Supports home-based occupations to form into co-operatives
Raises awareness and agitates workers to fight for a social security scheme
Gives emphasis on welfare amenities and health and safety for workers
Stages street plays to organise domestic workers
Conducts survey on the conditions of work and wages of live-in domestic workers
Organises meetings on off-days of workers
Takes up issues of sexual harassment and abuse
Employ about 80 per cent of the labour force and contributes around 64 per cent to the GDP
Mostly composed of unpaid family workers, irregular paid workers, day labourers in
agriculture/non-agriculture sectors, domestic workers, and paid/unpaid apprentices; all
workers employed in the personal household sector; paid employees working in personal
establishments; employers, self-employed workers, and “other” workers employed in
businesses with no written accounts or not registered with the proper authorities.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
6 7South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Interventions and strategies of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT)
Informal economy and workers
Interventions and strategies of Labour Education Foundation (LEF)
Campaign for registration and recognition
Organising
Guaranteeing minimum wage
Developing and extending the social protection system
Building awareness and rights-based education work
Ensuring justice in the market for self-employed workers
Developing micro cooperatives and self-help groups
Political lobbying and policy intervention
GEFONT’ sinterventions have taught them that organising becomes easier when it comes with some
benefit/welfare package. GEFONT also learnt that both workplace and residential localities have to
be targeted in organising, issues of children and women should be given emphasis, and wages have
to be considered as the basic area for actions by the unions.
Constitutes 70 per cent of the total workforce of 68 million workers
Not covered by labour laws
No access to social protection or welfare fund
Very low wages, i.e., way below the minimum wage
Use of bonded labour in agriculture and in brick kilns
Predominantly in agriculture and home-based work
Male-dominated in street vending and small enterprises
Female-dominated in home-based work
Family labour common in agriculture
Focused on home-based workers
Forms literacy centres in communities
Organises study circles as a strategy for organising home based workers
Raises awareness among trade unions during the study circles
Forms cooperatives
Through all these processes, trade unions are being organised and registered. Some of the organised
sectors are bangle workers and power loom workers. Political bargaining with the government
through mass mobilisations is important and effective.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Informal sector in Sri Lanka
Interventions and strategies of Ceylon Federation of Labour
Interventions and strategies of Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union
Informal sector and workers in Bangladesh
Predominantly in farming, small enterprises, and self-employed
Usually engaged in small-scale production
Use of family and unorganised labour
Use of indigenous/low technology
Workers outside the purview of labour legislation
Health and safety issues
Unregulated wages and working hours
No social security measures
Usually, no employer - employee relationship
Low union density and penetration
Creates sub-committees for informal sector
Serves as a liaison between the federation and informal workers associations
Provides legal aid and assistance for informal workers having encounters with the authorities,
especially during demolitions
Liaises with public authorities to obtain licenses, permits etc. to self-employed workers
Supports home-based occupations to form into co-operatives
Raises awareness and agitates workers to fight for a social security scheme
Gives emphasis on welfare amenities and health and safety for workers
Stages street plays to organise domestic workers
Conducts survey on the conditions of work and wages of live-in domestic workers
Organises meetings on off-days of workers
Takes up issues of sexual harassment and abuse
Employ about 80 per cent of the labour force and contributes around 64 per cent to the GDP
Mostly composed of unpaid family workers, irregular paid workers, day labourers in
agriculture/non-agriculture sectors, domestic workers, and paid/unpaid apprentices; all
workers employed in the personal household sector; paid employees working in personal
establishments; employers, self-employed workers, and “other” workers employed in
businesses with no written accounts or not registered with the proper authorities.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
6 7South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Essentially composed of agricultural workers, home-based workers, waste pickers,
construction workers, street vendors, domestic workers, daily wage labourers, transport
workers, small manufacturer, fisher folk, sales workers, brick breaking workers, tailoring
workers, hotel and restaurant workers, clay workers, etc.
Face several issues including the following: not having a formal contract, protection,
compensation or benefits; lack of regular work and very low or late pay; exploitation, abuse,
sexual violence, discrimination and harassment; low levels of education, skills, training, and
lack of access to credit; health problems from poor working and living conditions; boring,
repetitive or dangerous work; exclusion, being unorganised, and unrepresented; and
inadequate labour laws
Labour law which was amended in 2013 covers only 5-8 percent of the workers and majority,
about 90%, of the workers are not covered by law.
In urban centres, the rickshaw pullers and auto drivers form the largest sector of the informal
economy (about 4 million), followed by street vendors at about 3 lakh in Dhaka. There are
about 25 lakh domestic workers and about 20 lakh home based workers in Bangladesh.
Identified and highlighted the occupational risks involved in several sectors in the informal
economy
Labour law improvement and implementation
Organising informal sector workers as organizations and cooperatives
Provide financial services for the informal sector workers
Advocacy at policy level for occupational health, safety and security for workers
Awareness on social security and social protection
Working on the ways to reduce the pressure on informal sector workers from climate change
and natural disaster
Identify models and best practices for effectively organising informal workers and develop
recommendations and future action plans for government, policy makers, and informal sector
workers organisations, donors, NGOs, trade unions and practitioners.
Labour rights forum at national level to focus on informal workers
Policy advocacy and campaign
Organising
Comprises 86 per cent of the 458 million workforce in India.
In agriculture, almost 100 per cent was informal labour and 72 per cent in non-agriculture.
Out of the total 148 million women workers, 142 million work in the informal sector.
Child labour is most prominent in the informal sector.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Interventions and strategies of Labour in Informal Economy (LIE)
Interventions and strategies Textile and Garments Workers Federation and ULF
Informal sector in India
India
There are a few organising efforts in the informal sector, particularly among farmers and
agricultural workers, fish workers, plantation workers, forest workers, construction workers,
street vendors, waste pickers etc.
The organising has taken different forms — from unions to collectives to cooperatives.
Workers in governments schemes who are treated as ‘volunteers’ are also being organised.
There is bonded labour in EPZs — from fish processing to garment factories.
In a few instances, permanent workers and contract workers have come together.
Establishing employer-employee relationships is difficult.
Following the presentations, the participants were divided into three groups to have detailed
discussions about gaining recognition and visibility for the informal sector workers and collective
bargaining. The results of the group discussions were thereafter presented in the plenary.
Group 1 divided their presentation into four sections — recognition of workers; organising;
collective bargaining, and building alliances.
To gain recognition, several strategies were used. In the tribal area in Odisha, India, tribal cultural
festivals were organised and government officials were invited. Such events make the government
officials understand tribal peoples and their issues. In Pakistan, some of the strategies used in
organising home-based workers include visits to home based workers in their communities,
awareness-raising on OHS, community-based meetings, and generating awareness on OHS. Among
the waste pickers and street vendors in Bangladesh, some of the activities are awareness-raising
campaigns to recognise them as workers, information campaigns on health problems that they faced
as workers, and advocacy work. For home-based workers in Bangladesh, the most common
strategies are community visits and awareness-raising campaigns. Awareness-raising campaigns
were also conducted by GEFONT among health workers (who are called ‘heath volunteers’), home-
based workers, street vendors, and domestic workers in Nepal. In Sri Lanka, the federation
contacted the domestic workers by going from house to house and conducted awareness-raising
campaign in the communities during festival holidays when they are at home.
There were several strategies used in organising. Domestic workers in Sri Lanka conducted house
to house awareness-raising campaigns, meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification,
formation of organisation, registration of trade union, and campaigns with members and supporters
of the union. They also used creative strategies like street theatre. On the other hand, waste pickers,
street vendors, and home-based workers in Bangladesh and Pakistan organise through awareness-
raising campaigns, meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification, formation of small
groups, training prospective organisers who later on initiate the organising, formation
ofassociations, struggles to legally register a union, and building linkages with trade unions through
study circles.
Several strategies have been used for collective bargaining. Bargaining is being done both with
employers and the governments. Home-based workers in Pakistan used strikes as a collective
bargaining tool. In addition, to strengthen themselves, alliances are being built with unions, NGOs,
political parties, as well as regional and international alliances.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presentation by Group 1
8 9South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Essentially composed of agricultural workers, home-based workers, waste pickers,
construction workers, street vendors, domestic workers, daily wage labourers, transport
workers, small manufacturer, fisher folk, sales workers, brick breaking workers, tailoring
workers, hotel and restaurant workers, clay workers, etc.
Face several issues including the following: not having a formal contract, protection,
compensation or benefits; lack of regular work and very low or late pay; exploitation, abuse,
sexual violence, discrimination and harassment; low levels of education, skills, training, and
lack of access to credit; health problems from poor working and living conditions; boring,
repetitive or dangerous work; exclusion, being unorganised, and unrepresented; and
inadequate labour laws
Labour law which was amended in 2013 covers only 5-8 percent of the workers and majority,
about 90%, of the workers are not covered by law.
In urban centres, the rickshaw pullers and auto drivers form the largest sector of the informal
economy (about 4 million), followed by street vendors at about 3 lakh in Dhaka. There are
about 25 lakh domestic workers and about 20 lakh home based workers in Bangladesh.
Identified and highlighted the occupational risks involved in several sectors in the informal
economy
Labour law improvement and implementation
Organising informal sector workers as organizations and cooperatives
Provide financial services for the informal sector workers
Advocacy at policy level for occupational health, safety and security for workers
Awareness on social security and social protection
Working on the ways to reduce the pressure on informal sector workers from climate change
and natural disaster
Identify models and best practices for effectively organising informal workers and develop
recommendations and future action plans for government, policy makers, and informal sector
workers organisations, donors, NGOs, trade unions and practitioners.
Labour rights forum at national level to focus on informal workers
Policy advocacy and campaign
Organising
Comprises 86 per cent of the 458 million workforce in India.
In agriculture, almost 100 per cent was informal labour and 72 per cent in non-agriculture.
Out of the total 148 million women workers, 142 million work in the informal sector.
Child labour is most prominent in the informal sector.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Interventions and strategies of Labour in Informal Economy (LIE)
Interventions and strategies Textile and Garments Workers Federation and ULF
Informal sector in India
India
There are a few organising efforts in the informal sector, particularly among farmers and
agricultural workers, fish workers, plantation workers, forest workers, construction workers,
street vendors, waste pickers etc.
The organising has taken different forms — from unions to collectives to cooperatives.
Workers in governments schemes who are treated as ‘volunteers’ are also being organised.
There is bonded labour in EPZs — from fish processing to garment factories.
In a few instances, permanent workers and contract workers have come together.
Establishing employer-employee relationships is difficult.
Following the presentations, the participants were divided into three groups to have detailed
discussions about gaining recognition and visibility for the informal sector workers and collective
bargaining. The results of the group discussions were thereafter presented in the plenary.
Group 1 divided their presentation into four sections — recognition of workers; organising;
collective bargaining, and building alliances.
To gain recognition, several strategies were used. In the tribal area in Odisha, India, tribal cultural
festivals were organised and government officials were invited. Such events make the government
officials understand tribal peoples and their issues. In Pakistan, some of the strategies used in
organising home-based workers include visits to home based workers in their communities,
awareness-raising on OHS, community-based meetings, and generating awareness on OHS. Among
the waste pickers and street vendors in Bangladesh, some of the activities are awareness-raising
campaigns to recognise them as workers, information campaigns on health problems that they faced
as workers, and advocacy work. For home-based workers in Bangladesh, the most common
strategies are community visits and awareness-raising campaigns. Awareness-raising campaigns
were also conducted by GEFONT among health workers (who are called ‘heath volunteers’), home-
based workers, street vendors, and domestic workers in Nepal. In Sri Lanka, the federation
contacted the domestic workers by going from house to house and conducted awareness-raising
campaign in the communities during festival holidays when they are at home.
There were several strategies used in organising. Domestic workers in Sri Lanka conducted house
to house awareness-raising campaigns, meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification,
formation of organisation, registration of trade union, and campaigns with members and supporters
of the union. They also used creative strategies like street theatre. On the other hand, waste pickers,
street vendors, and home-based workers in Bangladesh and Pakistan organise through awareness-
raising campaigns, meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification, formation of small
groups, training prospective organisers who later on initiate the organising, formation
ofassociations, struggles to legally register a union, and building linkages with trade unions through
study circles.
Several strategies have been used for collective bargaining. Bargaining is being done both with
employers and the governments. Home-based workers in Pakistan used strikes as a collective
bargaining tool. In addition, to strengthen themselves, alliances are being built with unions, NGOs,
political parties, as well as regional and international alliances.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presentation by Group 1
8 9South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
The workshop concluded with a session on how the process can be taken forward. It was discussed
that though the situation of formal sector workers can differ from country to country within the
South Asian region, the situation of informal workers, as it has come out in the presentations and
discussions, is almost the same. This will help in building networks. Some suggestions in taking the
process forward are:
Worker Exchange Programmes between countries (sector-specific, if possible)
Sector-specific workshops at South Asia level
Solidarity actions (which can be initiated through the google groups)
Sharing struggles on a web platform
The participants gave detailed feedback regarding the workshop. Most of the participants felt that
the small group discussions were very detailed and useful, but it was important to bring all the
details to the plenary sessions. It was felt that the time was not enough for discussions. More
discussions were needed on specific sectors like home-based workers.
The following suggestions were made:
Presentations must be circulated prior to the workshop so that translation can be done.
Sectoral workshops should be held.
Workshops should be organised in different countries as more people from could participate.
More groups from other South Asian countries should be included.
Time for equal sharing from all participants should be ensured.
The logistical arrangements were appreciated, particularly the venue.
Day 1 – 16th December 2013
Umesh Upadhyay, General Secretary of GEFONT,
extended a warm welcome to all participants. He
thanked AMRC for initiating this process. He said
that it was very important to discuss the
difficulties of the informal economy workers of all
countries and to come up with workable
strategies to deal with those. Sanjiv Pandita,
Executive Director of AMRC also welcomed the
participants to the meeting and hoped that the
43rd Liberation Day of Bangladesh would unite
the working people of South Asia. He said that at
present the labour movement had its weakest
bargaining power and that there was
unprecedented capital accumulation. The
question before the labour movement was how to
recapture the lost bargaining power. The formal
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Feedback
DETAILED MEETING PROCEEDINGS
Presentation by Group 2
Presentation by Group 3
The situation of informal workers was presented. The working conditions are bad and precarious,
especially with regard to occupational safety and health. The legal coverage is between nil to little; in
particular, there is no recognition, no social protection, no minimum wage, and no security of
employment or earnings. Visibility and identity as workers is a significant issue. Only through a long
struggle is any recognition possible; for some, though, such recognition has not yet been achieved.
For example, milk selling is recognised as work, but milking itself is not. The living conditions of
informal workers are equally bad; workers do not enjoy proper sanitation and water facilities. Union
recognition is also difficult. There is massive displacement that affects tribal workers who are not
even benefitting from the potential employment.
Strategies and Approaches: A multidimensional approach is needed. Social and gender issues
should be considered important. The recognition and understanding of gender issues will help in
organising. Taking up and highlighting demands and issues that concern living conditions are also
important. Laws should be inclusive; more workers should be included in the Minimum Wages Act.
Some universal coverage should be present in the laws, especially on the issue of maternity benefits.
Some issues though can be addressed sectorally, i.e., with and among construction workers or bidi
workers.
Worker status should be given to all. Health workers in Nepal, scheme workers in India — whoever is
earning a livelihood — should be recognised as workers. Negotiation should happen at the local,
individual, civic, and administrative levels. Mobility of workers should not hinder their rights.
Migrant Act should cover the source and destination areas. Union registration should be made
compulsory. There should be a default registration after 45 days; this, in particular, is a demand in
India.
Other strategies used are trade union education, training of leaders, lobbying at various levels,
sectoral unions, street plays and solidarity groups and actions. Prevention of sexual harassment is
important. The discourse of pitting local workers against migrant workers should not be allowed as
it is used to break workers’ unity.
The organising strategies which are being used by various groups were discussed. Small group and
collective group meetings are conducted by several organisations. Other strategies include
awareness and education programs for workers and trainings for workers’ rights and
responsibilities. Common demands are
prepared. Leadership development, capacity
building for leadership and capacity building
for achieving legal and political rights are
organised. While they are existing, there is a
need for more workshops of such kind.
The need for networks was also discussed.
Networks of trade unions and civil society
organisations have to be built and sustained at
several levels – local and nationals well as
regional and global.
10 11South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
The workshop concluded with a session on how the process can be taken forward. It was discussed
that though the situation of formal sector workers can differ from country to country within the
South Asian region, the situation of informal workers, as it has come out in the presentations and
discussions, is almost the same. This will help in building networks. Some suggestions in taking the
process forward are:
Worker Exchange Programmes between countries (sector-specific, if possible)
Sector-specific workshops at South Asia level
Solidarity actions (which can be initiated through the google groups)
Sharing struggles on a web platform
The participants gave detailed feedback regarding the workshop. Most of the participants felt that
the small group discussions were very detailed and useful, but it was important to bring all the
details to the plenary sessions. It was felt that the time was not enough for discussions. More
discussions were needed on specific sectors like home-based workers.
The following suggestions were made:
Presentations must be circulated prior to the workshop so that translation can be done.
Sectoral workshops should be held.
Workshops should be organised in different countries as more people from could participate.
More groups from other South Asian countries should be included.
Time for equal sharing from all participants should be ensured.
The logistical arrangements were appreciated, particularly the venue.
Day 1 – 16th December 2013
Umesh Upadhyay, General Secretary of GEFONT,
extended a warm welcome to all participants. He
thanked AMRC for initiating this process. He said
that it was very important to discuss the
difficulties of the informal economy workers of all
countries and to come up with workable
strategies to deal with those. Sanjiv Pandita,
Executive Director of AMRC also welcomed the
participants to the meeting and hoped that the
43rd Liberation Day of Bangladesh would unite
the working people of South Asia. He said that at
present the labour movement had its weakest
bargaining power and that there was
unprecedented capital accumulation. The
question before the labour movement was how to
recapture the lost bargaining power. The formal
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Feedback
DETAILED MEETING PROCEEDINGS
Presentation by Group 2
Presentation by Group 3
The situation of informal workers was presented. The working conditions are bad and precarious,
especially with regard to occupational safety and health. The legal coverage is between nil to little; in
particular, there is no recognition, no social protection, no minimum wage, and no security of
employment or earnings. Visibility and identity as workers is a significant issue. Only through a long
struggle is any recognition possible; for some, though, such recognition has not yet been achieved.
For example, milk selling is recognised as work, but milking itself is not. The living conditions of
informal workers are equally bad; workers do not enjoy proper sanitation and water facilities. Union
recognition is also difficult. There is massive displacement that affects tribal workers who are not
even benefitting from the potential employment.
Strategies and Approaches: A multidimensional approach is needed. Social and gender issues
should be considered important. The recognition and understanding of gender issues will help in
organising. Taking up and highlighting demands and issues that concern living conditions are also
important. Laws should be inclusive; more workers should be included in the Minimum Wages Act.
Some universal coverage should be present in the laws, especially on the issue of maternity benefits.
Some issues though can be addressed sectorally, i.e., with and among construction workers or bidi
workers.
Worker status should be given to all. Health workers in Nepal, scheme workers in India — whoever is
earning a livelihood — should be recognised as workers. Negotiation should happen at the local,
individual, civic, and administrative levels. Mobility of workers should not hinder their rights.
Migrant Act should cover the source and destination areas. Union registration should be made
compulsory. There should be a default registration after 45 days; this, in particular, is a demand in
India.
Other strategies used are trade union education, training of leaders, lobbying at various levels,
sectoral unions, street plays and solidarity groups and actions. Prevention of sexual harassment is
important. The discourse of pitting local workers against migrant workers should not be allowed as
it is used to break workers’ unity.
The organising strategies which are being used by various groups were discussed. Small group and
collective group meetings are conducted by several organisations. Other strategies include
awareness and education programs for workers and trainings for workers’ rights and
responsibilities. Common demands are
prepared. Leadership development, capacity
building for leadership and capacity building
for achieving legal and political rights are
organised. While they are existing, there is a
need for more workshops of such kind.
The need for networks was also discussed.
Networks of trade unions and civil society
organisations have to be built and sustained at
several levels – local and nationals well as
regional and global.
10 11South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
sector was being broken down. The role of informal labour in the economy was tremendous. In the
last few years, the process of informalisation of workers has intensified. Informal workers have to
deal with invisibility and non-recognition, along with other issues. We should also understand that
the dichotomy between the formal and informal sectors was false and that all workers must come
together.
Following this, the participants introduced themselves.
Apoorva from AMRC placed this meeting in the present economic context and introduced AMRC’s
work on informal sector organising, particularly in the last few years. The present process began
with a regional meeting in Bangkok in 2009 and was followed by research and workshops in South
East Asia. A meeting was also held in
India prior to the present workshop.
AMRC is looking to integrate the South
East Asia and South Asia processes in
the future.
Pemba Lama, the Deputy General
Secretary of GEFONT, welcomed all the
participants to Nepal. She said that the
informal economy is not protected by
any labour law, there is no formal
'employee-employer relationship' and workers are not getting any benefits to which they are
entitled. Further, she added that ‘informal economy’ is a broader term covering every informal
economic activity. ‘Informal sector’ is a narrower term, a segment of informal economy, which
included registered establishments with less than 10 workers and unregistered informal
establishments or micro enterprises and informal activities concerning production and services as
defined by labour law in Nepal. The informal sector in Nepal is divided into urban and rural informal
sector. The informal economy also covers all paid workers and unpaid family workers as well as
attached worker with no separate payment for her/his work. The informal economy workers in
Nepal are often engaged in farming; trading (street vendors, hawkers, and very small traders); crafts
making (clay, metal, bamboo, wood and others); construction; transport (including porters,
cleaners, Khalasi, loader, Rickshaw pullers, auto-mechanics and helpers); micro enterprises, such as
family based enterprises and workers in various types of production and services; and other
services such as barbers, cobblers, tailors, blacksmiths and traditional entertainers.
Pemba introduced GEFONT, an organisation that was established in 1989 with a membership of over
330,000 members in 2009.
She also gave some statistics of informal workers in Nepal:
Total workforce: 11.779 millions (males : 5.520 and females: 6.259)
Formal sector: 1.991 millions (males: 1.471 and females: 0.521)
Total informal economy: 9.788 millions (males: 4.049 and females : 5.739 millions)
Non agri-informal economy workers: 2.142 millions (males: 1.379 and females: 0.763)
Presentation by GEFONT, Nepal
•
•
•
•
Agri-informal economy workers: 8.677 millions (males: 3.412 and females: 5.265)
Fully self-employed workers: 4.265 millions (males: 2.587 and females: 1.678)
Total unpaid family workers: 5.387 millions (males: 1.353 and females: 4.034)
She went on to present about the characteristics of informal economy in Nepal including highly
labour intensive and heavy manual work; prevalence of bonded and attached labour; long and odd
working hours; health hazards; low organisational coverage; large number of self-employed; poor
level of skills and lack of access to trainings; verbal contracts and casual employment; guided by
social relations; home-based and family-based patterns; feminisation of work; use of child labour;
no social protection; subsistence work and use of unpaid family workers; harassments including
sexual, ethnic/caste based and locality based; no coverage by labour law and no recognition by the
state as workers. In all this, GEFONT has been intervening in several ways includingcampaign for
registration and recognition; organising; ensuring minimum wages; developing and extending the
social protection system; building awareness and rights-based education work; ensuring justice in
the market forself-employed workers; developing micro cooperatives and self-help groups; and
political lobbying and policy intervention.
GEFONT has identified that there are challenges faced by informal economy workers including
awareness about recognition as workers deserving trade union rights, low literacy rate, difficulty in
organising, and inclusion of welfare programmes in organising agenda. Further, the work is highly
unstable. There is also a poor level of collectivism that thereby creates financial problems to the
trade unions. Informalisation of formal work and differing vested interests of social groupings and
NGO add to the difficulty. However, cooperationcan also be viewed as a good opportunity for the
union movement as there is strength in numbers and it is possible to try and balance the employers'
strategy of informalisation. GEFONT was able to pressurise the state towards social responsibility.
Other unions have also started to take up issues of informal economy workers.
Pemba shared that they learnt that organising becomes easier when it comes with some
benefit/welfare package. They also learnt that both workplace and residential localities have to be
targeted, issues of children and women should be given emphasis, issues of health should be given
attention, and wages have to be considered as the basic area for actions by the unions.
In addition, local social and political activists play important role. Lobbying with the government for
workers registration and providing ID cards are proven to be effective. There is also a demand for an
integrated social protection system. Collective bargaining strategies for informal economy workers
have included registration at local bodies and direct national level bargaining of national federations
with employers' associations and municipalities. For agriculture and tea plantation, collective
bargaining is done at the level of the National Wage Board. In some districts, the construction
workers union is involved in the district wage board.
Pemba concluded her presentation by emphasising the need and the importance of putting gender
at the centre of the agenda when discussing about informal economy workers.
The presentation was followed by a discussion. Pemba clarified the term ‘attached workers.’ She also
said that in organising, big gatherings did not work; they had to change to having small meetings and
study circles at local areas. Collective bargaining is also done at the level of the National Wage Board.
•
•
•
12 13South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
sector was being broken down. The role of informal labour in the economy was tremendous. In the
last few years, the process of informalisation of workers has intensified. Informal workers have to
deal with invisibility and non-recognition, along with other issues. We should also understand that
the dichotomy between the formal and informal sectors was false and that all workers must come
together.
Following this, the participants introduced themselves.
Apoorva from AMRC placed this meeting in the present economic context and introduced AMRC’s
work on informal sector organising, particularly in the last few years. The present process began
with a regional meeting in Bangkok in 2009 and was followed by research and workshops in South
East Asia. A meeting was also held in
India prior to the present workshop.
AMRC is looking to integrate the South
East Asia and South Asia processes in
the future.
Pemba Lama, the Deputy General
Secretary of GEFONT, welcomed all the
participants to Nepal. She said that the
informal economy is not protected by
any labour law, there is no formal
'employee-employer relationship' and workers are not getting any benefits to which they are
entitled. Further, she added that ‘informal economy’ is a broader term covering every informal
economic activity. ‘Informal sector’ is a narrower term, a segment of informal economy, which
included registered establishments with less than 10 workers and unregistered informal
establishments or micro enterprises and informal activities concerning production and services as
defined by labour law in Nepal. The informal sector in Nepal is divided into urban and rural informal
sector. The informal economy also covers all paid workers and unpaid family workers as well as
attached worker with no separate payment for her/his work. The informal economy workers in
Nepal are often engaged in farming; trading (street vendors, hawkers, and very small traders); crafts
making (clay, metal, bamboo, wood and others); construction; transport (including porters,
cleaners, Khalasi, loader, Rickshaw pullers, auto-mechanics and helpers); micro enterprises, such as
family based enterprises and workers in various types of production and services; and other
services such as barbers, cobblers, tailors, blacksmiths and traditional entertainers.
Pemba introduced GEFONT, an organisation that was established in 1989 with a membership of over
330,000 members in 2009.
She also gave some statistics of informal workers in Nepal:
Total workforce: 11.779 millions (males : 5.520 and females: 6.259)
Formal sector: 1.991 millions (males: 1.471 and females: 0.521)
Total informal economy: 9.788 millions (males: 4.049 and females : 5.739 millions)
Non agri-informal economy workers: 2.142 millions (males: 1.379 and females: 0.763)
Presentation by GEFONT, Nepal
•
•
•
•
Agri-informal economy workers: 8.677 millions (males: 3.412 and females: 5.265)
Fully self-employed workers: 4.265 millions (males: 2.587 and females: 1.678)
Total unpaid family workers: 5.387 millions (males: 1.353 and females: 4.034)
She went on to present about the characteristics of informal economy in Nepal including highly
labour intensive and heavy manual work; prevalence of bonded and attached labour; long and odd
working hours; health hazards; low organisational coverage; large number of self-employed; poor
level of skills and lack of access to trainings; verbal contracts and casual employment; guided by
social relations; home-based and family-based patterns; feminisation of work; use of child labour;
no social protection; subsistence work and use of unpaid family workers; harassments including
sexual, ethnic/caste based and locality based; no coverage by labour law and no recognition by the
state as workers. In all this, GEFONT has been intervening in several ways includingcampaign for
registration and recognition; organising; ensuring minimum wages; developing and extending the
social protection system; building awareness and rights-based education work; ensuring justice in
the market forself-employed workers; developing micro cooperatives and self-help groups; and
political lobbying and policy intervention.
GEFONT has identified that there are challenges faced by informal economy workers including
awareness about recognition as workers deserving trade union rights, low literacy rate, difficulty in
organising, and inclusion of welfare programmes in organising agenda. Further, the work is highly
unstable. There is also a poor level of collectivism that thereby creates financial problems to the
trade unions. Informalisation of formal work and differing vested interests of social groupings and
NGO add to the difficulty. However, cooperationcan also be viewed as a good opportunity for the
union movement as there is strength in numbers and it is possible to try and balance the employers'
strategy of informalisation. GEFONT was able to pressurise the state towards social responsibility.
Other unions have also started to take up issues of informal economy workers.
Pemba shared that they learnt that organising becomes easier when it comes with some
benefit/welfare package. They also learnt that both workplace and residential localities have to be
targeted, issues of children and women should be given emphasis, issues of health should be given
attention, and wages have to be considered as the basic area for actions by the unions.
In addition, local social and political activists play important role. Lobbying with the government for
workers registration and providing ID cards are proven to be effective. There is also a demand for an
integrated social protection system. Collective bargaining strategies for informal economy workers
have included registration at local bodies and direct national level bargaining of national federations
with employers' associations and municipalities. For agriculture and tea plantation, collective
bargaining is done at the level of the National Wage Board. In some districts, the construction
workers union is involved in the district wage board.
Pemba concluded her presentation by emphasising the need and the importance of putting gender
at the centre of the agenda when discussing about informal economy workers.
The presentation was followed by a discussion. Pemba clarified the term ‘attached workers.’ She also
said that in organising, big gatherings did not work; they had to change to having small meetings and
study circles at local areas. Collective bargaining is also done at the level of the National Wage Board.
•
•
•
12 13South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Presentation by LEF, PakistanKhalid Mahmood of Labour Education Foundation presented that over 70 per cent of the total
workforce of 68 million workers work in the informal sector. These workers are not covered by
labour laws nor do they have access to any social protection or welfare fund. The highest number of
employment is found in agriculture. Agriculture is followed by home-based work in terms of having
the highest number of workers, employing about 12 million based on unofficial statistics. Home-
based workers are mostly women and children.
The primary reason behind the increase in informal sector workers is the neo-liberal economic
policies adopted by the government of Pakistan in the last 25 years. Privatisation, de-regulation, and
downsizing have rendered millions of workers jobless. Affected workers are forced to be part of
informal economy while the women and children work from homes. Informal sector is very much
influenced by the social setup. Men mostly work as street vendors and in small enterprises and
family labour is used in agriculture. On the other hand, women are mostly in home-based work as
they are usually not allowed to work outside the home.
The minimum wage is set at Rupees 10,000 for an eight-hour day for unskilled work. However, the
majority of formal sector workers are not even getting the proper minimum wage. A single worker in
the informal sector barely gets about Rupees 30 to35 a day. There is no law to enforce the payment of
minimum wage in the informal sector. Agriculture still operatesin a feudal system. Instead of wage,
families are given grains and accommodation. There is still a lot of bonded labour in agriculture. The
same is true in the brick kilns even though they are now considered as part of the formal sector.
In informal economy, LEF works mostly with home-based workers. Starting in 1996-97, LEF has
recognised that there is high illiteracy and thus decided to start literacy centres so that workers are
able to understand their rights in a better way. The plan was to start these classes in small factories.
However, the employers did not allow it, and so, some of the classes were started in communities
instead. Because women were more interested in the literacy classes, LEF conducted literacy classes
in the morning for women and in the evening for men. Through these classes, LEF was able to gather
information about home-based work. At the same time, the literacy classes became a space for
discussing about rights and sharing skills.
The study circles became a very important strategy in bringing home-based workers together. Study
circles were conducted in Lahore, Karachi, and Hyderabad. LEF employed teachers from the
communities. In Hyderabad, many bangle workers joined the study circles. Many carpet workers
and other informal sector workers also participated in the study circles. Informal workers also came
into contact with trade unions because trade union leaders were invited by LEF to talk about labour
rights in the study circles.
The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees every worker the right to organise, but the labour laws do
not reflect this. Pakistan has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98. Khalid reiterated that all
workers—formal or informal—are entitled to these rights.
Because there are many women workers in attendance, there are also discussions on women
workers’ rights. During trade union trainings, sessions on gender equality are not very effective
especially when there are only male participants. LEF started to bring women home-based workers
who were part of study circles. With a mix of female and male participants, the study circles resulted
in good discussions. This is how LEF was able to bring formal and informal men and women workers
together. Co-operatives also started to be formed.
In terms of organising strategies, LEF moved from literacy classes to study circles to discussion to
trade unions to co-operatives and then to organising in trade unions. Contractors and government
officials were also invited to the meetings. Skill trainings were given to co-operatives; subsidised
foods are also delivered to the co-operatives.
The first bangle workers union was registered in Hyderabad in December 2009. The workers were
able to identify the employer, and through this process, even the workers were identified. The labour
officer was convinced and the union was registered. The same process is now being tried in the other
districts. Garment workers in Quetta were also able to register the local union and the federation at
the national level.
In these processes, the main problem is the lack of legal framework that will support organising.
Unless there is a law, organising will be limited to small-scale.
Some of the NGOs that work with home-based workers only address women’s rights and social
issues and do not look at the home-based workers as workers. There is a need to engage not just the
Women’s Ministry but also the Labour ministry.
There should be a legislation focusing on informal workers’ rights. LEF is hoping that such a law for
home-based workers will be passed in Punjab. The draft law has moved from the labour department
to the law department. LEF will organise to pressure the government to pass the law and call the
organisations ‘unions’ even if they are not registered!
Irfana from Glass Bangle Workers Union shared that there are 2,100 members in the union, including
1,500 fee paying members. When the unioncalls labour officials for meetings, they respond
positively when they hear stories from workers themselves.
Mohammad Aslam from Power Loom Workers Union shared that there are about 500,000 power
loom workers in Faisalabad district and Labour Qaumi Movement is organising them. The union has
a lot of influence in the area. In fact, it is able to mobilise about 10,000 in about an hour if needed. One
of the successes of the union is that the workers are now being paid minimum wage. They are also
engaged in political bargaining because they are able to put pressure on the government. Some of
them have been issued social security cards. In Punjab province, there is now a registered union, and
they are currently planning to form a national-level federation of power loom workers, textile
workers, garment workers, and carpet workers.
Though the informal economy contributes around 32 billion dollars, the government does not listen
to the workers.
TMR Rasseed in presented that CFL was one of the oldest federations in Sri Lanka and that they had a
presence in almost all the provinces of Sri Lanka. CFL has membership in private and state
corporations as well as in the formal and informal sectors. He shared that there were over 1,600
trade unions in Sri Lanka.
Presentation by Ceylon Federation of Labour, Sri Lanka
14 15South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Presentation by LEF, PakistanKhalid Mahmood of Labour Education Foundation presented that over 70 per cent of the total
workforce of 68 million workers work in the informal sector. These workers are not covered by
labour laws nor do they have access to any social protection or welfare fund. The highest number of
employment is found in agriculture. Agriculture is followed by home-based work in terms of having
the highest number of workers, employing about 12 million based on unofficial statistics. Home-
based workers are mostly women and children.
The primary reason behind the increase in informal sector workers is the neo-liberal economic
policies adopted by the government of Pakistan in the last 25 years. Privatisation, de-regulation, and
downsizing have rendered millions of workers jobless. Affected workers are forced to be part of
informal economy while the women and children work from homes. Informal sector is very much
influenced by the social setup. Men mostly work as street vendors and in small enterprises and
family labour is used in agriculture. On the other hand, women are mostly in home-based work as
they are usually not allowed to work outside the home.
The minimum wage is set at Rupees 10,000 for an eight-hour day for unskilled work. However, the
majority of formal sector workers are not even getting the proper minimum wage. A single worker in
the informal sector barely gets about Rupees 30 to35 a day. There is no law to enforce the payment of
minimum wage in the informal sector. Agriculture still operatesin a feudal system. Instead of wage,
families are given grains and accommodation. There is still a lot of bonded labour in agriculture. The
same is true in the brick kilns even though they are now considered as part of the formal sector.
In informal economy, LEF works mostly with home-based workers. Starting in 1996-97, LEF has
recognised that there is high illiteracy and thus decided to start literacy centres so that workers are
able to understand their rights in a better way. The plan was to start these classes in small factories.
However, the employers did not allow it, and so, some of the classes were started in communities
instead. Because women were more interested in the literacy classes, LEF conducted literacy classes
in the morning for women and in the evening for men. Through these classes, LEF was able to gather
information about home-based work. At the same time, the literacy classes became a space for
discussing about rights and sharing skills.
The study circles became a very important strategy in bringing home-based workers together. Study
circles were conducted in Lahore, Karachi, and Hyderabad. LEF employed teachers from the
communities. In Hyderabad, many bangle workers joined the study circles. Many carpet workers
and other informal sector workers also participated in the study circles. Informal workers also came
into contact with trade unions because trade union leaders were invited by LEF to talk about labour
rights in the study circles.
The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees every worker the right to organise, but the labour laws do
not reflect this. Pakistan has ratified ILO Conventions 87 and 98. Khalid reiterated that all
workers—formal or informal—are entitled to these rights.
Because there are many women workers in attendance, there are also discussions on women
workers’ rights. During trade union trainings, sessions on gender equality are not very effective
especially when there are only male participants. LEF started to bring women home-based workers
who were part of study circles. With a mix of female and male participants, the study circles resulted
in good discussions. This is how LEF was able to bring formal and informal men and women workers
together. Co-operatives also started to be formed.
In terms of organising strategies, LEF moved from literacy classes to study circles to discussion to
trade unions to co-operatives and then to organising in trade unions. Contractors and government
officials were also invited to the meetings. Skill trainings were given to co-operatives; subsidised
foods are also delivered to the co-operatives.
The first bangle workers union was registered in Hyderabad in December 2009. The workers were
able to identify the employer, and through this process, even the workers were identified. The labour
officer was convinced and the union was registered. The same process is now being tried in the other
districts. Garment workers in Quetta were also able to register the local union and the federation at
the national level.
In these processes, the main problem is the lack of legal framework that will support organising.
Unless there is a law, organising will be limited to small-scale.
Some of the NGOs that work with home-based workers only address women’s rights and social
issues and do not look at the home-based workers as workers. There is a need to engage not just the
Women’s Ministry but also the Labour ministry.
There should be a legislation focusing on informal workers’ rights. LEF is hoping that such a law for
home-based workers will be passed in Punjab. The draft law has moved from the labour department
to the law department. LEF will organise to pressure the government to pass the law and call the
organisations ‘unions’ even if they are not registered!
Irfana from Glass Bangle Workers Union shared that there are 2,100 members in the union, including
1,500 fee paying members. When the unioncalls labour officials for meetings, they respond
positively when they hear stories from workers themselves.
Mohammad Aslam from Power Loom Workers Union shared that there are about 500,000 power
loom workers in Faisalabad district and Labour Qaumi Movement is organising them. The union has
a lot of influence in the area. In fact, it is able to mobilise about 10,000 in about an hour if needed. One
of the successes of the union is that the workers are now being paid minimum wage. They are also
engaged in political bargaining because they are able to put pressure on the government. Some of
them have been issued social security cards. In Punjab province, there is now a registered union, and
they are currently planning to form a national-level federation of power loom workers, textile
workers, garment workers, and carpet workers.
Though the informal economy contributes around 32 billion dollars, the government does not listen
to the workers.
TMR Rasseed in presented that CFL was one of the oldest federations in Sri Lanka and that they had a
presence in almost all the provinces of Sri Lanka. CFL has membership in private and state
corporations as well as in the formal and informal sectors. He shared that there were over 1,600
trade unions in Sri Lanka.
Presentation by Ceylon Federation of Labour, Sri Lanka
14 15South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
illustration of this is the provision of vegetables, fruits, entertainment, and transport services from
individuals or informal entrepreneurs for the hospitality industry.
While forward and backward linkages are a well-known phenomenon, parallel linkages are not
generally discussed. There are several informal activities that have prospered as parallel industries
and services. Perhaps the best example of the parallel linkage is Sri Lanka’s garment manufacturing,
the country’s largest manufacturing industry that accounts for over 70 per cent of manufacturing
industry in the country. The growth of garment industries developed a parallel informal clothing
manufacturing industry. The off-cuts and small pieces rejected by these industries are sold in bulk on
a system of tenders. The smaller pieces are packaged as cleaning cloth and marketed through mainly
hardware shops. The bigger and better pieces are bought by informal garment manufacturers. Small
sewing shops employing a few girls use these pieces together with other textiles to make a variety of
garments. These garments are then sold by pavement hawkers in many towns in Sri Lanka and
provide employment for traders. The range of garments varies from ladies’ and gents’ underwear,
ladies’ skirts and blouses, children’s dresses, and men’s shirts. These garments are generally
cheaper and popular among the working class. Another similar development is the soft toys made
out of cut pieces and throwaways from garment factories.
The increase in income and change in the modes of living resulted in new demand patterns. The
employment of both husband and wife, the lack of domestic help, and the limitedtime after work for
food preparation have all resulted in an increased demand for cooked food. Both formal and informal
enterprises cater to this need. Among informal outlets are the familiar lunch packets made in
households and sold in various outlets and by salesmen on roadsides. Households also prepare
popular foods such as hoppers, string hoppers, rotties, and curries that could be picked up at various
outlets.
Globalisation has resulted in a huge population of Sri Lankans working abroad for a certain period of
time. Some of the repatriated capital enabled the returnees to establish their individual enterprises.
Many trishaws and vans that ply on hire all over the country are from funds derived from such
incomes.
Informal economy is characterised by small-scale production, use of family and unorganised labour,
and use of indigenous or low technology. The products are of lower quality and are usually consumer
goods. Though it has a weak position in society, it plays an important role in the economy.
Informal workers are outside the purview of labour legislation and easy to hire and fire. They face
health and safety issues and are subjected to unregulated wages and working hours. They also have
no proper social security measures. Employer-employee relationship is also difficult to establish.
These pose several challenges to trade unions, including low union density and penetration;
fragmentation and rivalry; political dependency; weak financial base; weak organizational structure
and lack of human resources. They also raise questions about how trade unions can develop a
channel of contacts and communications with informal economy workers and how trade unions can
provide economic benefits for these workers.
CFL has adopted several strategies to organise informal sector workers. A sub-committee was put in
place to assess the ground situation and to select an area of work in the informal sector that has
The total labour force in Sri Lanka was reported
at 8,518,000.08 in 2010, according to a World
Bank report published in 2012. Formal
employment consists of 37.4 per cent of the
workforce and informal employment, about 62.6
per cent. In agriculture, the share of informal
employment goes up to 86.5 per cent and in
non-agriculture, 51 per cent.
The question of informal workers is also a
political one. The informal sector in Sri Lanka can
be defined as consisting of a wide range of
individuals and small production units
producing goods and providing services mainly
through the use of their own labour resources
and with very little capital. In this definition, the issues of legality and recognition are not included in
the criteria. Although most activities in the informal economy are not registered enterprises, there
are registered small enterprises whose methods of operations are not different fromunregistered
informal enterprises and thus essentially belong to the informal economy. By this definition, most
farming in Sri Lanka, except those estates and large holdings employing wage labour, is in the
informal economy. The self-employed, whether in labour services, trade, crafts or small
manufactures, are also in the informal economy. Household economic enterprises, whether
employing only family labour or a small group of persons producing such items as garments, are in
the informal economy. Rural industrial producers of coir fibre, mats, brushes, scrap, and sheet
rubber in their own household and selling to marketing agents are informal economic enterprises.
So are very small industrial units producing numerous items either in a household or some
improvised ‘factory shed’. A large number of services such as informal lenders, brokers, and various
types of intermediaries are in the informal economy.
There are several underlying factors for increased informal economic activities.
The expansion of formal industrial and service activities has backward linkages. Informal
activities provide goods and services to them.
The expansion of formal industry has resulted in parallel informal industrial development.
The availability of raw materials and capital equipment enabled individuals to set up small
manufactures or services.
The increased incomes generated a demand for more goods and services.
Increased urbanisation and changes in the modes of living resulted in a demand for new
services.
Increased foreign income earners facilitated individuals to return to Sri Lanka after foreign
employment to set small industries of their own with their savings, enhanced skills, and
imported small modern machinery.
Sri Lanka is the first country in South Asia to open upits economy in 1977 to take advantage of the
globalisation process. Several industrial activities that were established after liberalisation or that
expanded after liberalisation obtained materials or services from the informal economy. An
•
•
•
•
•
•
16 17South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
illustration of this is the provision of vegetables, fruits, entertainment, and transport services from
individuals or informal entrepreneurs for the hospitality industry.
While forward and backward linkages are a well-known phenomenon, parallel linkages are not
generally discussed. There are several informal activities that have prospered as parallel industries
and services. Perhaps the best example of the parallel linkage is Sri Lanka’s garment manufacturing,
the country’s largest manufacturing industry that accounts for over 70 per cent of manufacturing
industry in the country. The growth of garment industries developed a parallel informal clothing
manufacturing industry. The off-cuts and small pieces rejected by these industries are sold in bulk on
a system of tenders. The smaller pieces are packaged as cleaning cloth and marketed through mainly
hardware shops. The bigger and better pieces are bought by informal garment manufacturers. Small
sewing shops employing a few girls use these pieces together with other textiles to make a variety of
garments. These garments are then sold by pavement hawkers in many towns in Sri Lanka and
provide employment for traders. The range of garments varies from ladies’ and gents’ underwear,
ladies’ skirts and blouses, children’s dresses, and men’s shirts. These garments are generally
cheaper and popular among the working class. Another similar development is the soft toys made
out of cut pieces and throwaways from garment factories.
The increase in income and change in the modes of living resulted in new demand patterns. The
employment of both husband and wife, the lack of domestic help, and the limitedtime after work for
food preparation have all resulted in an increased demand for cooked food. Both formal and informal
enterprises cater to this need. Among informal outlets are the familiar lunch packets made in
households and sold in various outlets and by salesmen on roadsides. Households also prepare
popular foods such as hoppers, string hoppers, rotties, and curries that could be picked up at various
outlets.
Globalisation has resulted in a huge population of Sri Lankans working abroad for a certain period of
time. Some of the repatriated capital enabled the returnees to establish their individual enterprises.
Many trishaws and vans that ply on hire all over the country are from funds derived from such
incomes.
Informal economy is characterised by small-scale production, use of family and unorganised labour,
and use of indigenous or low technology. The products are of lower quality and are usually consumer
goods. Though it has a weak position in society, it plays an important role in the economy.
Informal workers are outside the purview of labour legislation and easy to hire and fire. They face
health and safety issues and are subjected to unregulated wages and working hours. They also have
no proper social security measures. Employer-employee relationship is also difficult to establish.
These pose several challenges to trade unions, including low union density and penetration;
fragmentation and rivalry; political dependency; weak financial base; weak organizational structure
and lack of human resources. They also raise questions about how trade unions can develop a
channel of contacts and communications with informal economy workers and how trade unions can
provide economic benefits for these workers.
CFL has adopted several strategies to organise informal sector workers. A sub-committee was put in
place to assess the ground situation and to select an area of work in the informal sector that has
The total labour force in Sri Lanka was reported
at 8,518,000.08 in 2010, according to a World
Bank report published in 2012. Formal
employment consists of 37.4 per cent of the
workforce and informal employment, about 62.6
per cent. In agriculture, the share of informal
employment goes up to 86.5 per cent and in
non-agriculture, 51 per cent.
The question of informal workers is also a
political one. The informal sector in Sri Lanka can
be defined as consisting of a wide range of
individuals and small production units
producing goods and providing services mainly
through the use of their own labour resources
and with very little capital. In this definition, the issues of legality and recognition are not included in
the criteria. Although most activities in the informal economy are not registered enterprises, there
are registered small enterprises whose methods of operations are not different fromunregistered
informal enterprises and thus essentially belong to the informal economy. By this definition, most
farming in Sri Lanka, except those estates and large holdings employing wage labour, is in the
informal economy. The self-employed, whether in labour services, trade, crafts or small
manufactures, are also in the informal economy. Household economic enterprises, whether
employing only family labour or a small group of persons producing such items as garments, are in
the informal economy. Rural industrial producers of coir fibre, mats, brushes, scrap, and sheet
rubber in their own household and selling to marketing agents are informal economic enterprises.
So are very small industrial units producing numerous items either in a household or some
improvised ‘factory shed’. A large number of services such as informal lenders, brokers, and various
types of intermediaries are in the informal economy.
There are several underlying factors for increased informal economic activities.
The expansion of formal industrial and service activities has backward linkages. Informal
activities provide goods and services to them.
The expansion of formal industry has resulted in parallel informal industrial development.
The availability of raw materials and capital equipment enabled individuals to set up small
manufactures or services.
The increased incomes generated a demand for more goods and services.
Increased urbanisation and changes in the modes of living resulted in a demand for new
services.
Increased foreign income earners facilitated individuals to return to Sri Lanka after foreign
employment to set small industries of their own with their savings, enhanced skills, and
imported small modern machinery.
Sri Lanka is the first country in South Asia to open upits economy in 1977 to take advantage of the
globalisation process. Several industrial activities that were established after liberalisation or that
expanded after liberalisation obtained materials or services from the informal economy. An
•
•
•
•
•
•
16 17South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
scope and potential for organising at the provincial and district levels. It is tasked to make individual
contacts with those engaged in the selected sector and form a group and implement a programme of
action to raise awareness on the importance of mutual understanding among members of the group.
They are also given a foundation course on socio-economic and labour issues to enhance their
capacity in understanding the factors that affect informal economy.
This sub-committee also functions as the speaker for informal sector entrepreneurs and workers. It
lobbies for the improved conditions for informal sector workers. The established relationship would
mean co-ordination between the trade union and the organised informal associations.
The CFL is also committed to assist the informal workers by providing legal aid and assistance in
encounters with the authorities (e.g., demolition of unauthorised structures) and undertaking
campaigns on specific issues of informal workers. CFL liaises with public authorities to obtain licenses,
and permits for self-employed workers, supports home-based occupations to form into co-operatives,
agitates for a social security scheme for workers in the informal sector, and places on welfare
amenities and health and safety for workers in the informal sector. In addition, CFL is committed to
forging trade union unity on issues and policies that protect workers in the informal sector.
Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union shared that they use street plays to organise workers, especially
domestic workers. The union also conducted a survey of live-in domestic workers on issues of basic
wages and work. The live-in workers are sent home only on holidays. On these days, the union
gathers the workers and organise meetings. They are educated that they are workers and that they
deserve respect. Issues of sexual harassment and abuse are also taken up during the meetings. At
present, the union has 1,500 members and is developing collective leadership.
Arifa As Salam from Labour at Informal Economy (LIE) presented that LIE is a national network of
grassroots informal sector worker organisations in Bangladesh, representing 6,348 workers who
work as street vendors, waste pickers, home-based workers, and agricultural workers. LIE was
registered under Society Act in 2011. It organises workers through trainings and awareness
programmes and engages in policy level interventions.
Arifa gave a brief background of informalisation in Bangladesh. Industrialisation started in
Bangladesh in the 1960s. After the independence in 1971, the government nationalised all the major
industries and factories. Privatisation started from the early 1980s. At present, the population of
informal sector workers are increasing substantially and state-owned sectors are becoming smaller.
The number of non-regular workers has also been on the rise.
The informal sector of Bangladesh employs about 80 per cent of the labour force and contributes
around 64 per cent to the GDP. Informal workers are those who identify themselves as: unpaid family
workers, irregularly paid workers, day labourers in agriculture/non-agriculture, domestic workers,
and paid/unpaid apprentices; all workers employed in the personal household sector; paid
employees working in personal establishments; and employers, self-employed workers, and “other”
workers employed in businesses with no written accounts or not registered with the proper
authorities. Informal workers work essentially as agricultural workers, home-based workers, waste
pickers, construction, street vendors, domestic work, daily wage labourers, transport, small
manufacturer, fishing, sales, brick breaking, tailoring, hotel and restaurant, clay workers, etc.
Presentation by Labour in Informal Economy, Bangladesh
The reasons for the increasing informal work include the following: decreasing number of state-
owned organisations and increasing number of private sector enterprises; river erosion, cyclone,
floods and other natural disasters; decrease in agricultural land; increase in migration; and lack of
education. Informal workers in Bangladesh face many problems such as the absence of formal
contract, protection, compensation, or benefits (e.g., health, maternity, childcare, or pension); lack of
regular work and very low or late pay – leading to poverty and insecurity in food, health, housing and
education for workers’ children; exploitation, abuse, sexual violence, discrimination, and
harassment; low level of education, skills, training, and lack of access to credit and equipment to
raise incomes; health problems resulting from poor working and living conditions; boring,
repetitive, or dangerous work; isolation and being unorganised and unrepresented; lack of access to
domestic and international markets; inadequate labour laws which does not allow informal workers
to be unionised; lack of education and awareness about their rights; non-cooperation by employers;
and lack of human and financial resources.
LIE engages in several action programs with
regard to informal sector. It analyses various types
of work in the informal sector and has identified
and highlighted the occupational risks involved. It
also enhances its understanding of the
contribution of the informal sector to the economy
and how to improve the implementation of the
labour law. It is involved in organising informal
sector workers as organisations and co-
operatives. It provides financial services for the
informal sector workers. It advocates for policies
on occupational health, safety and security for
workers, and engages in awareness-raising and
sensitisation on social security and social
protection. It is also working on the ways to reduce
the impacts of climate change and natural
disasters on informal sector workers.
LIE identify models and best practices of effectively organising informal workers and develop
recommendations and future action plans for government, policy makers, and informal sector
workers organizations, donors, NGOs, trade unions, and practitioners.
The network also proposed an action plan for the government. The proposal includes amending and
expanding labour law to ensure the rights of the workers and regulate the informal economy;
capacity building of labour inspectors and directorate; providing support forSMEs and rural and
agro-based industries to create employment; vocational and skill development; and creating job
opportunities in rural areas.
The government has also taken some initiatives in this regard like the amendment of law. In order to
secure workers their wages, there is a provision in the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) 2006 that in
case the contractor does not pay the wages, the principal employer will do so. The government has
established workers welfare foundation that grantssocial provision for informal sector workers. The
protection of informal workers is currently being considered and the Social Safety Net scheme is
18 19South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
scope and potential for organising at the provincial and district levels. It is tasked to make individual
contacts with those engaged in the selected sector and form a group and implement a programme of
action to raise awareness on the importance of mutual understanding among members of the group.
They are also given a foundation course on socio-economic and labour issues to enhance their
capacity in understanding the factors that affect informal economy.
This sub-committee also functions as the speaker for informal sector entrepreneurs and workers. It
lobbies for the improved conditions for informal sector workers. The established relationship would
mean co-ordination between the trade union and the organised informal associations.
The CFL is also committed to assist the informal workers by providing legal aid and assistance in
encounters with the authorities (e.g., demolition of unauthorised structures) and undertaking
campaigns on specific issues of informal workers. CFL liaises with public authorities to obtain licenses,
and permits for self-employed workers, supports home-based occupations to form into co-operatives,
agitates for a social security scheme for workers in the informal sector, and places on welfare
amenities and health and safety for workers in the informal sector. In addition, CFL is committed to
forging trade union unity on issues and policies that protect workers in the informal sector.
Ceylon Workers Red Flag Union shared that they use street plays to organise workers, especially
domestic workers. The union also conducted a survey of live-in domestic workers on issues of basic
wages and work. The live-in workers are sent home only on holidays. On these days, the union
gathers the workers and organise meetings. They are educated that they are workers and that they
deserve respect. Issues of sexual harassment and abuse are also taken up during the meetings. At
present, the union has 1,500 members and is developing collective leadership.
Arifa As Salam from Labour at Informal Economy (LIE) presented that LIE is a national network of
grassroots informal sector worker organisations in Bangladesh, representing 6,348 workers who
work as street vendors, waste pickers, home-based workers, and agricultural workers. LIE was
registered under Society Act in 2011. It organises workers through trainings and awareness
programmes and engages in policy level interventions.
Arifa gave a brief background of informalisation in Bangladesh. Industrialisation started in
Bangladesh in the 1960s. After the independence in 1971, the government nationalised all the major
industries and factories. Privatisation started from the early 1980s. At present, the population of
informal sector workers are increasing substantially and state-owned sectors are becoming smaller.
The number of non-regular workers has also been on the rise.
The informal sector of Bangladesh employs about 80 per cent of the labour force and contributes
around 64 per cent to the GDP. Informal workers are those who identify themselves as: unpaid family
workers, irregularly paid workers, day labourers in agriculture/non-agriculture, domestic workers,
and paid/unpaid apprentices; all workers employed in the personal household sector; paid
employees working in personal establishments; and employers, self-employed workers, and “other”
workers employed in businesses with no written accounts or not registered with the proper
authorities. Informal workers work essentially as agricultural workers, home-based workers, waste
pickers, construction, street vendors, domestic work, daily wage labourers, transport, small
manufacturer, fishing, sales, brick breaking, tailoring, hotel and restaurant, clay workers, etc.
Presentation by Labour in Informal Economy, Bangladesh
The reasons for the increasing informal work include the following: decreasing number of state-
owned organisations and increasing number of private sector enterprises; river erosion, cyclone,
floods and other natural disasters; decrease in agricultural land; increase in migration; and lack of
education. Informal workers in Bangladesh face many problems such as the absence of formal
contract, protection, compensation, or benefits (e.g., health, maternity, childcare, or pension); lack of
regular work and very low or late pay – leading to poverty and insecurity in food, health, housing and
education for workers’ children; exploitation, abuse, sexual violence, discrimination, and
harassment; low level of education, skills, training, and lack of access to credit and equipment to
raise incomes; health problems resulting from poor working and living conditions; boring,
repetitive, or dangerous work; isolation and being unorganised and unrepresented; lack of access to
domestic and international markets; inadequate labour laws which does not allow informal workers
to be unionised; lack of education and awareness about their rights; non-cooperation by employers;
and lack of human and financial resources.
LIE engages in several action programs with
regard to informal sector. It analyses various types
of work in the informal sector and has identified
and highlighted the occupational risks involved. It
also enhances its understanding of the
contribution of the informal sector to the economy
and how to improve the implementation of the
labour law. It is involved in organising informal
sector workers as organisations and co-
operatives. It provides financial services for the
informal sector workers. It advocates for policies
on occupational health, safety and security for
workers, and engages in awareness-raising and
sensitisation on social security and social
protection. It is also working on the ways to reduce
the impacts of climate change and natural
disasters on informal sector workers.
LIE identify models and best practices of effectively organising informal workers and develop
recommendations and future action plans for government, policy makers, and informal sector
workers organizations, donors, NGOs, trade unions, and practitioners.
The network also proposed an action plan for the government. The proposal includes amending and
expanding labour law to ensure the rights of the workers and regulate the informal economy;
capacity building of labour inspectors and directorate; providing support forSMEs and rural and
agro-based industries to create employment; vocational and skill development; and creating job
opportunities in rural areas.
The government has also taken some initiatives in this regard like the amendment of law. In order to
secure workers their wages, there is a provision in the Bangladesh Labour Act (BLA) 2006 that in
case the contractor does not pay the wages, the principal employer will do so. The government has
established workers welfare foundation that grantssocial provision for informal sector workers. The
protection of informal workers is currently being considered and the Social Safety Net scheme is
18 19South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
improving through alternative skill training arrangement. The coverage of the labour law has been
expanded to include agricultural farms employing more than ten workers, instead of the previous
regulation that covers establishments with 25 workers. Further, the definition of ‘factory’ is
broadened to include work premises employing more than five workers instead of ten based on the
previous definition. In addition, the Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation Act 2006 was also
passed for workers who are not covered by the Labour Act of 2006 in order to provide them with
some welfare measures.
The presentation ended with LIE reiterating their commitment to promote informal worker’s rights
in Bangladesh.
Abul Hossain added to the presentation saying that Bangladesh has a population of 160 million and,
everyday, thousands of workers from the rural areas come to seek for work in the urban areas. It is
difficult for them to find formal employment. The labour law which was amended in 2013 covers only
five to eight per cent of the workers and more than 90 per cent of the workers are not covered by law.
Many of the organising initiatives of the informal workers do not fall under‘legal organising’ and may
be deemed ‘unlawful,’ yet they are lawful because the right to organise is guaranteed by the
Constitution of Bangladesh. In urban centres ,the rickshaw pullers and auto drivers constitute the
largest population of the informal sector of Bangladesh with about four million. They followed by
three lakh of street vendors Dhaka City. Then, there are about 25 lakh domestic workers and about
20 lakh home-based workers in Bangladesh.
Recently, a labour rights forum was formed. A national conference was organised last January that
included workers from different sectors. There were 29 organisations that joined this labour forum.
Regarding garments workers, it is difficult to say whether they are formal or unorganised. Legally,
they are formal, but they are unorganized. There are 44 lakh garment workers predominantly in the
Dhaka area. There are about 70 federations in the garment unions but only 160 factory-level unions.
The new labour law regulation says that unless there are 10 trade unions, there cannot be any
federation.
Greater attention should be given to the informal economy as it contributes about 64 per cent to the
Bangladesh GDP. Other South Asian countries also have the same scenario; therefore there is a need
for common strategies and networking among South Asian labour organisations.
In response to a question, he said that there is no law that regulate street vendors in Bangladesh.
Surendra Pratap presented that the employment in the informal sector increased due to several
factors. The surplus employment in agriculture was absorbed by the informal sector. In the 1990s,
lots of destruction of livelihood occurred in the name of development, and this also fed into the
informal sector. The informal sector population also increased because of the global value chain in
the 1990s. Informal workers became the source of labour; home-based workers are being used.
Workers in Gorakhpur are connected to global capital. Maintaining informal sector is important to
maintain greater profit. Inclusive development strategy meant subsidized food and electricity. Later,
the government started talking about social security, so that they remain as a source of super profit.
Garment sector is maintaining the informality to increase profits.
Presentation by Centre for Workers Education, India
There was a total workforce of 458 million in India and 86
per cent of the workforce was in the informal sector. In
agriculture, almost 100 per cent was informal labour and, in
non-agriculture, 72 per cent. Surendra shared some
statistics on the number of informal sector workers in
various occupations such as those in the manufacturing. Out
of the total 148 million women workers, 142 million work in
the informal sector. Though the proportion of child labour in
the labour force is supposed to be at only 3.4 per cent, there
are over 34 per cent of Indian children who do not go to
school. It can be assumed that majority of those children are
working. Most working children are in the informal sector.
Surendra then shared the organising experiences of the informal sector workers. Farmers are
organised by leftist groups, other political parties, and some independent organisations. They form
mass movements and bargain for land rights, subsidised inputs, and remunerative prices. Workers
in agriculture are being organised by left-leaning organisations, central trade unions, and NGOs.
They conduct mass mobilisations to bargain for their rights under NREGA, such as the increase in
minimum wages. Fish workers are organised into a federation and mobilise to bargain collectively
on several issues including liberalisation and globalisation. Plantation workers are organised by
national trade union centres, independent unions, and co-ordination committees at national level
and collectively bargain for wages and working conditions. Forest workers are organised into
independent local and state level organisations and are affiliated with central unions. An all-India
level federation was also formed. They bargain collectively for land rights, wages, and NREGA rights,
among others. Mine workers federations are mostly associated with central union while some
organisations are independent. Construction workers unions are organised at the local level, as
federations with central trade unions, and affiliated to global unions. There is no collective
bargaining with employers; bargaining happens with the State on the issues of minimum wage
increase and provision of social security benefits. Among street vendors, there are two national level
federations – NASVI and NHF, which are collectively bargaining for rights and are against allowing
retail chains. In addition, there are also co-operatives being organised. For instance, waste pickers
are organised by independent unions and co-operatives.
After the 1990s, there have been initiatives to form sectoral federations among informal workers.
Amarjeet Kaur from All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) responded to this presentation
and made some additional points. She said that it was incorrect to say that only 20 to 25 per cent of
the membership of central trade unions consists of informal sector workers. In reality, informal
sector workers represent 80 per cent of the membership of central trade unions.
She also shared that in the beginning of the 19th century, the whole labour force was informal and
trade unions began with informal workers. Even the concept of human rights came from the labour
movement. The laws were only formulated after a century of struggle. Now, workers are again being
pushed towards informalisation. This is essentially because of the prescriptions and conditionalities
imposed by international finance capital, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
Bank (WB), foreign direct investors, foreign institutional investors, and the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
20South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
21South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
improving through alternative skill training arrangement. The coverage of the labour law has been
expanded to include agricultural farms employing more than ten workers, instead of the previous
regulation that covers establishments with 25 workers. Further, the definition of ‘factory’ is
broadened to include work premises employing more than five workers instead of ten based on the
previous definition. In addition, the Bangladesh Labour Welfare Foundation Act 2006 was also
passed for workers who are not covered by the Labour Act of 2006 in order to provide them with
some welfare measures.
The presentation ended with LIE reiterating their commitment to promote informal worker’s rights
in Bangladesh.
Abul Hossain added to the presentation saying that Bangladesh has a population of 160 million and,
everyday, thousands of workers from the rural areas come to seek for work in the urban areas. It is
difficult for them to find formal employment. The labour law which was amended in 2013 covers only
five to eight per cent of the workers and more than 90 per cent of the workers are not covered by law.
Many of the organising initiatives of the informal workers do not fall under‘legal organising’ and may
be deemed ‘unlawful,’ yet they are lawful because the right to organise is guaranteed by the
Constitution of Bangladesh. In urban centres ,the rickshaw pullers and auto drivers constitute the
largest population of the informal sector of Bangladesh with about four million. They followed by
three lakh of street vendors Dhaka City. Then, there are about 25 lakh domestic workers and about
20 lakh home-based workers in Bangladesh.
Recently, a labour rights forum was formed. A national conference was organised last January that
included workers from different sectors. There were 29 organisations that joined this labour forum.
Regarding garments workers, it is difficult to say whether they are formal or unorganised. Legally,
they are formal, but they are unorganized. There are 44 lakh garment workers predominantly in the
Dhaka area. There are about 70 federations in the garment unions but only 160 factory-level unions.
The new labour law regulation says that unless there are 10 trade unions, there cannot be any
federation.
Greater attention should be given to the informal economy as it contributes about 64 per cent to the
Bangladesh GDP. Other South Asian countries also have the same scenario; therefore there is a need
for common strategies and networking among South Asian labour organisations.
In response to a question, he said that there is no law that regulate street vendors in Bangladesh.
Surendra Pratap presented that the employment in the informal sector increased due to several
factors. The surplus employment in agriculture was absorbed by the informal sector. In the 1990s,
lots of destruction of livelihood occurred in the name of development, and this also fed into the
informal sector. The informal sector population also increased because of the global value chain in
the 1990s. Informal workers became the source of labour; home-based workers are being used.
Workers in Gorakhpur are connected to global capital. Maintaining informal sector is important to
maintain greater profit. Inclusive development strategy meant subsidized food and electricity. Later,
the government started talking about social security, so that they remain as a source of super profit.
Garment sector is maintaining the informality to increase profits.
Presentation by Centre for Workers Education, India
There was a total workforce of 458 million in India and 86
per cent of the workforce was in the informal sector. In
agriculture, almost 100 per cent was informal labour and, in
non-agriculture, 72 per cent. Surendra shared some
statistics on the number of informal sector workers in
various occupations such as those in the manufacturing. Out
of the total 148 million women workers, 142 million work in
the informal sector. Though the proportion of child labour in
the labour force is supposed to be at only 3.4 per cent, there
are over 34 per cent of Indian children who do not go to
school. It can be assumed that majority of those children are
working. Most working children are in the informal sector.
Surendra then shared the organising experiences of the informal sector workers. Farmers are
organised by leftist groups, other political parties, and some independent organisations. They form
mass movements and bargain for land rights, subsidised inputs, and remunerative prices. Workers
in agriculture are being organised by left-leaning organisations, central trade unions, and NGOs.
They conduct mass mobilisations to bargain for their rights under NREGA, such as the increase in
minimum wages. Fish workers are organised into a federation and mobilise to bargain collectively
on several issues including liberalisation and globalisation. Plantation workers are organised by
national trade union centres, independent unions, and co-ordination committees at national level
and collectively bargain for wages and working conditions. Forest workers are organised into
independent local and state level organisations and are affiliated with central unions. An all-India
level federation was also formed. They bargain collectively for land rights, wages, and NREGA rights,
among others. Mine workers federations are mostly associated with central union while some
organisations are independent. Construction workers unions are organised at the local level, as
federations with central trade unions, and affiliated to global unions. There is no collective
bargaining with employers; bargaining happens with the State on the issues of minimum wage
increase and provision of social security benefits. Among street vendors, there are two national level
federations – NASVI and NHF, which are collectively bargaining for rights and are against allowing
retail chains. In addition, there are also co-operatives being organised. For instance, waste pickers
are organised by independent unions and co-operatives.
After the 1990s, there have been initiatives to form sectoral federations among informal workers.
Amarjeet Kaur from All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) responded to this presentation
and made some additional points. She said that it was incorrect to say that only 20 to 25 per cent of
the membership of central trade unions consists of informal sector workers. In reality, informal
sector workers represent 80 per cent of the membership of central trade unions.
She also shared that in the beginning of the 19th century, the whole labour force was informal and
trade unions began with informal workers. Even the concept of human rights came from the labour
movement. The laws were only formulated after a century of struggle. Now, workers are again being
pushed towards informalisation. This is essentially because of the prescriptions and conditionalities
imposed by international finance capital, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
Bank (WB), foreign direct investors, foreign institutional investors, and the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
20South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
21South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
The International Labour Organisation was established after the 1917 Revolution, before other
agencies of the League of Nations. The tripartite body was meant to be a safety valve to mitigate class
struggle.
AITUC was formed in 1920 and consisted mostly of informal workers. Jute and textile workers
started organising even prior to the formation of AITUC. There were unions in the railways even in
the 19th century. Construction workers were first organised in Kerala by central trade unions.
Organising also followed in Tamil Nadu. It is therefore wrong to say trade uniosns are not interested
in organising informal sector. However, it has to be admitted that trade unions have weaknesses.
Anganwadi, National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), mid-day meal workers, and workers in other
state and central welfare schemes are organised by central trade unions. Government employs
women as ‘volunteers’ who receive ‘honorarium’. In India, they account for 10 million workers.
During the Indian Labour Conference, their issues as workers were put on the agenda for discussion,
but the demand to recognise them as workers was rejected.
Trade unions have also been raising issues about the increasing informalisation of formal sector
workers. This claim was previously rejected by the IMF and WB, arguing that such phenomenon is
untrue. Now, they themselves are saying that there is increased informalisation and starting new
projects on how to formalise them. The measures proposed by them are essentially safety nets.
After a struggle of 50 years, the UWSSA has been passed. But the law only says that state
governments should formulate schemes. No fund has been allocated. The law, therefore, becomes
unimplementable from the beginning.
There is bonded labour everywhere. In the EPZs, there is modern slavery in fish processing and
garments. Women are not allowed to even move from one factory to another.
Milind Ranade from New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) added to the presentation saying that not
only the economy changed; the thinking likewise changed. Permanent workers are not in favour of
organising contract workers in many situations. NTUI managed to secure permanency for about
2000 contract workers working in sweeping and cleaning in Mumbai Municipal Corporation. The
committee appointed by the Supreme Court to deal with solid waste management recommended
that privatisation should be allowed. This has resulted in new schemes, such as the Hyderabad
Scheme and the UP Scheme. In the Hyderabad Scheme, contract workers are called ‘volunteers’ and
the contractor an ‘NGO.’ On the other hand, in the UP scheme, the municipal corporation enters into
individual contracts with workers and such contracts specify that workers will not unionise and will
not demand wage increase and if they do so, they can be terminated without any notice. All these
schemes pose new challenges for organising.
Dalits used to be kept outside villages, and now they are being kept out of the purview of labour law.
However, things are changing in organising. In Maruti Suzuki, permanent and contract workers are
struggling together. It is also now acknowledged that if workers are pushed, they will retaliate. A
suggestion was made as to whether consumers ask manufacturers to indicate the cost of inputs, cost
of labour, and profits on consumer items.
Meenakshi Sundaram from Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) shared that every human
need has been corporatised. Manpower supply has become a profit-making activity. Keonics, which
is a government entity, is supplying labour to government offices at one-fifth of the salary of regular
employees. The New Pension Scheme allows for pension funds to be invested in share market, which
can prove very harmful to workers.
Contract Labour Act neither abolishes nor regulates contract labour. It is very apparent in the labour
standards violations. Contract workers outnumber permanent workers in most establishments. The
government does not agree to universal coverage of the Employee State Insurance Scheme because
they want to privatise it. There is a need to struggle for establishing employer-employee
relationships for workers and make sure that they receive benefits to which they are entitled. We
must oppose the investment of pension funds in the capital markets.
In the discussion that followed, Khalid from LEF in Pakistan shared that the trade union organising
is different among South Asian countries. The lack of democratic culture in Pakistan resulted in the
trade unions not being there on the ground post the 1960s. Unions should take responsibility for
that. He added that not all NGOs can be generalised as bad.
Farida from LIE, Bangladesh shared that a new labour law was formulated in Bangladesh in 2006,
and amended in 2013. These laws have meant a bit of progress. A policy on occupational health and
safety has been formulated involving civil society organizations, academics etc. South Asian
experiences in this regard have to be shared. There are many street vendors in Bangladesh, but there
is neither law nor policy governing them. There are now attempts to formulate a policy.
Surendra from CWE, India shared that there are some changes that can be seen in recent times. In
some recent collective bargaining agreements, wage increases for contract workers have been
incorporated. Amarjeet from AITUC in India shared that domestic workers have been included in the
minimum wage act, but wage have not been notified. She further said that a demand has been made
for universal maternity benefit for all workers.
The second day of the meeting began with Pemba Lama of GEFONT summarising the proceedings of
the first day.
The conceptual frame of the discussions about the informal sector was that there is no formal
'employee-employer relationship.' The workers are not getting any benefits entitled to them as
employees and are not protected by any labour law.
There are few good practices such as legal coverage for the workers but only to a limited extent. For
example, in Nepal, there is the use of the current labour laws to solve individual disputes. In India and
Bangladesh, there are a few government initiatives.
It was also discussed that the informal sector is growing in South Asia but the same can be observed
globally. In the shared understanding of South Asians, informal work covers all paid and unpaid
family/attached worker with no separate payment for the work. Some of the characteristics of
informal sector that were discussed are the increasing precariousness in the formal sector, lack of
Day 2 – 17th December 2013
22 23South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
The International Labour Organisation was established after the 1917 Revolution, before other
agencies of the League of Nations. The tripartite body was meant to be a safety valve to mitigate class
struggle.
AITUC was formed in 1920 and consisted mostly of informal workers. Jute and textile workers
started organising even prior to the formation of AITUC. There were unions in the railways even in
the 19th century. Construction workers were first organised in Kerala by central trade unions.
Organising also followed in Tamil Nadu. It is therefore wrong to say trade uniosns are not interested
in organising informal sector. However, it has to be admitted that trade unions have weaknesses.
Anganwadi, National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), mid-day meal workers, and workers in other
state and central welfare schemes are organised by central trade unions. Government employs
women as ‘volunteers’ who receive ‘honorarium’. In India, they account for 10 million workers.
During the Indian Labour Conference, their issues as workers were put on the agenda for discussion,
but the demand to recognise them as workers was rejected.
Trade unions have also been raising issues about the increasing informalisation of formal sector
workers. This claim was previously rejected by the IMF and WB, arguing that such phenomenon is
untrue. Now, they themselves are saying that there is increased informalisation and starting new
projects on how to formalise them. The measures proposed by them are essentially safety nets.
After a struggle of 50 years, the UWSSA has been passed. But the law only says that state
governments should formulate schemes. No fund has been allocated. The law, therefore, becomes
unimplementable from the beginning.
There is bonded labour everywhere. In the EPZs, there is modern slavery in fish processing and
garments. Women are not allowed to even move from one factory to another.
Milind Ranade from New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) added to the presentation saying that not
only the economy changed; the thinking likewise changed. Permanent workers are not in favour of
organising contract workers in many situations. NTUI managed to secure permanency for about
2000 contract workers working in sweeping and cleaning in Mumbai Municipal Corporation. The
committee appointed by the Supreme Court to deal with solid waste management recommended
that privatisation should be allowed. This has resulted in new schemes, such as the Hyderabad
Scheme and the UP Scheme. In the Hyderabad Scheme, contract workers are called ‘volunteers’ and
the contractor an ‘NGO.’ On the other hand, in the UP scheme, the municipal corporation enters into
individual contracts with workers and such contracts specify that workers will not unionise and will
not demand wage increase and if they do so, they can be terminated without any notice. All these
schemes pose new challenges for organising.
Dalits used to be kept outside villages, and now they are being kept out of the purview of labour law.
However, things are changing in organising. In Maruti Suzuki, permanent and contract workers are
struggling together. It is also now acknowledged that if workers are pushed, they will retaliate. A
suggestion was made as to whether consumers ask manufacturers to indicate the cost of inputs, cost
of labour, and profits on consumer items.
Meenakshi Sundaram from Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) shared that every human
need has been corporatised. Manpower supply has become a profit-making activity. Keonics, which
is a government entity, is supplying labour to government offices at one-fifth of the salary of regular
employees. The New Pension Scheme allows for pension funds to be invested in share market, which
can prove very harmful to workers.
Contract Labour Act neither abolishes nor regulates contract labour. It is very apparent in the labour
standards violations. Contract workers outnumber permanent workers in most establishments. The
government does not agree to universal coverage of the Employee State Insurance Scheme because
they want to privatise it. There is a need to struggle for establishing employer-employee
relationships for workers and make sure that they receive benefits to which they are entitled. We
must oppose the investment of pension funds in the capital markets.
In the discussion that followed, Khalid from LEF in Pakistan shared that the trade union organising
is different among South Asian countries. The lack of democratic culture in Pakistan resulted in the
trade unions not being there on the ground post the 1960s. Unions should take responsibility for
that. He added that not all NGOs can be generalised as bad.
Farida from LIE, Bangladesh shared that a new labour law was formulated in Bangladesh in 2006,
and amended in 2013. These laws have meant a bit of progress. A policy on occupational health and
safety has been formulated involving civil society organizations, academics etc. South Asian
experiences in this regard have to be shared. There are many street vendors in Bangladesh, but there
is neither law nor policy governing them. There are now attempts to formulate a policy.
Surendra from CWE, India shared that there are some changes that can be seen in recent times. In
some recent collective bargaining agreements, wage increases for contract workers have been
incorporated. Amarjeet from AITUC in India shared that domestic workers have been included in the
minimum wage act, but wage have not been notified. She further said that a demand has been made
for universal maternity benefit for all workers.
The second day of the meeting began with Pemba Lama of GEFONT summarising the proceedings of
the first day.
The conceptual frame of the discussions about the informal sector was that there is no formal
'employee-employer relationship.' The workers are not getting any benefits entitled to them as
employees and are not protected by any labour law.
There are few good practices such as legal coverage for the workers but only to a limited extent. For
example, in Nepal, there is the use of the current labour laws to solve individual disputes. In India and
Bangladesh, there are a few government initiatives.
It was also discussed that the informal sector is growing in South Asia but the same can be observed
globally. In the shared understanding of South Asians, informal work covers all paid and unpaid
family/attached worker with no separate payment for the work. Some of the characteristics of
informal sector that were discussed are the increasing precariousness in the formal sector, lack of
Day 2 – 17th December 2013
22 23South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
recognition despite a high contribution to the GDP, increasing feminisation of work, and use of child
labour. Informal work is predominantly present in the agriculture. Home-based work thrives and
outsourcing intensifies in garments and crafts work.
There are some positive experiences though. For example, workers in the informal sector were being
organised both by trade unions and social movements. Also, there are some social protection
measures available for some workers. Domestic work also becomes recognised as work.
However, many challenges remain such as non-recognition of the informal workers as workers, low
organisational coverage, lack of education and awareness, a large number of self-employed, and
bonded labour.
The strategies used to organise are education and training. Collective bargaining is being
undertaken at the local, national and international levels. There is a need to develop political
strength and to engage in political lobbying and policy intervention. There is also a need for
increased networking.
Sanjiv from AMRC said that the major difficulty in organising is the lack of self-identity as workers.
He posed the question about how to get recognition. It cannot be either only legal or political
recognition. It has to be both. The kind of strategies to be used under such circumstances is
something that needs discussion. Since there has been some amount of organising, it will now have
to move to a question of collective bargaining, including identifying bargaining targets. Would it be
with people who provide us with work or with policy makers? There is also a need to understand and
document our successes and failures in this regard.
He gave the example of a factory in Cambodia which was set up after displacing some people. These
people were not given employment in the factory but brought migrant workers instead. The
compensation received by those who were displaced was not adequate and the conditions of the
workers were unsatisfactory. The people who were displaced started to sell some food to the
workers. Though these two groups are
connected to the same capital, the workers are
recognised while the community outside
remains invisible. The challenge is how to
connect the two groups in a struggle against the
capital, especially when they do not see
themselves as allies? How can alliances be built
locally, nationally, and regionally?
After the discussion, the participants were
divided into groups to discuss in detail the
strategies to gain recognition and visibility for
informal sector workers and to engage in
collective bargaining. The group discussions
were thereafter presented in the plenary.
Presentation by Group 1Group 1 divided its presentation into four sections — recognition of workers, organising, collective
bargaining, and building alliances.
To gain recognition, several strategies were used. In the tribal area in Odisha, India, tribal cultural
festivals were organised and government officials were invited. Such events make the government
officials understand tribal peoples and their issues. In Pakistan, some of the strategies used in
organising home-based workers include visits to home based workers in their communities,
awareness-raising on OHS, community-based meetings, and generating awareness on OHS. Among
the waste pickers and street vendors in Bangladesh, some of the activities are awareness-raising
campaigns to recognise them as workers, information campaigns on health problems that they faced
as workers, and advocacy work. For home-
based workers in Bangladesh, the most
common strategies are community visits and
awareness-raising campaigns. Awareness-
raising campaigns were also conducted by
GEFONT among health workers (who are
called ‘heath volunteers’), home-based
workers, street vendors, and domestic
workers in Nepal. In Sri Lanka, the federation
contacted the domestic workers by going from
house to house and conducted awareness-
raising campaign in the communities during
festival holidays when they are at home.
There were several strategies used in
organising. Domestic workers in Sri Lanka
conducted house to house awareness-raising
campaigns, meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification, formation of organisation,
registration of trade union, and campaigns with members and supporters of the union. They also
used creative strategies like street theatre. On the other hand, waste pickers, street vendors, and
home-based workers in Bangladesh and Pakistan organise through awareness-raising campaigns,
meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification, formation of small groups, training
prospective organisers who later on initiate the organising, formation of associations, struggles to
legally register a union, and building linkages with trade unions through study circles.
Several strategies have been used for collective bargaining, including the following:
Nepal: Initially, individual bargaining; later, bargaining at state level, done in alliance with
GEFONT.
Pakistan:
Home based workers - Individual and group bargaining on the basis of existing wages and
working conditions of the workers in other localities/communities; bargaining with the
state on broader issues like minimum wages; bargaining of union with employers; strike of
home-based workers in one village to demand for an increase in wages.
Health workers - Association of health workers bargaining with provincial government on
wages and working conditions.
•
•
•
•
24 25South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
recognition despite a high contribution to the GDP, increasing feminisation of work, and use of child
labour. Informal work is predominantly present in the agriculture. Home-based work thrives and
outsourcing intensifies in garments and crafts work.
There are some positive experiences though. For example, workers in the informal sector were being
organised both by trade unions and social movements. Also, there are some social protection
measures available for some workers. Domestic work also becomes recognised as work.
However, many challenges remain such as non-recognition of the informal workers as workers, low
organisational coverage, lack of education and awareness, a large number of self-employed, and
bonded labour.
The strategies used to organise are education and training. Collective bargaining is being
undertaken at the local, national and international levels. There is a need to develop political
strength and to engage in political lobbying and policy intervention. There is also a need for
increased networking.
Sanjiv from AMRC said that the major difficulty in organising is the lack of self-identity as workers.
He posed the question about how to get recognition. It cannot be either only legal or political
recognition. It has to be both. The kind of strategies to be used under such circumstances is
something that needs discussion. Since there has been some amount of organising, it will now have
to move to a question of collective bargaining, including identifying bargaining targets. Would it be
with people who provide us with work or with policy makers? There is also a need to understand and
document our successes and failures in this regard.
He gave the example of a factory in Cambodia which was set up after displacing some people. These
people were not given employment in the factory but brought migrant workers instead. The
compensation received by those who were displaced was not adequate and the conditions of the
workers were unsatisfactory. The people who were displaced started to sell some food to the
workers. Though these two groups are
connected to the same capital, the workers are
recognised while the community outside
remains invisible. The challenge is how to
connect the two groups in a struggle against the
capital, especially when they do not see
themselves as allies? How can alliances be built
locally, nationally, and regionally?
After the discussion, the participants were
divided into groups to discuss in detail the
strategies to gain recognition and visibility for
informal sector workers and to engage in
collective bargaining. The group discussions
were thereafter presented in the plenary.
Presentation by Group 1Group 1 divided its presentation into four sections — recognition of workers, organising, collective
bargaining, and building alliances.
To gain recognition, several strategies were used. In the tribal area in Odisha, India, tribal cultural
festivals were organised and government officials were invited. Such events make the government
officials understand tribal peoples and their issues. In Pakistan, some of the strategies used in
organising home-based workers include visits to home based workers in their communities,
awareness-raising on OHS, community-based meetings, and generating awareness on OHS. Among
the waste pickers and street vendors in Bangladesh, some of the activities are awareness-raising
campaigns to recognise them as workers, information campaigns on health problems that they faced
as workers, and advocacy work. For home-
based workers in Bangladesh, the most
common strategies are community visits and
awareness-raising campaigns. Awareness-
raising campaigns were also conducted by
GEFONT among health workers (who are
called ‘heath volunteers’), home-based
workers, street vendors, and domestic
workers in Nepal. In Sri Lanka, the federation
contacted the domestic workers by going from
house to house and conducted awareness-
raising campaign in the communities during
festival holidays when they are at home.
There were several strategies used in
organising. Domestic workers in Sri Lanka
conducted house to house awareness-raising
campaigns, meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification, formation of organisation,
registration of trade union, and campaigns with members and supporters of the union. They also
used creative strategies like street theatre. On the other hand, waste pickers, street vendors, and
home-based workers in Bangladesh and Pakistan organise through awareness-raising campaigns,
meetings in communities or in groups, issue identification, formation of small groups, training
prospective organisers who later on initiate the organising, formation of associations, struggles to
legally register a union, and building linkages with trade unions through study circles.
Several strategies have been used for collective bargaining, including the following:
Nepal: Initially, individual bargaining; later, bargaining at state level, done in alliance with
GEFONT.
Pakistan:
Home based workers - Individual and group bargaining on the basis of existing wages and
working conditions of the workers in other localities/communities; bargaining with the
state on broader issues like minimum wages; bargaining of union with employers; strike of
home-based workers in one village to demand for an increase in wages.
Health workers - Association of health workers bargaining with provincial government on
wages and working conditions.
•
•
•
•
24 25South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
understanding of gender issues will help in organising. Taking up and highlighting demands and
issues that concern living conditions are also important. Laws should be inclusive; more workers
should be included in the Minimum Wages Act. Some universal coverage should be present in the
laws, especially on the issue of maternity benefits. Some issues though can be addressed sectorally,
i.e., with and among construction workers or bidi workers.
Worker status should be given to all. Health workers in Nepal, scheme workers in India — whoever is
earning a livelihood — should be recognised as workers. Negotiation should happen at the local,
individual, civic, and administrative levels. Mobility of workers should not hinder their rights. Migrant
Act should cover the source and destination areas. Union registration should be made compulsory.
There should be a default registration after 45 days; this, in particular, is a demand in India.
Other strategies used are trade union education, training of leaders, lobbying at various levels,
sectoral unions, street plays and solidarity groups and actions. Prevention of sexual harassment is
important. The discourse of pitting local workers against migrant workers should not be allowed as
it is used to break workers’ unity.
The discussion focused on strategies used. In
Bangladesh, trade unions and NGOs came
together to draft laws for domestic workers.
Worker education should be addressed so that
workers can make their own decisions. Labour
support groups are needed. Full-timers for
unions should be from within factories and
should be paid as much as the factory workers.
GEFONT supports members with financial help
for medical issues. In Pakistan, daughters of
widows are given some help with their
weddings. Operative part of laws should be
understood and the financial aspect is
important for funding welfare measures. It
should be ensured that the money reaches the
workers and does not go to the State treasury.
Abul Hossain presented on behalf of Group 3. The
presentation focusedonissues of home-based workers,
waste workers, street vendors, and other informal sector
workers.
The following organising strategies used by various
groups were discussed. There is a need for a unified voice
and for mapping sectors and areas in each country. Small
group meetings were conducted by several groups as
well as collective group meetings. The structure of the
group was also discussed.
Presentation by Group 3
Sri Lanka: Collective bargaining with the state in alliance with national TU centres for an
increase inminimum wage, better working conditions, and implementation of labour laws
applicable to other sectors.
Bangladesh:
Home-based workers - group bargaining with employers; using media to popularise
demands and atrocities; forming a human chain.
Formation of committee of trade unions, leaders of informal sector workers, lawyers,
academics, and parliamentalians for making policies on informal sector
Bangladesh and Pakistan: working with government ministries and international alliances
for policy initiatives on informal sector.
The groups presented that several unions and organizations were building alliances at various
levels, such as:
Alliance with NGOs or/and political parties, or/and trade unions, or/and community leaders,
or/and media
Inter-sectoral alliance on broader policy issues
General solidarity alliances for May Day, Women’s Day and other international days
Regional/international alliances such as Home Net, Streetnet in Bangladesh, and IndustriAll
in Pakistan
The working conditions were bad and precarious, especially with regard to occupational safety and
health. The legal coverage was between nil to little; there was no recognition, no social protection, no
minimum wage, and no security of employment or earnings. Visibility/identity as workers was a
serious issue. Only through a long struggle was any recognition possible, but only for some. For
example, milk selling was recognised as work, but milking itself was not.
The living conditions of informal workers were bad. They endure poor sanitation and water
facilities. It is difficult for unions to get recognised. Displacement is happening, affecting tribal
workers who did not benefit from the employment.
Factories, enterprises, and placement agencies were
not registered and, therefore, not bound by law. This
meant that workers would suffer. In a factory fire in
Agra, 40 workers were burnt alive. There are only
seven individuals are recorded as workers in the
factory and they are the only ones who are entitled to
getting any insurance. A survey indicated that over
80 per cent of the factories were not registered and,
therefore, had not been inspected.
Strategies and Approaches: A multidimensional
approach is needed. Social and gender issues should
be considered important. The recognition and
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presentation by Group 2
26 27South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
understanding of gender issues will help in organising. Taking up and highlighting demands and
issues that concern living conditions are also important. Laws should be inclusive; more workers
should be included in the Minimum Wages Act. Some universal coverage should be present in the
laws, especially on the issue of maternity benefits. Some issues though can be addressed sectorally,
i.e., with and among construction workers or bidi workers.
Worker status should be given to all. Health workers in Nepal, scheme workers in India — whoever is
earning a livelihood — should be recognised as workers. Negotiation should happen at the local,
individual, civic, and administrative levels. Mobility of workers should not hinder their rights. Migrant
Act should cover the source and destination areas. Union registration should be made compulsory.
There should be a default registration after 45 days; this, in particular, is a demand in India.
Other strategies used are trade union education, training of leaders, lobbying at various levels,
sectoral unions, street plays and solidarity groups and actions. Prevention of sexual harassment is
important. The discourse of pitting local workers against migrant workers should not be allowed as
it is used to break workers’ unity.
The discussion focused on strategies used. In
Bangladesh, trade unions and NGOs came
together to draft laws for domestic workers.
Worker education should be addressed so that
workers can make their own decisions. Labour
support groups are needed. Full-timers for
unions should be from within factories and
should be paid as much as the factory workers.
GEFONT supports members with financial help
for medical issues. In Pakistan, daughters of
widows are given some help with their
weddings. Operative part of laws should be
understood and the financial aspect is
important for funding welfare measures. It
should be ensured that the money reaches the
workers and does not go to the State treasury.
Abul Hossain presented on behalf of Group 3. The
presentation focusedonissues of home-based workers,
waste workers, street vendors, and other informal sector
workers.
The following organising strategies used by various
groups were discussed. There is a need for a unified voice
and for mapping sectors and areas in each country. Small
group meetings were conducted by several groups as
well as collective group meetings. The structure of the
group was also discussed.
Presentation by Group 3
Sri Lanka: Collective bargaining with the state in alliance with national TU centres for an
increase inminimum wage, better working conditions, and implementation of labour laws
applicable to other sectors.
Bangladesh:
Home-based workers - group bargaining with employers; using media to popularise
demands and atrocities; forming a human chain.
Formation of committee of trade unions, leaders of informal sector workers, lawyers,
academics, and parliamentalians for making policies on informal sector
Bangladesh and Pakistan: working with government ministries and international alliances
for policy initiatives on informal sector.
The groups presented that several unions and organizations were building alliances at various
levels, such as:
Alliance with NGOs or/and political parties, or/and trade unions, or/and community leaders,
or/and media
Inter-sectoral alliance on broader policy issues
General solidarity alliances for May Day, Women’s Day and other international days
Regional/international alliances such as Home Net, Streetnet in Bangladesh, and IndustriAll
in Pakistan
The working conditions were bad and precarious, especially with regard to occupational safety and
health. The legal coverage was between nil to little; there was no recognition, no social protection, no
minimum wage, and no security of employment or earnings. Visibility/identity as workers was a
serious issue. Only through a long struggle was any recognition possible, but only for some. For
example, milk selling was recognised as work, but milking itself was not.
The living conditions of informal workers were bad. They endure poor sanitation and water
facilities. It is difficult for unions to get recognised. Displacement is happening, affecting tribal
workers who did not benefit from the employment.
Factories, enterprises, and placement agencies were
not registered and, therefore, not bound by law. This
meant that workers would suffer. In a factory fire in
Agra, 40 workers were burnt alive. There are only
seven individuals are recorded as workers in the
factory and they are the only ones who are entitled to
getting any insurance. A survey indicated that over
80 per cent of the factories were not registered and,
therefore, had not been inspected.
Strategies and Approaches: A multidimensional
approach is needed. Social and gender issues should
be considered important. The recognition and
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Presentation by Group 2
26 27South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Awareness and education programs for workers were conducted as well as training for workers’
rights and responsibilities. Common demands were prepared. Leadership development, capacity
building for leadership, and capacity building for achieving legal and political rights were conducted.
It was mentioned that there was a need for more such workshops.
The need for networks was also discussed.
Networks of trade unions and civil society
organisations have to be built and sustained at
several levels – local and national, as well as
regional and global.
Asiya Sharief added to the presentation that she
works in Mardaan in Pakistan, where organising is
very difficult due to the political situation. But they
have seen some successes in organising women
workers there.
In the discussion that followed, Milind said that
one of the strategies that they used for organising
waste workers who are working as contract labour
for the municipal corporation was to not approach them as a union for the initial 9 months. The
union activists would travel in the garbage trucks with the workers and talk to them. The first issue
that they raised was clean drinking water. For the first six months, no one would come for meetings.
It was only when the workers were agitated because of the issue of lack of clean drinking water that
the union became successful in organising.
Asiya also shared the experience of the Reliance Contract Workers Union in Bombay where the office
bearers of the union were from AITUC, CITU and NTUI, marking a new level of organising.
Sanjiv said that the leadership should come from the communities. There should be leadership by
the workers themselves. A number of participants said that unless workers’ leadership is built, the
unions will not be sustainable.
Women leaders have three-fold responsibilities – as a worker, within the family, and as a union
leader. Leadership is very much a gender issue. If workers are not involved in formulating demands,
then they will not feel involved in the union. In Pakistan, it is made clear on the first day of organising
that the workers own the union. Now, there is a situation of one illiterate woman leader who has
organised 10,000 brick kiln workers in a month. They had recently organised a sit-in of 2,500
workers.
Leadership should also mean being involved at the government level. Workers leaders should be
involved in local political bodies like the panchayats in India and the union councils in Pakistan. The
Orissa Sharamjeevi union has 23 members in the local governing bodies. This will influence budget
allocation as well as budget review.
Meenakshi Sundaram shared the experiences of the contract workers of BSNL (state owned telecom
company) and informal auto rickshaw drivers in Bangalore. BSNL is now employing only contract
workers who are not even paid proper
wages. They make up wages from the
tips that they warn from customers for
connecting their telephone and
broadband lines. The union has been
organised by the workers themselves,
and they have been undertaking action
programmes like 24 hour sit-ins for four
to five days, which resulted in some
i m p rove m e n t i n t h e i r wo rk i n g
conditions.
The auto rickshaw drivers have been
unionised since 1974. At present, the
membership is 30,000 out of a 100,000
drivers in Bangalore. In the 1970s, a
large number of textile workers lost jobs
due to so-called modernisation. Left
with no opportunities, they started driving auto rickshaws either as owners or as hired drivers. The
main secroral issue that they raised was fixing fares as it affects their income. With the help of the
Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, parameters were set to find out the operational cost
and the fare. This is being followed now in Chennai and Kerala. The union has 35 locality level units in
Bangalore and is run on a minimal outside intervention. There are five full-timers who are paid INR
7000 a month. There is also a welfare fund. The union is now also organising taxi drivers of big
companies. These drivers could never own the taxis they drive; now, there is an agreement that after
3 years, they can own the taxis on some payment. Welfare measures that have been set up include life
insurance of INR 100,000 from the government and scholarships from the insurance companies.
The concluding session was to decide the way forward. Apoorva from AMRC said that there should
be a separate discussion on the transition from informal to formal, particularly on its possibility and
desirability. Given the experiences of taxi drivers shared by Meenakshi, the participants should
reflect on about what formalization can mean for the informal sector workers.
Khalid from LEF said that though the situation of formal sector workers can differ from country to
country within the South Asian region, the situation of informal workers is almost the same. The
similarities in experiences will help us in building networks. ILO may have its agenda of formalising,
but the more important issue is to understand how to increase the space of organising and
demanding and securing rights based on different political contexts. In South Asia, though the
political system is different, the manner by which all the governments treat the informal workers is
very similar. They do not recognise them as workers, they are not included in social protection
schemes, and their unions are not recognised.
The question is not about whether to formalise the informal sector or not. All workers should have
the same rights regardless of the sectors they belong to.
There is a need to share more information. If anything positive happens in one country, then the
other governments feel the pressure. A strong network is important so that workers can influence
28 29South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
Awareness and education programs for workers were conducted as well as training for workers’
rights and responsibilities. Common demands were prepared. Leadership development, capacity
building for leadership, and capacity building for achieving legal and political rights were conducted.
It was mentioned that there was a need for more such workshops.
The need for networks was also discussed.
Networks of trade unions and civil society
organisations have to be built and sustained at
several levels – local and national, as well as
regional and global.
Asiya Sharief added to the presentation that she
works in Mardaan in Pakistan, where organising is
very difficult due to the political situation. But they
have seen some successes in organising women
workers there.
In the discussion that followed, Milind said that
one of the strategies that they used for organising
waste workers who are working as contract labour
for the municipal corporation was to not approach them as a union for the initial 9 months. The
union activists would travel in the garbage trucks with the workers and talk to them. The first issue
that they raised was clean drinking water. For the first six months, no one would come for meetings.
It was only when the workers were agitated because of the issue of lack of clean drinking water that
the union became successful in organising.
Asiya also shared the experience of the Reliance Contract Workers Union in Bombay where the office
bearers of the union were from AITUC, CITU and NTUI, marking a new level of organising.
Sanjiv said that the leadership should come from the communities. There should be leadership by
the workers themselves. A number of participants said that unless workers’ leadership is built, the
unions will not be sustainable.
Women leaders have three-fold responsibilities – as a worker, within the family, and as a union
leader. Leadership is very much a gender issue. If workers are not involved in formulating demands,
then they will not feel involved in the union. In Pakistan, it is made clear on the first day of organising
that the workers own the union. Now, there is a situation of one illiterate woman leader who has
organised 10,000 brick kiln workers in a month. They had recently organised a sit-in of 2,500
workers.
Leadership should also mean being involved at the government level. Workers leaders should be
involved in local political bodies like the panchayats in India and the union councils in Pakistan. The
Orissa Sharamjeevi union has 23 members in the local governing bodies. This will influence budget
allocation as well as budget review.
Meenakshi Sundaram shared the experiences of the contract workers of BSNL (state owned telecom
company) and informal auto rickshaw drivers in Bangalore. BSNL is now employing only contract
workers who are not even paid proper
wages. They make up wages from the
tips that they warn from customers for
connecting their telephone and
broadband lines. The union has been
organised by the workers themselves,
and they have been undertaking action
programmes like 24 hour sit-ins for four
to five days, which resulted in some
i m p rove m e n t i n t h e i r wo rk i n g
conditions.
The auto rickshaw drivers have been
unionised since 1974. At present, the
membership is 30,000 out of a 100,000
drivers in Bangalore. In the 1970s, a
large number of textile workers lost jobs
due to so-called modernisation. Left
with no opportunities, they started driving auto rickshaws either as owners or as hired drivers. The
main secroral issue that they raised was fixing fares as it affects their income. With the help of the
Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, parameters were set to find out the operational cost
and the fare. This is being followed now in Chennai and Kerala. The union has 35 locality level units in
Bangalore and is run on a minimal outside intervention. There are five full-timers who are paid INR
7000 a month. There is also a welfare fund. The union is now also organising taxi drivers of big
companies. These drivers could never own the taxis they drive; now, there is an agreement that after
3 years, they can own the taxis on some payment. Welfare measures that have been set up include life
insurance of INR 100,000 from the government and scholarships from the insurance companies.
The concluding session was to decide the way forward. Apoorva from AMRC said that there should
be a separate discussion on the transition from informal to formal, particularly on its possibility and
desirability. Given the experiences of taxi drivers shared by Meenakshi, the participants should
reflect on about what formalization can mean for the informal sector workers.
Khalid from LEF said that though the situation of formal sector workers can differ from country to
country within the South Asian region, the situation of informal workers is almost the same. The
similarities in experiences will help us in building networks. ILO may have its agenda of formalising,
but the more important issue is to understand how to increase the space of organising and
demanding and securing rights based on different political contexts. In South Asia, though the
political system is different, the manner by which all the governments treat the informal workers is
very similar. They do not recognise them as workers, they are not included in social protection
schemes, and their unions are not recognised.
The question is not about whether to formalise the informal sector or not. All workers should have
the same rights regardless of the sectors they belong to.
There is a need to share more information. If anything positive happens in one country, then the
other governments feel the pressure. A strong network is important so that workers can influence
28 29South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
the governments. There is a need to come
together in a strong way and to bring in more
grassroots leaders.
Having an alliance of informal sector
workers in South Asia should be explored.
This is especially relevant now as everything
is linked to the global economic system.
Multinational corporations have entered
into various sectors, including basic food and
transport. The struggles at the country level
need to be expanded to the regional level.
There is no strong trade union network in
South Asia; if South Asians come together as
informal workers, it may also lead to a strong
network of trade unions. A Workers’ Alliance
can emerge.
A number of suggestions came from the floor as suggestions for activities/ joint programs.
Sector-specific worker exchange programmes between countries
Revival of SALF
Sector-specific workshops at South Asia level
Solidarity actions (which can be initiated through the Google groups)
Sharing struggles on a web platform
Translation by one organization in each country to address the issue of language differences
(i.e., such organisation which can function as a ‘national contact point’)
Uploading of laws on a website so that everyone can get to know them
Utilising existing platforms also to share news
The meeting ended with the participants affirming the need and willingness to work together on the
suggestions that came from the floor.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Sr. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Name of the Participant
Abul Hossain
SabikunNahar
Jahan AraHoque
ArifChoudury
Farida Khanam
Arifa As Salam
Kamal Siddiki
Md. Nur Mohammad
Amarjeet Kaur
MeenakshiSundaram
MilindRanade
AmulyaNayak
SurendraPratap
Pemba Lama
Bijaya Kala Rai
BinitaDahal Sharma
Bindu Shrestha
SushilaChaulagain
BhimaKhadka
Om Thapaliya
Khalid Mahmood
Asiya Sharif
Muhammad Aslam
ShakilaFirdous
Irfana
TMR Rasseedin
VisvasamRajaletchumy
SellamuthuSelladoraie
SanjivPandita
ApoorvaKaiwar
Ah King
Organization
Textile Garments Workers Federation, Bangladesh
Home Workers Association, Bangladesh
National Domestic Women Workers Union, Bangladesh
National Hawkers Federation, Bangladesh
Labour at Informal Economy, Bangladesh
Labour at Informal Economy, Bangladesh
BFTUC, Bangladesh
BFTUC, Bangladesh
AITUC, India
CITU, India
NTUI, India
Orissa Shramjeevi Union, India
Centre for Workers Education, India
GEFONT, Nepal
NEVA, GEFONT, Nepal
NEVA Bank, GEFONT, Nepal
HUN, GEFONT, Nepal
HUN, GEFONT, Nepal
NEST, GEFONT, Nepal
HomeNet Nepal
LEF, Pakistan
LEF, Pakistan
LQM, Pakistan
WWDF, Pakistan
GBWWU, Pakistan
CFL, Sri Lanka
CWRFU, Sri Lanka
CWRFU, Sri Lanka
AMRC
AMRC
AMRC
30 31South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
the governments. There is a need to come
together in a strong way and to bring in more
grassroots leaders.
Having an alliance of informal sector
workers in South Asia should be explored.
This is especially relevant now as everything
is linked to the global economic system.
Multinational corporations have entered
into various sectors, including basic food and
transport. The struggles at the country level
need to be expanded to the regional level.
There is no strong trade union network in
South Asia; if South Asians come together as
informal workers, it may also lead to a strong
network of trade unions. A Workers’ Alliance
can emerge.
A number of suggestions came from the floor as suggestions for activities/ joint programs.
Sector-specific worker exchange programmes between countries
Revival of SALF
Sector-specific workshops at South Asia level
Solidarity actions (which can be initiated through the Google groups)
Sharing struggles on a web platform
Translation by one organization in each country to address the issue of language differences
(i.e., such organisation which can function as a ‘national contact point’)
Uploading of laws on a website so that everyone can get to know them
Utilising existing platforms also to share news
The meeting ended with the participants affirming the need and willingness to work together on the
suggestions that came from the floor.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Sr. No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Name of the Participant
Abul Hossain
SabikunNahar
Jahan AraHoque
ArifChoudury
Farida Khanam
Arifa As Salam
Kamal Siddiki
Md. Nur Mohammad
Amarjeet Kaur
MeenakshiSundaram
MilindRanade
AmulyaNayak
SurendraPratap
Pemba Lama
Bijaya Kala Rai
BinitaDahal Sharma
Bindu Shrestha
SushilaChaulagain
BhimaKhadka
Om Thapaliya
Khalid Mahmood
Asiya Sharif
Muhammad Aslam
ShakilaFirdous
Irfana
TMR Rasseedin
VisvasamRajaletchumy
SellamuthuSelladoraie
SanjivPandita
ApoorvaKaiwar
Ah King
Organization
Textile Garments Workers Federation, Bangladesh
Home Workers Association, Bangladesh
National Domestic Women Workers Union, Bangladesh
National Hawkers Federation, Bangladesh
Labour at Informal Economy, Bangladesh
Labour at Informal Economy, Bangladesh
BFTUC, Bangladesh
BFTUC, Bangladesh
AITUC, India
CITU, India
NTUI, India
Orissa Shramjeevi Union, India
Centre for Workers Education, India
GEFONT, Nepal
NEVA, GEFONT, Nepal
NEVA Bank, GEFONT, Nepal
HUN, GEFONT, Nepal
HUN, GEFONT, Nepal
NEST, GEFONT, Nepal
HomeNet Nepal
LEF, Pakistan
LEF, Pakistan
LQM, Pakistan
WWDF, Pakistan
GBWWU, Pakistan
CFL, Sri Lanka
CWRFU, Sri Lanka
CWRFU, Sri Lanka
AMRC
AMRC
AMRC
30 31South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers South Asia Sub-regional Workshop on Organising Strategies for Informal Sector Workers
