Informal Economy Podcast: Social Protection

Latest Episodes:

#11 Statistics, Social Protection and Informal Employment Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

In the first episode of the year we will discuss numbers! Statistics are a powerful tool to shed light on the informal economy, and to make informal workers visible in policy arenas. In order to help us understand better the linkages between social protection and statistics, the challenges, limitations and the most recent research on the field we invite two special guests: Françoise Carré and Francie Lund. Françoise is the WIEGO’s Statistics Programme Director, and Research Director at the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Françoise conducts research on work transformation and non-standard work in the USA and internationally. Francie is WIEGO Senior Advisor. She is also a Senior Research Associate in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. References ILO Women and Men in the Informal Economy Report 3rd edition (2018) https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_626831/lang--en/index.htm ILO Women and Men in the Informal Economy Report 2nd edition (2013) https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---stat/documents/publication/wcms_234413.pdf ILO Women and Men in the Informal Economy Report 2nd edition (2002) https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/migrated/publications/files/ILO-Women-Men-Informal-2002.pdf WIEGO-ILO Statistical Report https://www.wiego.org/ilo-wiego-statistical-reports Chains of Production, Ladders of Protection: Social Protection for Workers in the Informal Economy https://www.wiego.org/publications/chains-production-ladders-protection-social-protection-workers-informal-economy WIEGO page on the Statistics programme https://www.wiego.org/our-work-impact/core-programmes/statistics *Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)

#10 The Future of Work and the Missing Middle Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we invited Christina Behrendt. Christina, head of the Social Policy Unit at the ILO, to talk about the relations between the Future of Work and the challenges to extend social protection to the so-called “missing middle”, the informal economy workers. We discussed how policies to provide social protection to informal workers can help the debate around forms of work associated to the so-called gig economy, and whether universal basic income might offer an alternative to this configuration of work. - ILO Global Social Protection Week Page: https://www.ilo.org/secsoc/information-resources/meetings-and-events/WCMS_715348/lang--en/index.htm - Global Social Protection Week Agenda https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---soc_sec/documents/publication/wcms_717366.pdf WIEGO’s page on the Global Social Protection Week: https://www.wiego.org/events/global-social-protection-week - WIEGO Briefing Note: “Extending Social Protection to Informal Workers” http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Social%20Protection%20Informal%20Workers%20for%20web_0.pdf - WIEGO Working Paper No 37: “Informal Workers & The Future of Work: A Defence of Work-Related Social Protection” , by Laura Alfers, Francie Lund and Rachel Moussié http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Alfers_Informal_Workers_Social_Protection_WIEGO_WP37.pdf - WIEGO position statement: “A Future of Work for All: WIEGO’s Position on the ILO Centenary” http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/WIEGO%20Position%20on%20ILO%20Centenary%202019_06June.pdf - Blog: Informal workers and taxes: What "tax justice" looks like from below, by Mike Rogan https://www.wiego.org/blog/informal-workers-and-taxes-what-tax-justice-looks-below - Journal article: Ensuring universal social protection for the future of work by Christina Behrendt https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1024258919857031?af=R&ai=1gvoi&mi=3ricys - Innovative approaches for ensuring universal social protection for the future of work, by Christina Behrendt and Quynh Anh Nguyen https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_629864.pdf - ILO Social Protection Report (2017-2019): Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_604882.pdf - World Bank: Universal health coverage and the challenge of informal employment : lessons from developing countries, by Ricardo Bitran http://www.wiego.org/publications/universal-health-coverage-and-challenge-informal-employment-lessons-developing-countrie - ILO Recommendation 202: Social Protection Floors https://www.ilo.org/secsoc/areas-of-work/legal-advice/WCMS_205341/lang--en/index.htm - ILO Recommendation 204: The Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy https://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/previous-sessions/104/texts-adopted/WCMS_377774/lang--en/index.htm *Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)

#09b Protection Sociale pour les Travailleurs Informels au Togo Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

Dans cet épisode, nous vous apportons un entretien avec Komi Kessouagni. Komi est le Coordinateur du Point Focal Régional StreetNet pour l'Afrique de l'Ouest et du Centre. On a parlé sur les défis des travailleurs informels au Togo pour avoir l’accès à la protection social, aussi bien comme les initiatives des travailleurs eux-mêmes, pour offrir des services de soins à ceux qui ne sont pas couvert par l’état, à travers de la création de mutuelles de santé géré par les travailleurs. Note d’information de WIEGO : Extension de la protection sociale aux travailleurs et travailleuses de l’informel https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/migrated/publications/files/Social%2520Protection%2520Informal%2520Workers%2520French%2520for%2520web.pdf Notre musique thématique est Focus, de A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons)

#09 Social Protection For Informal Workers in Togo Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we bring you an interview with Liliane Napoe, of the Danish Trade Union Development Agency. Liliane is the International Adviser and Head of the West African sub-regional office, based in Lomé, where she has been supporting informal workers in their effort to expand social protection and in their attempt to form a coalition to push for social rights for informal workers. We talked about the struggle of informal workers in Togo to have access to social protection, the latest development in the country and the perspectives ahead for this informal workers coalition that is forming around the demand for social protection provision. WIEGO Briefing note: Extending Social Protection to Informal Workers https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/migrated/publications/files/Social%2520Protection%2520Informal%2520Workers%2520for%2520web_0.pdf Our theme music is Focus, from A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons)

#08 Universal Health Coverage in Southeast Asia Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

In this month, WIEGO’s Social Protection programme director, Laura Alfers, was in Thailand for the Association of South East Asian Nations People’s Forum, or ASEAN People’s Forum for short, where civil society organizations representatives have gathered, in Bangkok, to prepare for the ASEAN Summit that will happen from 31st of October to November 4th also in Thailand. The regional network of home-based workers, HomeNet South East Asia hosted an event at the People's Forum on their new flagship issue - Universal Health Coverage for Informal Workers. Laura was at that ASEAN People’s forum event, where she has met several of HomeNet South East Asia delegates, and recorded an interview with Suntaree Saeng-Ging for this special episode of our show. Suntaree Saeng-Ging is the Regional Coordinator of HomeNet South East Asia. In this talk with Laura Alfers, she explains how the grass-roots work of HomeNet has been carried out and will provide an overview of the universal health coverage policies in South East Asia. They also discuss some of the main challenges and policies advances in the region to include informal workers on healthcare provision schemes References ASEAN Summit page https://www.asean2019.go.th/en/meeting/35th-asean-summit-and-related-summits/ ASEAN People’s forum page https://www.forum-asia.org/?p=29664 ASEAN People’s forum event page at WIEGO website https://www.wiego.org/events/hnsea-universal-health-coverage-workshop-asean-peoples-forum Towards Universal Health Coverage for Home-Based Worker in Southeast Asia https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/resources/file/Towards%20Universal%20Health%20Coverage%20for%20Home-Based%20Worker%20in%20Southeast%20Asia.pdf Our theme music is Focus, from A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons)

#07 Formalizing The Informal - The R204 Process Aug 12, 2019

Show notes

In 2015, the ILO’s International Labour Conference adopted the Recommendation about the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy, the R204. To help us understand what is the R204, what is the importance of it, what has been done until now and the challenges ahead, we will talk to Jane Barrett Jane is WIEGO’s Organization and Representation programme director and she has been leading the R204 process at WIEGO in South Africa. Resources • WIEGO’s perspective on “Formalizing the Informal Economy” http://www.wiego.org/formalization/formalizing-informal-economy • WIEGO Network Platform: Transitioning from the Informal to the Formal Economy in the Interest of Workers in the Informal Economy: https://www.wiego.org/resources/wiego-network-platform-transitioning-informal-formal-economy-interest-workers-informal-eco • WIEGO in the 2015 International Labour Conference on Facilitating Transitions from the Informal to the Formal Economy: https://www.wiego.org/content/international-labour-conference-2015 • Myths & Facts about the Informal Economy and Workers in the Informal Economy: https://www.wiego.org/resources/myths-facts-about-informal-economy-and-workers • Informality and Illegality: Unpacking the Relationship: https://www.wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/resources/files/WIEGO-Informality-and-Illegality.pdf • VIDEO: Organizing for Change: https://www.wiego.org/organizing/video-organizing-change-workers-informal-economy • Read the ILO’s Recommendation 204: https://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/previous-sessions/104/texts-adopted/WCMS_377774/lang--en/index.htm *Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)

#06 Coproduction Of Social Services For Informal Workers Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

Who should bear the main burden of social service: is it the state, the private sector, NGOs, communities or individuals? This is a very complex discussion, so central to questions of rising inequality. In order to contribute to this debate, Laura Alfers has published a paper for the UNRISD Conference “Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilization”, which took place in Geneva, last November. Laura’s paper is concerned with how informal workers’ organizations have become involved in health service provision – something that is often termed “co-production.” She draws from two case studies, one from India and another one from Thailand, to explain how grassroots organizations have taken important roles in the provision on social services. Laura Alfers is WIEGO’s Social Protection Director and Research Associate in Rhodes University, in South Africa. She is here again with us to discuss the issues surrounding “Informal Workers Co-Producing Social Services in the Global South”, the title of her paper. RESOURCES Conference paper: Informal Workers Co-Producing Social Services in the Global South: Task Shifting or Political Strategy towards a New Social Contract?, by Laura Alfers. Draft paper prepared for the UNRISD Conference Overcoming Inequalities in a Fractured World: Between Elite Power and Social Mobilization 8–9 November 2018, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.unrisd.org/80256B42004CCC77/(httpInfoFiles)/3DB49A55A790DBFCC12583390051DA55/$file/Overcoming%20Inequalities%205b_Alfers---Final.pdf Blog: In India, One-stop Shops Increase Access to Healthcare, Nutrition and Social Security Services for Working Poor, by Laura Alfers http://www.wiego.org/blog/india-one-stop-shops-increase-access-healthcare-nutrition-and-social-security-services-working- Bridges to Better Lives: SEWA's Community Health Workers, by Annie Devenish and Laura Alfers. Workers’s Lives brief 7. http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/WL7_Devenish_Alfers%20final%20for%20web.pdf Forging a New Conceptualization of “The Public” in Waste Management, by Melanie Samson. WIEGO Working Paper 32. http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Samson-Public-Waste-Management-WIEGO-WP32.pdf Our theme music is Focus, from A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons)

#05b Trabajadoras Del Hogar Y Violencia en el Trabajo Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

La violencia y el acoso en el lugar de trabajo afectan a muchos trabajadores en todo el mundo, especialmente a las mujeres. Es un fenómeno tan generalizado que se incluyó en el orden del día de la próxima conferencia internacional del trabajo, que tendrá lugar en los próximos días en ginebra, donde la cuestión será objeto de una segunda ronda de debates, con vistas a la adopción de un convenio de la OIT. Es importante tener en cuenta que la violencia y el acoso en el lugar de trabajo también afectan de distintas maneras a trabajadores diferentes: hombres y mujeres, trabajadores formales e informales. Para ayudarnos a entender mejor las implicaciones de esta violencia, el trabajo doméstico y la interseccionalidad entre el género y el estatus laboral - y el papel de la protección social en el tratamiento de este problema - invitamos a Adriana Paz. Adriana es originaria de Bolivia y ha trabajado como organizadora comunitaria, educadora e investigadora durante más de 15 años en justicia social, derechos de la mujer y derechos de los migrantes para organizaciones comunitarias y sin fines de lucro en Bolivia, México y Canadá. Actualmente es la coordinadora regional para américa latina de la federación internacional de trabajadoras del hogar – FITH/IDWF. *Violence and Informal Work (Briefing) http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/ILC_WIEGO_Briefing%20Note%20Violence%20in%20the%20workplace%20EN%20for%20web.pdf *Workplace Violence and Harassment: Informal Workers Also Need *Protection http://www.wiego.org/blog/workplace-violence-and-harassment-informal-workers-also-need-protection *Pagina de la ILO sobre la 108a Conferencia Internacional de Trabajo https://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/108/lang--en/index.htm Reports of the Standard-Setting Committee on Violence and *Harassment in the World of Work: Summary of proceedings (ILO) https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_631807.pdf *IDWF sobre violencia con base de genero http://idwfed.org/en/updates/gender-based-violence *Campaña de IDWF “Erradicar Violencia con base de genero en el trabajo” http://www.idwfed.org/en/resources/support-campaign-to-end-gender-based-violence-at-work *IDWF en Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDWFED/ *IDWF en twitter https://twitter.com/IDWFED Nuestro tema musical es Focus, de A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons) El tema musical incidental es Afghanistan Banana Stand, de Eaters (Creative Commons)

#05 Domestic Workers and Violence at the workplace Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Violence and harassment at the workplace affect many workers all over the world, especially women. It is such a pervasive phenomenon that it was included in the agenda of the next International Labour Conference, which will take place the coming days in Geneva, where the issue will be up for a second round of discussions, with a view to the adoption of an ILO convention. It is important to bear in mind that violence and harassment at the workplace also affect in distinct ways different workers: men and women, formal and informal workers. To help us understand more about the implications of this issue for domestic workers and the intersectionality between gender and work status – and the role of social protection in addressing this problem – we invite Adriana Paz. Adriana is originally from Bolivia and she has worked as community organizer, women’s rights and migrant rights for community based and non-profit organizations in Bolivia, Mexico and Canada. She is currently the Latin America regional coordinator of the international domestic workers federation – IDWF. *Violence and Informal Work (Briefing Note) http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/ILC_WIEGO_Briefing%20Note%20Violence%20in%20the%20workplace%20EN%20for%20web.pdf *Workplace Violence and Harassment: Informal Workers Also Need Protection http://www.wiego.org/blog/workplace-violence-and-harassment-informal-workers-also-need-protection *ILO page on the 108th International Labour Conference https://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/108/lang--en/index.htm *Reports of the Standard-Setting Committee on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work: Summary of proceedings (ILO) https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_631807.pdf *IDWF on gender-based violence http://idwfed.org/en/updates/gender-based-violence *IDWF Campaign to “End Gender-based Violence at Work” http://www.idwfed.org/en/resources/support-campaign-to-end-gender-based-violence-at-work *IDWF at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/IDWFED/ *IDWF on twitter https://twitter.com/IDWFED Our theme music is Focus, from A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons) The incidental music is Afghanistan Banana Stand, from Eaters (Creative Commons)

#04 Child Care and Informal Economy May 10, 2019

Show notes

Child care is often regarded as part of the education policy, centred around early childhood care and development. But child care is also the provision of a service that has a close relation to social protection and women economic empowerment. Informal women workers' low earnings mean they work long hours to secure their family livelihood, often times leaving little time for them to care for children living in their households. But children require care, and without the provision of quality child care services, women either take on more flexible but insecure informal work, work fewer hours in these jobs than they need or want, or are less productive because they have to look after their children while trying to work. The lack of quality child care options contributes to gender inequalities in labour force participation rates and earnings and to high levels of poverty among women informal workers. Today we invite Rachel Moussié understand more about this topic. Rachel holds a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics. She is currently the Deputy Director of the Social Protection programme at WIEGO. Learn more about child care and informal economy - Mobilizing for Child Care: http://www.wiego.org/publications/women-informal-workers-mobilizing-child-care - Child Care Initiative: http://www.wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/publications/files/Alfers-Child-Care-Initiative-Summary-Report.pdf - Child Care Campaign page: http://www.wiego.org/wiego/wiego-child-care-campaign - Childcare from the perspective of women informal workers: http://www.wiego.org/publications/childcare-perspective-women-informal-workers - Literature review on Child Care: http://www.wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/resources/files/Alfers-Child-Care-Policy-Employment-Lit-Review.pdf Our theme music is Focus, from A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons)

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