#10 The Future of Work and the Missing Middle

11/21/19 • 30 min

Informal Economy Podcast: Social Protection

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)

Previous Episode

#09b Protection Sociale pour les Travailleurs Informels au Togo

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)

Next Episode

#11 Statistics, Social Protection and Informal Employment

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)