#13 Protecting informal workers amid the global pandemic - Covid-19 edition

04/02/20 • 26 min

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Informal Economy Podcast: Social Protection

In this month, we start a especial mini-series on social protection for informal workers in the context of the Covid-19 global pandemic. This global health crisis has brought many countries, cities and states to a halt, as authorities try to slow down the spread and “flatten the curve”.This unprecedented lockdown has also deep social and economic consequences, and impact the lives of billions of workers. In this opening episode of the series, we invite Sally Roever to discuss how this health and economic crisis impacts informal workers, the policy responses and the challenges governments will have to face in order to protect informal workers’ health and livelihoods. Sally Roever is WIEGO’s International Coordinator. She holds a PhD in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, and she has studied for 20 years the ways in which laws, policies and politics shape informal work and informal workers' organizations. In this talk, Sally analyses the immediate responses to the crisis, such as cash grants, and projects the challenges that might lie ahead for governments and workers. On the next episodes, we will explore more in-depth other issues that revolve around protection of informal workers, in terms of healthcare provision and work and income security for informal workers, as the global pandemic crisis unfolds. References WIEGO Covid-19 crisis page - https://www.wiego.org/covid19crisis Global Rec (waste-pickers) Covid-19 page: https://globalrec.org/covid19/ WIEGO Blog: Pandemic: Informal workers urgently need income replacement — and more protections https://www.wiego.org/blog/pandemic-informal-workers-urgently-need-income-replacement-and-more-protections StreetNet International (street vendors) statement http://streetnet.org.za/2020/03/24/streetnet-international-statement-in-response-to-covid-19/ StreetNet International Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StreetNet-175851405831761/ IDWF (domestic workers)statement https://idwfed.org/en/updates/global-idwf-statement-on-protecting-domestic-workers-rights-and-fighting-the-coronavirus-pandemic IDWF Facebook facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IDWFED/ *Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)

Previous Episode

#12 Child Care Models For Women Informal Workers

In this International Women’s Day episode we will discuss a very important topic for women informal workers: child care. As women are most often the primary responsible for looking after their children, without quality child care services, they either have to forgo paid work or are less productive because they have watch their children while trying to work. Child care is vital, especially in the poorest households, as the earnings of women informal workers often represent a large share of one family’s income. In order to talk in more detail about child care policies for informal workers, we invite two especial guests this month. Our first guest is Laura Addati. Laura is a Policy Specialist on Women’s Economic Empowerment at the ILO Office for the United Nations in New York. She has coordinated policy work on care work, maternity protection and work-family policies and has co-authored a number of ILO publications on these topics. Our second guest, returning to the podcast is Rachel Moussié. Rachel is Deputy Director of the Social Protection programme at WIEGO, where she also researches child care policies for informal workers. Laura and Rachel are the co-authors of three policy briefs published by the ILO on child care policies for informal workers. The briefs are being launched this week. In this episode, we discussed with them more in-depth their third brief, on models of child care provision for informal workers. Resources: Quality childcare services for workers in the informal economy ILO-WIEGO Child Care Policy Brief no1 https://www.wiego.org/publications/quality-childcare-services-workers-informal-economy Labour and human rights frameworks promoting childcare for all workers. ILO-WIEGO Child Care Policy Brief no2 https://www.wiego.org/publications/labour-and-human-rights-frameworks-promoting-childcare-all-workers Extending childcare services to workers in the informal economy: Policy lessons from country experiences ILO-WIEGO Child Care Policy Brief no3 https://www.wiego.org/publications/extending-childcare-services-workers-informal-economy-policy-lessons-country Blog: Three new ways of at looking at the urgent need for quality childcare https://www.wiego.org/blog/three-new-ways-looking-urgent-need-quality-childcare Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw64-2020 Care work and care jobs report: https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_633135/lang--en/index.htm ILO World Social Protection Report (2017-2019): https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_604882.pdf ILO Policy Guidelines on the promotion of decent work for early childhood education personnel: https://www.ilo.org/sector/Resources/codes-of-practice-and-guidelines/WCMS_236528/lang--en/index.htm ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/mission-and-objectives/centenary-declaration/lang--en/index.htm Domestic Workers Convention (C189): https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C189 Maternity Protection Convention (C183): https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312328:NO 100 Years of Maternity Protection https://www.ilo.org/gender/Events/WCMS_715815/lang--en/index.htm Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation (R204): https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:3243110:NO Social Protection Floors Recommendation(R202): https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:3065524:NO *Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)

Next Episode

#14 Impact of the Global Pandemic on Informal Workers - Covid-19 edition

In this second episode of the mini-series, we will hear the concrete impact on the lives of informal workers in cities around the world, with brief updates from the ground from WIEGO team members who work closely with informal workers. We also bring the account from two workers leaders themselves, on how the lockdown is affecting their lives and those of their comrades. I talked to 11 people from 9 cities around the world. From Delhi, India, to Portland, United States, passing through Dakar, Johannesburg, Accra, Belo Horizonte, Bogota, Buenos Aires and Mexico City. We will hear how local and national governments are responding to the crisis to protect informal workers health and livelihoods, as the cities try to face a global crisis. We will learn how workers are organizing to pressure authorities, but also how some of them are taking direct action to support vulnerable workers through these difficult times. Guests -Tania Espinoza – Mexico City Focal City project coordinator -Carolina Palacio – Buenos Aires Costal City project coordinator -Federico Parra – Bogotá, regional coordinator -Taylor Cass Talbott – Portland, Project officer -Sonia Dias – Belo Horizonte, waste specialist -Ana Carolina Ogando – Belo Horizonte, research associate -Lulama Mali – Johannesburg, South Africa Informal Traders Organization -Dorcas Ansah, Accra Focal City project coordinator -Anass, Accra, market trader -Shalini Sinha, Delhi Focal City project coordinator -Adama, Dakar Focal City project coordinator *COVID-19 and Informal Workers - Advocacy, Opinion & Action https://www.wiego.org/covid-19-and-informal-workers-advocacy-opinion-action *Informal Workers Campaigns https://www.wiego.org/support-informal-workers-campaigns *Informal worker demands during COVID-19 crisis https://www.wiego.org/informal-worker-demands-during-covid-19-crisis *Government responses to COVID-19 Crisis https://www.wiego.org/government-responses-covid-19-crisis *Blog: How cities can support informal workers: COVID-19 and beyond, by Jenna Harvey https://www.wiego.org/blog/how-cities-can-support-informal-workers-covid-19-and-beyond *Blog: Informal workers on the frontlines of COVID-19: Providing critical services without adequate protections and pay, by Jenna Harvey https://www.wiego.org/blog/informal-workers-frontlines-covid-19-providing-critical-services-without-adequate-protections * WIEGO Focal Cities page https://www.wiego.org/our-work-impact/focal-cities *Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)