Groups Of Informal Workers Research Articles

Factors Associated with Participation of Vietnamese Informal Workers in Voluntary Social Insurance Scheme

This study estimated impacts of demographic and employment factors on the voluntary social insurance participation of Vietnamese informal workers by using data from the Labour Force Survey and Heckman’s two-step probit selection model for four groups of informal workers. The results showed that age, the highest education level, number of school-age children in household, number of household members participating in the social insurance system, job position and income level of informal workers had significant impacts on their decision to participate in the scheme. Moreover, these impacts were different for informal workers when considering their job positions. Based on the findings, this study recommended various policies considering the aforementioned characteristics of informal workers.

COVID‐19 and informal work: Evidence from 11 cities

AbstractThis article presents the findings for 11 cities across five geographical regions from a study led by Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, investigating the impacts of the COVID‐19 crisis on different groups of informal workers and their households. Detailing impacts on work and income, food and hunger, care and other household responsibilities, and on the coping strategies of informal worker households, the article also compares the roles of government and informal worker organizations in providing relief and other support. Based on worker demands, the authors present guiding principles for a better deal for informal workers going forward.

COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges for urban informal sector: An insight from street vendors of the district Srinagar, Kashmir

This paper aims at presenting the findings of the study on the position of street vendors in the District Srinagar, Kashmir, in India, including both men and women, during the COVID-19 lockdown. The purpose of the study was to explore various challenges street vendors faced during the COVID-19 lockdown and to highlight the vulnerability of this particular group of informal workers. The data was collected through face-to-face interviews with the use of a questionnaire, on a sample of 150 street vendors from the District Srinagar. In addition, a certain number of in-depth interviews with selected respondents from the sample was done. The study findings show that the majority of the respondents have lost their job during the peak period of COVID-19, i.e. from March to July 2020. The findings have also revealed that the lockdown directly impacted the socio-economic conditions of the workers which made it very difficult for them to survive during the peak of COVID-19. Additionally, workers were struggling very hard in order to fulfill the basic daily needs of their families. Therefore, it is suggested that the government of India should provide financial support to street vendors in order to compensate for the loss caused due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

“The Time Machine” Social Innovation and Research-Creation Strategy for Risk Control in Informal Labor Communities

Strategies to control occupational risk factors face various challenges in terms of their application and effectiveness, even more so when it comes to providing risk-control solutions under informal working conditions. Purpose: explore opportunities presented by the use of social innovation strategies and methodologies derived from research-creation to establish educational control measures for occupational risk factors, for recovery and recycling workers in Bogotá (Colombia). Methods and procedures: There were two main phases for this research: one aimed to understand the different risk posed to informal labor communities based on workplace inspection and risk assessment norms NTC4114 and GTC45, the other one was aimed to develop a research-creation and social innovation-based strategy, to co-create innovative solutions to address risk factors with the informal workers New Results: Risk conditions were measured for the first time with this group of informal workers and a social innovation creation was made to control risk factors and to dignify working conditions Conclusions: Informal work has precarious and uncontrolled risk. In addition, the systematic exclusion of informal workers from public health labor systems organized by national governments means that protective measures for this group of people are often ineffective or inadequate, or in the worst case, non-existent.

Risk factors for problematic alcohol use among male waste pickers and caddies in Johannesburg, South Africa: a cross-sectional study

Informal workers may be prone to problematic substance use due to many factors, including adverse working conditions and low income. The aim of this secondary analysis was to investigate problematic alcohol use risk factors among male informal workers in Johannesburg, South Africa. Alcohol use among the two groups of informal workers in the analysis y golf caddies and waste pickers was measured using the World Health Organization (WHO) Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) tool. The WHO self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ) for common mental health disorders (CMD) was used to assess mental health. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to explore the predictors of problematic drinking in informal workers. The study consisted of 514 participants, of which 48.4% were golf caddies and 51.6%, waste pickers. Most participants were younger than 40 years (50.9%). Over half of the participants (54.7%) were alcohol consumers and 74.1% were smokers. Over 60% of the participants who were alcohol consumers had a probable drinking problem. Unstratified regression results showed that common mental distress (aOR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.01–1.09), age: 30–40 years (aOR = 2.17; 95%CI: 1.18–3.97), smoking (aOR = 2.25; 95%CI: 1.34–3.79), and other water sources (aOR = 0.2; 95%CI: 0.04–0.99) were associated with a probable alcohol problem. Waste pickers (aOR = 0.33; 95%CI: 0.20–0.70) were less likely to be problematic drinkers compared to golf caddies. Problematic drinking in this study was common in both caddies and waste pickers along with smoking. Problematic alcohol use was associated with caddying, mental distress, age, and smoking. Measures such as providing counseling services to informal workers and improvement of working conditions may help change the behaviors of these vulnerable groups.

Changes in Brazilians' socioeconomic and health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To describe changes in socioeconomic and health conditions of Brazilians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional study with data from a web-based behavioral survey carried out from April 24 to May 24, 2020, with 45,161 participants recruited by the chain sampling method. A descriptive analysis of the survey topics was performed: adherence to social restriction measures, diagnosis of the new coronavirus, work situation and income, difficulties in routine activities, presence of comorbidities, psychological issues, and access to health services. Prevalence and respective 95% confidence intervals were estimated. Approximately 74% of Brazilians adhered to social restrictions. As for flu symptoms, 28.1% reported having at least one flu symptom, but only 5.9% underwent testing for COVID-19. Regarding the socioeconomic impact, 55.1% reported a decrease in family income, and 7.0% were left without any income; 25.8% of the people lost their jobs, with the group of informal workers being the most affected (50.6%). As for health conditions, 29.4% reported worsening of health status; 45%, having sleep problems; 40% frequently presented feelings of sadness, and 52.5%, of anxiety; 21.7% sought health care, and, among them, 13.9% did not get care. The findings show the importance of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, to mitigate the adverse effects on the socioeconomic and health conditions related to social restriction measures.

Comportamiento de los niveles de carboxihemoglobina en un grupo de trabajadores informales de la ciudad de San Lorenzo

Comportamiento de los niveles de carboxihemoglobina en un grupo de trabajadores informales de la ciudad de San Lorenzo

Aadhaar-Led Identification and Datafication Among Informal Workers in South India: <i>A Data-Justice Perspective</i>

Aadhaar – India’s national biometric digital identity programme through its unique 12-digit number for every Indian resident – has been intricately linked to daily aspects of living in recent years. The programme aims to enable digital linkage to governmental and non-governmental services and through that achieve digital financial inclusion of groups like unbanked informal workers into the mainstream economy. This paper focuses on the Aadhaar experiences of two groups of informal workers in an Indian urban setting – cab-drivers and domestic workers. These informal workers access digital platforms like online recruitment portals and gig-economy apps which are aimed at employment of urban ‘blue collar’ workers, using Aadhaar as an identity for verification through its complex technological ecosystem. Based on this evidence base, the paper provides two contributions. First, it presents a novel theoretical lens of social justice by operationalising ‘abnormal justice’ in a way that is synergistic with elements of surveillance and datafication inherent to digital identification. This results in a framework of data justice, enabling analysis along cultural, economic and political dimensions. Second, using this framework the paper deconstructs empirical evidence collected using semi-structured interviews and field observations. Ultimately it argues that while Aadhaar identity and the data-flow it enables has become critical in enabling digital participation of informal workers, digital identity is intimately related to inequality experienced by urban marginalised groups in three ways: current use of digital identities reifies extant cultural inequalities experienced by marginalised workers; unprotected datafication creates new economic inequalities that exploit new-found digital participation enabled by digital identities; and unfair barriers continue to exist for the marginalised under digital identity to voice ‘informed consent’ or to access redressal of security issues.

An analysis of informal work: The case of SubSaharan scrap metal waste pickers in the city of Barcelona

Object: To analyse the framework within which the informal labour market operates and the social implications of this market by conducting a case study of sub-Saharan scrap metal waste pickers – chatarreros – in the city of Barcelona. Design/methodology: The study compares and contrast theoretical findings drawn from the literature about informal work and the social and living conditions of Barcelona’s chatarreros . Our primary data are collected from twelve interviews (ten with scrap metal waste pickers and two with neighbourhood leaders) and from ethnographic fieldwork conducted between February and August 2013. Contributions / results: Barcelona, in common with many other cities in the northern hemisphere, has experienced a growth in informal work directly linked to the tourism sector, the city’s main economic activity. This growth was especially marked in the Great Recession (2008-2015). Traditionally, informal workers have been systematically ignored, recognition being saved solely for those legally or formally employed. But the major economic changes of the last 20 years have led to the transformation of labour markets and to the segmentation and precarisation of work, and with it the growth of the informal sector. Here, we analyse three elements that are critical for understanding this sector: recognition of work, its capitalisation and the relation between the individual and work. Limitations: This study, for reasons of space, limits itself to an examination of one group of informal workers in Barcelona, namely the chatarreros ; however, there are many other groups that are worthy of study, including, the city’s street vendors, and street artists: buskers, living statues, caricaturists, etc. Originality/added value: The study serves to fill the gap in knowledge regarding the reality of informal work and its social consequences. Specifically, it facilitates understanding of the theoretical concept of informality, illustrating, by means of a case study of informal recyclers or scrap metal waste pickers, the economic and social condition of informal immigrant workers characterised by poverty, discrimination, disembeddedness and subsistence.

Conflict Analysis in ‘World Class’ Cities: Urban Renewal, Informal Transport Workers, and Legal Disputes in Lagos

This paper focuses on the disconnect between, on the one hand, the neoliberal aspirations to make Lagos a model megacity for the twenty-first century and, on the other hand, the precarious temporality of the present in which many informal workers weave their routine existence. In particular, the paper examines the corrupt and violent manner in which the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012 has been adapted by the government to restrict the space and mobility of informal workers as a function of making Lagos a ‘world class’ megacity and ‘Africa’s big apple.’ Focusing on commercial motorbike-taxi (okada) riders and their association, the analysis extends to how one group of informal workers in Lagos are responding to neoliberal urban planning that impinge on their opportunities in, and rights to, the city. In this way, the paper illuminates our rather tenuous understanding of how informal workers exercise agency as they attempt to intervene in the unequal processes of urban renewal projects.

The Unexpected Power of Informal Workers in the Public Square: A Comparison of Mexican and US Organizing Models

AbstractStreet vendors in Mexico and day laborers in the United States, both groups of informal workers who labor in public space, face formidable structural obstacles to securing their rights as workers. Despite their apparent vulnerability, these informal workers have built perhaps the most powerful informal worker organizations in their countries. In this article, we explore and explain to the extent possible the sources, forms, and limits of this unexpected power. We explore organizational and strategic commonalities as well as differences and seek to explain both.

Common Mental Disorders among Occupational Groups: Contributions of the Latent Class Model.

Background. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) is widely used for evaluating common mental disorders. However, few studies have evaluated the SRQ-20 measurements performance in occupational groups. This study aimed to describe manifestation patterns of common mental disorders symptoms among workers populations, by using latent class analysis. Methods. Data derived from 9,959 Brazilian workers, obtained from four cross-sectional studies that used similar methodology, among groups of informal workers, teachers, healthcare workers, and urban workers. Common mental disorders were measured by using SRQ-20. Latent class analysis was performed on each database separately. Results. Three classes of symptoms were confirmed in the occupational categories investigated. In all studies, class I met better criteria for suspicion of common mental disorders. Class II discriminated workers with intermediate probability of answers to the items belonging to anxiety, sadness, and energy decrease that configure common mental disorders. Class III was composed of subgroups of workers with low probability to respond positively to questions for screening common mental disorders. Conclusions. Three patterns of symptoms of common mental disorders were identified in the occupational groups investigated, ranging from distinctive features to low probabilities of occurrence. The SRQ-20 measurements showed stability in capturing nonpsychotic symptoms.

Stretching to informal workers: The Ghana Trades Union Congress’s hand and social protection

Trade unions have adopted various ingenious strategies to reach out to groups of informal workers who were once considered beyond organisation. The unions claim this move is meant to offer protection to the unregulated workers. Drawing largely on secondary data (i.e. through the review of relevant documents) this paper shows that organisational coverage of unions to date lacks the substance of meaningful and genuine representation of their fluid affiliated informal workers. The voices and interests of affiliated informal workers are excluded from the mainstream activities of the formal traditional unions due to structural rigidities. It requires unions to temper its narrow focus on collective bargaining and embrace a much wider conceptualisation of their functions within the domain of social protection. This forms the central position of the paper. The paper also demonstrated that where unions are institutionally responsive, they can achieve some level of social protection for their associate informal worker groups.

Presidential intervention and the changing ‘politics of survival’ in Kampala’s informal economy

In theory, ‘urban governance’ involves non-state actors and the state working together in formally institutionalized ways to make collective decisions and provide urban services. However, in developing country cities with highly informalized economies, the processes that underpin ‘real’ governance often reflect informal bargaining power much more than formal institutional frameworks. This paper uses the case of Uganda’s capital Kampala to explore how political configurations subvert structures of city governance, with particular attention to the increasing engagement between President Museveni and particular groups of informal workers. We present empirical research on market vendors and motorcycle taxi (boda–boda) drivers showing how this engagement benefits both the informal groups and the president. Increased political competition has created an environment where informal groups seeking to protect their livelihoods can tactically leverage a presidential intervention in their favour, helping them evade the policies and regulations of the City Council. Meanwhile, the president has used these interventions to build support in a city that was largely lost to the opposition. These processes have progressively undermined already weak formal institutions for urban governance.

Off the Books in Salvador

Informal economic activity has been increasing in Brazil in the midst of neoliberal reforms, skyrocketing unemployment, and business strategies designed to cut labor costs. Today half of the Brazilian economically active population works informally, as do 40 percent of private-sector employees, now the largest group of informal workers. In both Salvador and Brazil there are more informal salaried workers than there are informal self-employed entrepreneurs, contrary to what most theories of informality would predict. The state is not adequately enforcing its labor legislation, and employers increasingly contract their employees informally. Outsourcing (subcontracting to smaller firms) also contributes to informality, since micro-enterprises are less likely to formalize their employees’ status. Theories of informality need to recognize that there is no such thing as a separate “informal sector” of the economy and that informality increasingly extends to employees of formal firms.

Globalization and Securing Rights for Women Informal Workers in Asia

The major paradigms of the development discourse have recently incorporated the language of rights. To move from the rhetoric of human rights to concretely elaborate the content of rights for informal workers, particularly women, in Asia is the purpose of this paper. Using a rights-based approach to development, the paper takes up the issue of gender-enabling worker rights in the context of developing economies that are increasingly open to external influences. A matrix of rights consisting of the right to work, broadly defined, safe work, minimum income and social security are identified as core issues for informal workers. Further, we focus attention on four specific groups of informal workers: self-employed independent producers and service workers, self-employed street vendors, dependent producers such as homeworkers and outworkers, and dependent wageworkers. Gender-sensitive micro-economic and macro-economic and social polices are identified for each of these segments of the informal workers. The access to economic, market and social reproduction needs are to be addressed simultaneously to ensure the basic matrix of rights for women informal workers in developing countries. Each of the needs of the workers have to be viewed as a right and a system of institutions or mechanisms that will help to bring these rights to the center of policy have to be worked out. The claim of women and informal workers for a voice in the macro policy decisions through representation at the local, national and international levels is at the heart of the rights-based approach.