Informal Workers Research Articles

Mapping out the vulnerabilities of migrant women in the informal sector: A qualitative investigation in Dhaka city

The current study seeks to explore the vulnerabilities typically encountered by female migrants in the informal sector in Dhaka city. It used a qualitative research approach, purposively selecting four areas from Dhaka city. Twenty-five semi-structured in-depth interviews during eight months of participant observation were conducted to accomplish the study objective. The authors used the capability approach theory to elucidate the phenomenon of vulnerability experienced by female migrants in the informal sector. The thematic data analyses were performed using the Granheim approach and NVivo 12 software. The findings of this study suggest that migrant women who work on the street face a number of significant challenges. These challenges include sexual assault and harassment, social stigma and cultural barriers, financial obstacles, and extortion and bribery. The authors recommend that governments provide access to state credits, social security, health insurance, and other forms of social protection for informal sector workers. The finding revealed that informal workers are often excluded from these essential benefits, making it difficult for such workers to expand their businesses or have a safety net in case of illness, unemployment, or other shocks.

Analysis of the labour market impacts of the coronavirus pandemic: Evidence from Zambia

ABSTRACT This paper examines the short-term impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on firms in a developing country i.e. Zambia. This is motivated by the characteristics of the Labour market in developing countries where informality dominates, and female workers form a larger proportion of the informal workforce. The Zambian version of the World Bank Enterprise Survey conducted just before the pandemic (September 2019 to March 2020) and during the pandemic (June 6 to 17 July 2020) is used to explore the experience of firms in terms of changes in the number of employees and firm survival. Results suggest that informal workers are more likely to lose their jobs while firms that are at least partly owned/managed by females are also less likely to survive. It is argued that policy actions that protect informal workers are salient especially since future pandemics cannot be ruled out.

The Gendered Relationship Between Temporary, Informal Employment and Wages: Evidence from the Turkish Labor Market

This article examines the relationship between types of employment and wages by gender and gender pay gaps among permanent, temporary, and informal workers. There are substantial gender inequalities in bargaining, and these inequalities are argued to be more prevalent for temporary and informal jobs. Hence, larger wage penalties for women in such positions are expected. Moreover, the inverse association between wages and non-permanent contracts is larger for low-paid women. To this end, the study employs unconditional quantile regression techniques and counterfactual decomposition analysis, and accounts for selection bias. The dataset is based on labor force surveys over the period 2005–19 in Turkey and focuses on private sector employees. The findings highlight the disproportionate impact of temporary and informal employment on women’s earnings and suggest that employment type can be a contributing factor to the gender pay gap in Turkey, particularly for low wage groups. HIGHLIGHTS In Turkey, employment opportunities, social norms, and gender roles limit women’s bargaining power. Gender inequalities in bargaining can vary significantly across employment types. Women employees with temporary or informal jobs suffer from larger pay penalties. Residual gender pay gaps are larger for low-paid temporary and informal workers.

Can India universalize social insurance before its demographic dividend ends?

About 91% of India’s workforce of 520 million is informal, lacking social insurance. However, this paper finds the Social Security Code 2020 wanting, but with potential for universalizing social insurance. The paper spells out the principles that should guide social insurance for informal workers; and presents the design and architecture for extending coverage. It shows how realistically, over the next 10–15 years, social insurance could cover the entire workforce, in accordance with ILO Conventions. It also estimates the fiscal cost of social insurance, for the first five years, and spells out the political economy, fiscal and administrative challenges to universalisation.

The Effect Of Leptospirosis Health Intervention Module On Knowledge And Attitudes In Informal Sector Workers In Semarang City (Intervention Study In The Working Area Of Kedungmundu Health Center Semarang)

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterial genus Leptospira, and a worldwide public health problem caused by climatic and environmental conditions. The incidence of lepotopsirosis in Central Java has always increased in the last two years, namely in 2021 there were 285 cases with a death rate of 44 people (CFR: 16.60%) cases, in 2022 there were 503 cases with a death rate of 70 cases (CFR: 13.32 %). The aim of this research is to analyze the differences before and after administering the leptospirosis health intervention module on knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices among informal sector workers in Semarang City (intervention study in the Kedungmundu Semarang health center working area). The research design used a control intervention study with a sample of 45 interventions and 45 controls. The intervention and control groups were determined based on the results of leptospirosis cases found in the working area of the Kedungmundu Community Health Center, Semarang City in 2020 - 2023. Data analysis was carried out univariately, bivariately using the Wilcoxon test and the Mann-Withney test. The results showed that knowledge (p<0.001), attitude (p=0.001). The mean differences between the intervention and control groups were 62.11 and 28.89 for knowledge, 63.86 and 27.14 for attitudes. The Leptospirosis Health Intervention Program is an effective health program, an educational tool to increase awareness and preventive behavior among at-risk groups such as informal sector workers, farmers and livestock breeders

Island idleness: Investigating the impact of remittances on labour market participation in Comoros

AbstractThe labour market is fundamental for economic growth, which makes an in‐depth understanding of its dynamics crucial for development and poverty reduction. One determinant of labour market outcomes are remittances. Remittances can influence the decision of an individual whether to participate in the labour market or not, which makes it necessary to understand this relation. In this study we assessed the impact of remittances on the labour supply in the Comoros, the second largest recipient of remittances as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa, by using propensity score matching and national household surveys for 2014 and 2020 to estimate how remittances influenced the decision to participate in the labour market. Most of our results are statistically insignificant; that is, individuals receiving remittances were as likely to participate in the labour market as non‐receivers. Remittances did not influence the unemployment rate and the number of hours worked. On the other side, we found that the type of work was influenced overall by remittances with remittances receivers being more likely to engage in informal work, being more likely to be self‐employed and finally being less likely to engage in wage work. We further find some heterogeneity across the origin and the amount of received remittances. Foreign remittances can explain better the few significant results than domestic remittances and high remittances receivers influenced the labour participation rate, while low and medium remittances receivers explain better the impact of remittances on hours worked, self‐employment and wage work.

Evaluation of work posture using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) methods: a case study

Ergonomic work posture assessment is a method for evaluating the physical condition of work and employees’ posture when working. Lack of knowledge about ergonomics in work activities carried out by informal sector workers leads to health problems. Health problems that arise, namely musculoskeletal disorders, occur in the work of the bean roasting process with an unnatural standing posture coupled with excessive muscle exertion. This study aimed to evaluate the work posture of bean-roasting process workers. The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method is used for eight workers. The results obtained were work posture with a low category of 25%, risk with a medium category of 38%, and risk with a high category of 50%. The conclusion of this study, namely the evaluation of work postures that have been carried out in this small industry with the RULA tool, is that a significant proportion of workers are in unsafe and insecure positions, as found by the author. This is due to small and medium enterprises’ lack of ergonomic knowledge and awareness.

Informal Workers in India, Issues And Challenges: Comprehensive Analysis

According to the Code on Social Security, 2020, an unorganized worker is one who works from home, Employees in the organized sector who are not protected by the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 or Chapters III to VII of the Code, such as Employees Provident Fund, Employees' State Insurance Corporation, Gratuity, Maternity Benefit, or Employee's Compensation, may be self-employed or wage workers in the unorganized sector. In India around half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and more than 90% of the total workforce have remained informally employed in informal sector. Since India got independence this informal economy have played an important role for socio economic development process especially in agriculture and allied activities. Informal employment contributes more than 95% of total workforces in Indian agricultural sector. This paper presents various issues and challenges faced by informal workers in India and discuss about it’ remedies. Also in this paper we have discussed about the current scenario and condition of informal workers force in India. India needs to have employment-intensive growth in the future if it is to properly resolve the demographic dividend conundrum.

Community-Based Health Insurance Utilization and Its Determinants among Informal Workers: Cross-Sectional Study.

Ethiopia has implemented a community-based health insurance (CBHI) program to provide coverage to 80% of the population and shield underprivileged individuals from the detrimental effects of exorbitant medical expenses. However, there is a paucity of data regarding its utilization and pertinent concerns. This study aimed to evaluate the utilization of CBHI and its associated factors among informal workers in Berek District. This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between June 15 and July 15, 2022. The sample population comprised 538 households selected using a multistage sampling approach. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 26. Variables with P-values of less than 0.25 during the bivariate analysis were selected for multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression. The statistical significance threshold was set at a p-value of 0.05. The utilization of Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) was 49.8%. Age between 30 and 39 years, monthly earnings of less than 1500 Ethiopian Birr, presence of chronic illness, membership in social organization, and possessing adequate knowledge were found to have a statistically significant association with the use of CBHI. The utilization of CBHI was low within the confines of this district Age, income, social group membership, and chronic illnesses were significantly associated with CBHI utilization.

Financial Literacy among Women: An Analysis of the Etikoppaka Toy Industry

Numerous scholarly works have thoroughly investigated the disparity in financial risk-taking between genders. It has been observed that women exhibit a lower propensity to invest in high-risk financial assets, which can be attributed to their relatively slower accumulation of wealth over an extended period of time. It aims to understand how financial literacy can enhance women's economic empowerment and independence. The research delves into the imperative need for financial literacy among women in the two-centuries-old Etikoppaka handloom industry. It explores their socio-economic transition within the internationally acclaimed toy industry of Etikoppaka in India. The study focuses on the Etikoppaka handloom industry, comprising two categories of women: formal employees earning wages and informal workers supporting their husbands without monetary compensation. An exploratory research design was applied to arrive at the inferences. Data is collected from 40 females actively engaged in the toy industry, supplemented by two focus group discussions with stakeholders. The data was analyzed using two financial models, i.e., Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011 (OECD) basic principles of money. Financial literacy is crucial for women's empowerment in the Etikoppaka handloom industry. Formal sector women have better understanding of financial concepts than informal sector women. Customized programs that consider local culture and involvement of civil society organizations and grassroots initiatives are necessary for positive economic outcomes. This study's outcomes have significant implications for policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society organizations working towards women's economic development in the handloom industry.

Percutaneous drainage and combined praziquantel-albendazole therapy: a novel approach for the treatment of simple echinococcal liver cysts.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a worldwide helminthic zoonosis causing serious disease in humans. The WHO Informal Working Group on Echinococcosis recommends a stage-specific treatment approach of hepatic CE that facilitates the decision on what therapy option is most appropriate. Percutaneous aspiration, instillation of a scolicide, e.g., ethanol or hypertonic saline, and subsequent re-aspiration (PAIR) have been advocated for treating medium-size unilocular WHO-stage CE1 cysts. PAIR can pose a risk of toxic cholangitis because of spillage of ethanol in the case of a cysto-biliary fistula or of life-threatening hypernatriaemia when hypertonic saline is used. The purpose of our study is to develop an alternative, safe, minimally invasive method to treat CE1 cysts, avoiding the use of toxic topic scolicides.We opt for percutaneous drainage (PD) in four patients: the intrahepatic drainage catheter is placed under CT-fluoroscopy, intracystic fluid is aspirated, and the viability of intracystic echinococcal protoscolices is assessed microscopically. Oral praziquantel (PZQ) is added to albendazole (ABZ) instead of using topical scolicidals.Protoscolices degenerate within 5 to 10 days after PZQ co-medication at a cumulative dosage of 250 to 335 mg/kg, and the cysts collapse. The cysts degenerate, and no sign of spillage nor relapse is observed in the follow-up time of up to 24 months post-intervention.In conclusion, PD combined with oral PZQ under ABZ coverage is preferable to PAIR in patients with unilocular echinococcal cysts.

Determinants of retirement of formal and informal sector workers in Mexico: the role of health and economic security.

We examine the socioeconomic and health drivers of retirement decisions and compare these determinants between formal and informal sector workers in Mexico. Using data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study 2012 and 2015, we estimate conditional probit models of retirement using sociodemographic, health, health care utilization, health insurance, private pensions, and social security systems covariates. The Institutional Review Board at the University of Southern California reviewed and approved the research (IRB # UP-15-00023). We find that the social security systems are an important determinant for retirement age for formal sector workers. The informal sector workers, who lack access to retirement benefits of the social security system, make retirement decisions mainly based on health and access to health insurance through social security. Despite the lack of access to social security benefits, informal sector workers do not respond strongly to socioeconomic factors in determining the timing of retirement. Strengthening access to better health care services could improve health, extend working lives, and promote healthy aging for workers in the informal sector.

Capturing Emerging Experiential Knowledge for Vaccination Guidelines Through Natural Language Processing: Proof-of-Concept Study.

Experience-based knowledge and value considerations of health professionals, citizens, and patients are essential to formulate public health and clinical guidelines that are relevant and applicable to medical practice. Conventional methods for incorporating such knowledge into guideline development often involve a limited number of representatives and are considered to be time-consuming. Including experiential knowledge can be crucial during rapid guidance production in response to a pandemic but it is difficult to accomplish. This proof-of-concept study explored the potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-based methods to capture experiential knowledge and value considerations from existing data channels to make these insights available for public health guideline development. We developed and examined AI-based methods in relation to the COVID-19 vaccination guideline development in the Netherlands. We analyzed Dutch messages shared between December 2020 and June 2021 on social media and on 2 databases from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), where experiences and questions regarding COVID-19 vaccination are reported. First, natural language processing (NLP) filtering techniques and an initial supervised machine learning model were developed to identify this type of knowledge in a large data set. Subsequently, structural topic modeling was performed to discern thematic patterns related to experiences with COVID-19 vaccination. NLP methods proved to be able to identify and analyze experience-based knowledge and value considerations in large data sets. They provide insights into a variety of experiential knowledge that is difficult to obtain otherwise for rapid guideline development. Some topics addressed by citizens, patients, and professionals can serve as direct feedback to recommendations in the guideline. For example, a topic pointed out that although travel was not considered as a reason warranting prioritization for vaccination in the national vaccination campaign, there was a considerable need for vaccines for indispensable travel, such as cross-border informal caregiving, work or study, or accessing specialized care abroad. Another example is the ambiguity regarding the definition of medical risk groups prioritized for vaccination, with many citizens not meeting the formal priority criteria while being equally at risk. Such experiential knowledge may help the early identification of problems with the guideline's application and point to frequently occurring exceptions that might initiate a revision of the guideline text. This proof-of-concept study presents NLP methods as viable tools to access and use experience-based knowledge and value considerations, possibly contributing to robust, equitable, and applicable guidelines. They offer a way for guideline developers to gain insights into health professionals, citizens, and patients' experience-based knowledge, especially when conventional methods are difficult to implement. AI-based methods can thus broaden the evidence and knowledge base available for rapid guideline development and may therefore be considered as an important addition to the toolbox of pandemic preparedness.

Informality as a multifactor approach: evidence from mototaxi drivers in Colombia

ABSTRACT This study explores the diverse range of activities undertaken by informal workers and the ways in which these activities can differ in terms of their degree of informality. The methodology is qualitative, based on a case study of mototaxi drivers in Cartagena, Colombia, in order to achieve a more complete description and a holistic analysis of the phenomenon. The paper offers a novel multilevel perspective of informality that encompasses not only legal status but also social and economic aspects, and proposes an integrated approach to understanding informality that accounts for the range of activities undertaken by informal actors.

Patterns of social behavior among informal workers during extreme events: lessons from social life during the Covid-19 pandemic in Lima, Peru.

This study analyzes changes in social life during the pandemic and the early stages of the post-pandemic period within a population characterized by high levels of informality in Lima, particularly the textile district of Gamarra, encompassing 89,123 people. A qualitative approach was adopted, based on 62 semi-structured interviews with garment manufacturers, in-store traders, and street vendors. Two distinct moments could be identified: a) experiences confronting the shock induced by the Covid-19 pandemic; and b) experiences of reconfiguring work and daily life, alongside strategies adopted by the population. In conclusion, the study suggests that some elements of daily life acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic may carry over into the future, inducing society to place greater emphasis on preventive measures against emerging risks, including behaviors related to hygiene and health, fostering closer family ties, increased utilization of digitalization and hybrid work models, and the cultivation of enhanced social capital.

Expropriation of Rights, Dependent Capitalism and Transfer of Income: Reflections on the Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The text focuses on taking stock of income transfer programs in Brazil in order to bring subsidies to analyze these initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The result of a bibliographical review and documentary research, the article points out that monetary aid was the main form of protection against pauperization in the capitalist periphery during the health crisis, but ensuring the maintenance of the neoliberal fiscal and economic austerity agenda. The conclusions show that income transfer programs in dependent countries, where the relationship between expropriation and overexploitation prevails, were enlarged with the COVID-19 pandemic, thus helping to ensure the expanded reproduction of dependency conditions by maintaining the stagnant relative overpopulation in informality and precarious work that increased during the health crisis.

Global labor market debates in the ILO publications in the COVID-19 era

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, significantly changed the dynamics of working life. To help capture these changing dynamics, we examined publications that the International Labour Organization published during this period. This article aims to determine what kind of discussions are made within the framework of these publications in the context of COVID-19 by period and region. Thus, we researched the most intense discussion themes and tried to discover the global agendas of the labor markets. Within the scope of this article, we downloaded, classified, and examined a total of 1,062 publications (reports, webinars, and bulletins) published between January 2020 and April 2021. As a result of the analysis, we saw that the themes of working hours, informal workers, vulnerable workers, decent work, social protection, remote working, skills development, social dialogue, and labor standards were dominant.

The Legacy of Coordinative Practice: How the Mesh of Formal and Informal Articulation Work Through Time Affects a Shipyard in Transition

This article explores the balance, and the shift in balance, between technologies and practices that coordinate work. The empirical data stems from a primarily qualitative study of a Norwegian shipyard in a phase of transition, where new models of collaboration emerge due to changes in the company environment. The article highlights the interplay between formal and informal articulation work, as well as the role of coordinative IT artifacts in this regard. With this background, the findings show that the balance (between coordinative technologies and practices) shifts depending on circumstances. Thus, the more formal coordination gains importance as transitions increases the need for detailed instructions. The findings also show that the existing IT infrastructure (the legacy) lacks the granularity as a coordinative artifact to facilitate necessary change in the organizational work arrangement, and how the workers cope with such issues. Based on this, the paper provides insights into how articulation work and its sociomaterial aspects develops over time in the interplay of organizational and technological change (or lack thereof).

Optimizing the Role of District Governments to Realize Employment Social Security for Informal Workers in Palm Oil Plantations

Protection social or guarantee social Still become issue most important to world citizens. Indonesian, as members of the United Nations and the ILO, as well as fulfilling the mandate state constitution, continues to make an effort to develop and implement assurance programs comprehensive social. As to the study of the goals, this is to know the effort government of Musi Banyuasin district in the Framework to realize social employment, specifically worker informal. The method used is research juridical empirical. The result can be concluded that to optimize the role government of Musi Banyuasin Regency in the implementation of insurance social to power informal work on plantations of coconut palm oil, the company consulted with stakeholders’ interests between liberation land and implementing Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC).

Women’s Stories of Waste Picking in the City: “People Look at Us Like We Are Mad, but I Don’t Care”

The gendered dynamics of informal work in southern cities across the globe has been well documented. Women in the informal sector, usually already marginalised through racialised and class positionalities, face predictable work challenges in patriarchal society, lower pay, longer work hours, more family responsibilities, less social protections, and safety concerns linked to workspaces. In this article, we explore the specific challenges that women waste pickers in the inner city of Durban, South Africa, experience. The study draws on ethnographic research with eight waste pickers. Beyond the challenges, the narrative data illustrates how and why women waste pickers navigate and negotiate for space and safety in the inner city of Durban. We highlight how women build social relationships as a mitigation strategy against material and varied safety concerns. These social relationships work across formal business linkages and relationships on the street. These mitigation strategies are simultaneously gendered responses to work in the city and innovative business practices. The experiences of women waste pickers in the city indicates that it is left to the women themselves, individually and in small collectives, to find ways to navigate issues of discrimination and exclusions linked to work, gender and space in the city. Ultimately, we draw on the experiences of women waste pickers in inner city Durban to ask questions about what lessons can be learnt to advocate better municipal planning that proactively deals with gender and justice in the city.