KNOWLEDGE FAIR NEWSPAPER
DECENT WORK & THE INFORMAL ECONOMY
Wednesday, 8th June 2005 – Issue 1
Knowledge Fair Opens Today Director-General set to attend
The Knowledge Fair on Decent Work and the Informal Economy opens today at 13:15 in the area near Door XIV of the Palais des Nations. Between 16.30 and 17.00, Director-General Juan Somavia is expected to visit the Fair. Before winding up on 15 June, the Fair will feature a standing exhibit, banners and posters, a media show, several special events, guided database searches and more. A high-level tripartite panel will address the issues on Monday, 13 June. “Addressing the challenges of the informal economy is key to poverty reduction in a globalizing world,” said Gerry Rodgers, Director of the Policy Integration Department. At the Knowledge Fair, delegates to the International Labour Conference can see the wide range of action being taken on the informal economy by the ILO, governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, along with their partners. To prepare the Fair as an integrated product, submissions from the Regions and headquarters were grouped around four themes: the policy environment, building and strengthening representation, expanding markets and jobs, and improving conditions and social protection. The exhibit stands and banners capture over 30 good practices of action on the informal economy, with others shown in videos and multimedia presentations. They illustrate follow-up by the ILO to the tripartite conclusions on Decent Work and the Informal Economy adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2002. The various examples show how the Decent Work Agenda – rights and The Knowledge Fair aims to showcase good practices by the ILO and constituents, of work carried out in the field of Decent Work and the Informal Economy
Up to 18% of Kenya’s gross domestic product is thought to come from the Jua Kali, or “fierce sun”, where traditionally workers toil in the open air.
Embracing the Potential of Kenya’s Jua Kali
A long-standing and prestigious employers’ association has joined forces with the Government of Kenya to help develop and address the needs of the country’s diverse range of small- scale informal manufacturing concerns. Kenya’s informal manufacturing industry is commonly known as the Jua Kali or “fierce sun”. The term traditionally was used to refer to small scale pot-makers, weavers and iron workers, working in the open air. Today, however, it is a rapidly expanding informal economy comprising a vast range of manufacturing enterprises from furniture making to mechanics and vehicle parts production. Up to 18% of Kenya’s GDP is thought to come from the Jua Kali and it now accounts for over 60% of the country’s employment opportunities. In recognition of the growing prominence of the Jua Kali, the Kenyan Government recently revised its strategy towards small enterprise development. It now aims to address the specific needs of the informal sector and to encourage cooperation between established formal companies and Jua Kali enterprises. To help, the Government has turned to one of Kenya’s leading private sector associations, the Federation of Kenyan Employers, or FKE. For nearly fifty years, the FKE has been working to improve the management and labour policies of its membership, which includes over 2,000 of Kenya’s leading companies and trade associations. It has focused on cultivating a thriving and vibrant business environment and sound industrial relations within Kenya’s private sector. Helping its members build links with the Jua Kali is now recognized as sound business practice and has become central to much of its work. Together the FKE and the Kenyan Government are encouraging closer links between the formal sector and the Jua Kali, increasing opportunities for sub-contracting and promoting the transfer of managerial and technical skills. The FKE is bringing its extensive knowledge and understanding of labour policies and industrial relations to help the Government meet the challenge of protecting and promoting the rights of informal sector workers. It is encouraging Jua Kali enterprises to form their own associations to improve technologies and working practices, diversify products and develop effective marketing strategies. For years the Jua Kali and its millions of informal workers have remained on the margins of society. As the Government and the formal private sector now seek to reach out and embrace its disparate facets, it may well prove to be the central force behind the long term future development of Kenya’s economy.
standards, employment and incomes, social protection and social dialogue – contributes to poverty reduction. The Knowledge Fair is being staffed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 8-10 and 13-15 June. Bookmarks used in displays in the Halle des Pas Perdus highlight ILO publications most relevant to decent work and the informal economy. All delegates are encouraged to visit the Fair near Door XIV.
Knowledge Fair Agenda
Wed 8/6 Thu 9/6 Fri 10/6 Mon 13/6 Tue 14/6 Wed 15/6 Knowledge Fair Launch Publications Fair World Day Against Child Labour Tripartite Panel on Decent Work and the Informal Economy Open Forum discussion A view from Academia
Informal employment
as a percentage of non-agricultural employment, by sex, 1994/2000
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 North Africa SubLatin Saharan America Africa Asia
Visit the ILO Informal Economy Resource Database for a wealth of information. Click on “databases” on the ILO website:
www.ilo.org
Total Men Women
(estimates)
Source: ILO, Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture, 2002
The ILO Helps Stamp Out Bonded Labour in South Asia
Bonded labour is a silent but pervasive plight affecting many of the poorest of the poor throughout the world. Although countries have now committed themselves to eradicating all forms of forced labour, in practice, stamping out this hidden iniquity is proving a formidable challenge. In South Asia, ILO has been working alongside local authorities and NGOs to understand the full nature of the problem, tackle its root causes and find sustainable solutions. While bonded labour is illegal, and thus falls outside the working definition of informality used in the 2002 International Labour Conference conclusions on Decent Work and the Informal Economy, some features of it overlap with the situation of people who are at the subsistence end of the informal economy: extreme vulnerability, very irregular income, denial of rights, and often ethnic discrimination. Throughout the countries of South Asia, many millions of workers live at or below the poverty line, their wages barely sufficient to support themselves and their families. But many more are believed to be working for no wages, forced into bondage to repay an outstanding debt. Although the practice is outlawed under national and international law, the full scale of the phenomenon is only just becoming apparent and is believed to affect millions of workers across the sub-continent. Many fall into debt after needing money to pay medical bills, to buy food, or to pay for religious or ceremonial expenses. Almost all are from the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of society including socially excluded ethnic minorities and low castes. Once in debt, the workers and their families are forced to work for the lender until the debt is repaid as a substitute for wages, under an unwritten agreement. Many end up working long hours in agriculture, weaving or in the sex industry with little hope of escape or release. As part of ILO’s commitment to help countries eradicate forced labour, the PEBLISA project has been underway for five years now and is tackling the problem at all levels. Based on a three pillar strategy, the project aims to change national policy, release and rehabilitate bonded workers and address the root causes of the workers’ vulnerability to this form of exploitation. Initially the project set out to understand the scale and the nature of the problem and to identify which regions and sectors were most at risk. A number of areas have now been declared “Bonded Labour Free Zones” allowing for a series of activities to get underway. Local authorities are being helped to develop the capacity needed to clamp down on the perpetrators. Bonded workers are being identified and released and then provided with vocational training and access to microfinance to prevent them returning to debt bondage. Measures are also being put in place to prevent other vulnerable workers from falling into debt-bondage such as savings and credit schemes and income generating activities. Now in its second phase, the project is assessing the effectiveness of its activities to date and looking further into the complexities of the problem many of which stem from generations of inequality and exploitation of the very poor. Of particular concern is the role and vulnerability of women and children, some of whom are born into a life-time of bonded labour. Micro-finance can play an important and significant role but alone it is insufficient to prevent debt bondage. Based on a comprehensive and holistic strategy, the project hopes not only to bring about a significant reduction in the incidence of bonded labour, but to get to the heart of the wider issues concerning poverty, exclusion and exploitation that lie at the root of this abomination and enable men and women to work in conditions of freedom and dignity.
Young girl working in a brick factory
“Forced labour is also being detected in urban and peri-urban areas, often in smaller establishments in the hidden informal economy”
– A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour (Global Report under the Follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 2005
Small Businesses Defend their Rights
Passing legislation protecting the rights of small informal entrepreneurs is a good first step, but promoting those rights is just as important. Peru has taken the step of appointing a defender of labour rights for informal business and opening up a rights office in over seventy urban municipalities. Now, small informal businesses have somewhere to turn to get information on their rights and the regulations that protect them. They can seek advice on social aid programmes and social protection schemes for which they are eligible. Legal counseling too is on hand should they need it.
Putting the WIND into the Sales of Kyrgyzstan’s Small Farmers
Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development (WIND) provides practical advice on health and safety for rural farmers in Kyrgyzstan
The plight of small-scale informal farmers in Kyrgyzstan has prompted a local trade union to help them join together in a bid to improve their living and working conditions as well as their individual health and safety. Agriculture in Kyrgyzstan has transformed in recent years from the large scale cooperatives of the Soviet era into almost a quarter of a million small privately owned farms. For some farmers, this transformation has brought success and opportunity but for many, who own little land and no machinery, living and working conditions have deteriorated. Without a living income they are unable to invest in the machinery they badly need and many are now barely able to support their families. A local farming trade union, Agrocomplex, has been reaching out to informal farmers to try to encourage neighbours to join together to improve their earning potential. Working together, the farmers would benefit from price regulations, tax reductions and could access micro-credit to purchase fertilizers and machinery. High too on the union’s agenda has been the need to address the many serious concerns surrounding the health and safety of the farmers. Many farmers, however, are reluctant to give up any of their hard-won independence, the memories of collectivization still fresh in their minds. In April 2004, the union teamed up with the ILO to tackle these concerns. The recent success in Viet Nam of a manual, Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development (WIND), that provides practical advice on
health and safety for rural farmers, provided the inspiration. Written and presented in a format that is accessible and relevant, many experts felt that it could be replicated and adapted to the local context. A working group of unions, employers, agricultural experts, government ministries and NGOs embarked on a process of translating the text of the manual into Russian, adapting the illustrations and photographs and rewriting chapters to include issues of relevance to Kyrgyz farmers. By October 2004, after meeting the approval of representatives of the farmers themselves, the Kyrgyz version of the manual was ready. The slow winter season from December to February provided the opportunity to take the manual out to the rural communities for the first time and to begin working with neighbourhood groups of small-scale farmers. Although the project is still in its infancy, the manual is already proving popular. Forty seminars were held with groups of farmers across the country this year and plans are underway to reach all remaining communities next winter, if funding can be found. Over one hundred officials have been trained to present and promote the manual and a mobile theatre group is now helping to spread its messages. Other neighbouring CIS countries including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are showing interest in adapting the manual to their own country’s context. In a region where there has long been a need for practical and accessible training materials, the WIND manual seems set to help fill that vital gap as well as reigniting the spirit of neighbourhood support.
Lima’s Street Vendors Find Strength in Numbers
Street vending is one of the most visible and rapidly growing examples of informal businesses in developing countries. Stall holders have for a long time been at the mercy of local authorities, anxious to clean up their city’s streets and improve traffic flows. But several countries are now recognizing the vital role that street vendors play in keeping the local economy vibrant and providing an income for many of the cities’ poor. Instead of using harassment and repressive measures, some authorities are working together with local organizations to find solutions that are right for both the city and its street vendors. The Owners’ Association of the Polvos Azules Shopping Centre in Lima is one such example of a dynamic organization that helped to upgrade working conditions and market opportunities for street vendors. Established in the 1980s in response to a massive forced relocation of hundreds of stall holders, the association now represents over 2,000 members and has become a champion in their dealings with the authorities.