지난 6월, 스위스 제네바에서 ILO 국제노동총회(International Labour Conference)가 진행되었습니다. 한편, 노동자성이 인정되지 못하거나 기본적 권리가 보장되지 않는 모든 노동자들을 비공식노동자로서 조직하고 이들의 단결과 투쟁 강화방안에 대 해 논의하자는 차원에서 총회 기간 중 '비공식노동자 워크샾'이 진행되 었습니다. 아래는 당일 진행된 workshop과 관련하여 WIEGO(Women in Informal Economy Globalizing & Organizing, http://www.wiego.org)의 Chris Bonner가 정리한 보고서입니다.(관련 자료들은 국제노점상연합 http://www.streetnet.org.za에 서 편집된 자료들을 보실 수 있습니다.) :: 문의: 전국노점상연합(NFSVK) 국제국차장 신희철(011-9728-7418) Notes on the Workshop on Organising Workers in the Informal Economy: 7 June 2004, Geneva 1. Introduction The Meeting was opened by Kofi Asamoah, Deputy General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress of Ghana who welcomed everyone. He explained that this meeting was one of the outcomes of the Conference on Organizing Workers in the Informal Economy, held in Ahmedabad, India in December 2003. The Conference was attended by trade unions and other organisations organising workers in the informal economy. The Conference asked the international organising committee of the Conference to continue coordinating the network of organisations organising workers in the informal economy. It gave the Committee – known as the International Coordinating Committee (ICC)- a mandate to arrange this workshop whilst at this International Labour Conference. The purpose of the workshop is to : · Explain and inform organisations about the Conference and the work being carried out · Invite organisations to join our network to combine our efforts · Share experiences and ideas on building organisation in the informal economy The Chair introduced the members of the ICC present in the workshop: Kofi Asamoah, DGS, Trade Union Congress of Ghana Renana Jhabvala, National Coordinator, SEWA, India Pat Horn, StreetNet International, South Africa Manali Shah, Vice President , SEWA, India And noted other members not present: Linus Ukamba, Nigeria Labour Congress Rakawin Lee, Homenet Thailand Guillermo Perez Herrera, ICFTU-ORIT Workshop participants then introduced themselves. 2. ICC Presentation Pat Horn gave an overview of the Conference in Ahmedabad. She explained some of the programmes planned by the ICC for 2004-5. The Conference provided an opportunity for unions and organisations to share their experiences in organising workers in the informal economy and to learn from each other. Despite the difficulties in organising informal workers, it is being successfully done in many countries. We would like others organising in the informal economy to join us. We will be working on the following programmes over 2004-5: · We will organise a further Conference in December 2005 in Ghana · Prior to this there will be a series of regional workshops · We are collecting and documenting information on organisations in the informal economy and building a data base through Wiego · Wiego is also collecting and documenting information on labour laws and other laws affecting workers and organisations in the informal economy · We will arrange exchange visits between unions/worker organisations organising in the informal economy to learn from each other. · An education manual on organising in the informal economy will be written and available for organisations. 3. Regional Presentations 3.1. Africa Kofi Asamoah briefly spoke about the informal economy in Africa and the challenges facing unions to organise workers in the informal economy. It was necessary to protect the unprotected. Ghana TUC has been actively organising informal economy workers since the early 1990s. 3.2. Asia Renana Jhabvala explained the extent of the informal economy in parts of Asia. For example, in India over 90% of workers are in the informal economy and more than 50% in East Asia. She gave examples of some organising successes: In Nepal, Gefont has been instrumental in making sure self employed workers have rights to organise under labour law. In Bangladesh, homeworkers have been recognised as workers and their union registered In Hong Kong- there are active domestic worker unions In Thailand – the Thai Workers Solidarity Committee brings together nine union centres which are organising in the informal economy In the Philippines – many unions are organising in the informal economy and there is an important organisation of informal economy workers – namely Patambama Some of the main issues for workers are: · Recognition · Social protection · Cooperatives, markets and employment creation 3.3 Latin America Jose de Valle from CROC spoke of regional meetings held in Mexico to build solidarity and share experiences. In the Americas informal workers are increasing a lot. Formal jobs are disappearing so workers have to do informal work to survive. CROC has created a federation specifically for informal workers. This federation is within CROC, but has its own statutes and congresses, and concludes agreements with government institutions. It has one million members. 4. Open Discussion Mexico We started organising informal workers in 1982. We have succeeded in obtaining social security for the workers, namely pensions. We also have a law protecting informal economy workers – the only one of its kind we believe. This could be used as a model for other unions to work with. Morocco It is difficult to organise workers in the informal economy. It is even difficult to organise those in the formal economy. Transnational companies in Morocco are determined to keep unions out. Unions generally do not see informal economy workers as an interesting constituency. They have no power and there is no provision for elections and representation. Forms of representation need to be established so that unions take this task seriously. I do not agree with the definition of informal economy workers as “non salaried” as there are many informal economy workers who do receive a salary e.g. domestic workers. Niger Congratulations on this initiative. It is important that there is a network of organisations organising workers in the informal economy so that we all know what is happening. This can be done through e- mail and the internet. In Niger there was an ILO project on organising in the informal economy which was quite successful. It included small catering workers, street vendors etc. We would be interested in an exchange of strategies and materials on organising. We developed materials which we could share. Chad There are problems in Chad with rising unemployment. Street vendors, tailors etc are not covered by the law. Nigeria This forum should try and build more partnerships such as with governments, the ILO. All have concerns and face challenges around the informal economy and we should work together to address these. Last month we had a meeting with the government. We discovered that we did not even have proper statistics. In Nigeria there is a still a concentration by the ILO on the formal sector. We need to build a programme around the informal economy. Unions cannot claim to defend or represent workers if we do not organise in the informal economy. The issue though is what kind of approach we should adopt? The suggestion for a manual is very good . We could use it to expose our organisers to the issues of organising workers in the informal economy. Hong Kong There is union for women Indonesian Migrant Workers (IMWU). Many migrate to Hong Kong and are subjected to abuse and discrimination. For example the wages received are not the same as other domestic workers. The workers have organised themselves so they can promote their interests and so that people respect them as workers. The Union works with the trade union federation and NGOs. Liberia This is a very important topic. Most workers in the trade unions lost their jobs and have moved into the informal sector. They need documents on how to organise. We would like to be part of the network and to share information. OATUU (Mr Sunmonu – Secretary General) Work done is appreciated. The formal and informal workers must unite. We must: · Make governments get rid of legal barriers to organising informal workers · Learn through sharing experiences. It is not the same organising in the informal economy as it is in the formal. There is much discrimination against workers in the informal economy. OATUU will do everything to make ensure organisations of informal and informal workers come together and to support organising in the informal economy Zambia Data is important. The government and other stakeholders ignore the informal economy- especially its contribution to the economy. We have to double our efforts and show the importance of the sector. We must encourage the formation of unions, organisations and associations. We must know who they are. Benin We have been organising for 15 years in the informal economy. We have had several problems with the authorities. It is difficult because workers themselves often do not see the importance of organising into unions. So we began by organising into a professional association which later we turned into unions. We take up individual cases; we act as mediators for migrant worker problems. The support of unions is needed to get better protection and to get more rights. For taxi drivers the union has a social security scheme. The drivers pay into the scheme and after six months they and their families are covered. We use this achievement to organise. The scheme is administered by public social security funds. Training is very important for the workers and helps them to commit to the organisation. Workers have needs which may not necessarily be the same as those in the formal economy. We need to carefully identify these needs to organise around. The workshop concluded at 15h40 with thanks to all present and to the organisers.
