12th Academy on Social and Solidarity Economy - Elective 3: SSE, just transition to climate-neutral and circular economy: innovative ways of production and consumption

12 January 2022

Waste pickers’ cooperatives and social and solidarity economy organizations

20 August 2019

Waste pickers make significant contributions to public health, sanitation, and the environment by promoting resource circulation and reducing the amount of landfill. However, they are often not legally recognized as workers and suffer from poor working conditions and lack of social protection. This brief highlights the role of waste pickers' cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy organizations (SSEOs) in integrating and formalizing the work of waste pickers in the recycling value chain and improving their working conditions.

Cooperatives meeting informal economy workers' child care needs - A Joint ILO and WIEGO Initiative

25 April 2018

Cooperatives set up and run by workers in the informal economy are among the solutions in meeting women workers’ care needs, while also helping protect their labour rights. This report complements the ILO's previous studies with cases from Brazil, India, and Guatemala on how informal economy workers’ organizations can mobilize through cooperatives to provide child care services to their members. The case studies highlight diverse forms of child care provision and outline the varied partnerships needed to implement and sustain child care services for informal economy workers.

Summary report - Advancing cooperation among women workers in the informal economy: The SEWA way

28 March 2018

This is a summary of the report “Advancing cooperation among women workers in the informal economy: The SEWA way” which aims to provide an understanding of the challenges and opportunities for cooperatives and other SSE enterprises in empowering women workers in the informal economy with a specific focus on the experience of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).