Publications on informal economy
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Full report
Preparing for the future of work: National policy responses in ASEAN +6
11 September 2019
Spurred by technological advancements, demographic shifts and environmental and climate disruptions, fastpaced transformations are affecting how, where and when people work, impacting our labour markets and shaping the future of work. Preparing for the future of work: National policy responses in ASEAN +6 provides an overview of how countries in the Asia-Pacific region are reacting to such changes with new or adapted strategies and policies.
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Cooperatives and the World of Work Series No. 12
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.
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Publication
Work Improvement for Safe Home: Action manual for improving safety and health of E-waste workers
29 May 2019
An illustrated manual that aims to assist e-waste workers in improving their safety, health and productivity and shows many low-cost ideas that e-waste workers can easily adopt by using locally-available materials.
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Publication
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.
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Research Department Working Paper n°29
The Future of Work: A Literature Review
17 April 2018
An enormous amount of literature has emerged over the last few years in the context of the “Future of Work”. Academics, think tanks and policy makers have fuelled rich discussions about how the future of work might look like and how we can shape it. Indeed, labour markets in developing and developed countries are likely to undergo major transformations in the next years and decades. However, despite a growing body of research in this area, there exists no universally accepted definition of what exactly the “Future of Work” encompasses and what the most relevant drivers are.
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Publication
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).
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Publication
Cooperation among workers in the informal economy: A focus on home-based workers and waste pickers - A Joint ILO and WIEGO Initiative
03 August 2017
This report on “Cooperation among workers in the informal economy: A focus on home-based workers and waste pickers” is part of a joint ILO and WIEGO initiative, which aims to understand the nature and scope of cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy enterprises and organizations formed by workers in the informal economy. It focuses on the current challenges, opportunities, obstacles and practices among cooperatives of waste pickers and home-based workers in order to inform future actions and interventions that support cooperative growth.
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Publication
Tackling informality in e-waste management: The potential of cooperative enterprises
21 October 2014
The present paper is the product of a joint effort by the Sectoral Policies Department and the Cooperatives Unit of the International Labour Organization (ILO). This initiative supports the ILO’s commitment to promote forms of employment that safeguard the environment, eradicate poverty and promote social justice through sustainable enterprises and decent work, as reinforced by the international Labour Conference (ILC), at its 102nd session in June 2013.
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Publication
"Is Small Still Beautiful?"
16 April 2013
Literature Review of Recent Empirical Evidence on the Contribution of SMEs to Employment Creation
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Publication
Assessing Green Jobs Potential in Developing Countries: A Practitioner’s Guide
21 November 2011
The knowledge of how the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy will affect employment, especially underlying job movements, is vital to informing policy, yet there are few comparable studies for developing countries. As part of the ILO’s Global Green Jobs Programme, this guide provides practical solutions to help fill these information gaps.