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).

Working conditions of indigenous women and men in Central Africa: an analysis based on available evidence

13 December 2017

Drawing on previous ILO research as well as a number of other available sources, this paper provides an analytical overview of key issues faced by indigenous peoples in the world of work in the Central African region. Highlighting ILO and United Nations instruments that seek to promote and protect the rights of indigenous women and men, the paper points to several measures to make these rights more effective for them, including improving data availability, protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to land and natural resources, and adopting special measures to overcome discrimination against them.

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.

Decent Work on Plantations - Brochure

06 January 2017

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.

The global impact of e-waste: Addressing the challenge

20 December 2012

This paper explores the volumes, sources and flows of e-waste, the risks it poses to e-waste workers and the environment, occupational safety and health issues, labour issues and regulatory frameworks, and links this growing global problem with the International Labour Organization’s current and future work.

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.

Mainstreaming environmental issues in sustainable enterprises: An exploration of issues, experiences and options

21 January 2011

Employment Working Paper No. 75