Preface
The informal economy is extensive, currently comprising more than half of the global workforce. Often workers in the informal economy suffer from decent work deficits including the denial of rights at work, low quality working conditions, inadequate social protection and the absence of social dialogue. In order to address these deficits, informal economy workers have used cooperatives and other social and solidarity economy (SSE) units to improve their employment opportunities and livelihoods; to promote democratic governance of the workplace; and to engage in collective negotiations and social dialogue. The role of cooperatives and other SSE units in the transition from the informal to the formal economy is acknowledged in ILO’s Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204).
Among these initiatives, the case of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India is notable as having inspired other initiatives around the world. SEWA has followed a dual strategy: while organizing poor women in the informal economy as a national union, it has also developed women-owned cooperative enterprises to empower them. These cooperatives create better employment and income generation opportunities and provide a wide range of services including financial, insurance and social security services and business and leadership training. Recently the ILO has received specific requests from its constituents to better understand SEWA’s approach in order to be able to adapt and replicate it in Asia and other parts of the world.
