Description
Book SynopsisInformal Workers and Collective Action features nine cases of collective action to improve the status and working conditions of informal workers. Adrienne E. Eaton, Susan J. Schurman, and Martha A. Chen set the stage by defining informal work and describing the types of organizations that represent the interests of informal workers and the lessons that may be learned from the examples presented in the book. Cases from a diverse set of countriesBrazil, Cambodia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Liberia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uruguayfocus on two broad types of informal workers: waged workers, including port workers, beer promoters, hospitality and retail workers, domestic workers, low-skilled public sector workers, and construction workers; and self-employed workers, including street vendors, waste recyclers, and minibus drivers.These cases demonstrate that workers and labor organizations around the world are rediscovering the lessons of early labor organizers on
Trade Review
Informal Workers and Collective Action: A Global Perspective is innovative in its scope and claims.... This volume shows that workers around the world are finding new and old ways to organize, and I join the editors in hoping that their stories will inspire others to do the same.
* Work and Occupation *
This book is extremely important and timely, as it demonstrates that it is possible to achieve measurable benefits for vulnerable workers through collective action even in dire circumstances. Authors convincingly argue that workers' organizations need to take advantage of structural resources as well as their associational power by collaborating with other domestic and international unions and/or social movements.
* ILR Review *
This book added greatly to my understanding of the various forms of informal work and the difficulties that informal workers face in securing recognition and rights.... By the end of the book, it is evident that collective bargaining can involve many categories of both formal and informal workers, government entities, and employer representatives. The way forward may be slow, but these case studies show that progress is possible.
* Monthly Labor Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction, Adrienne E. Eaton, Martha A. Chen, and Susan J. SchurmanPart I. Formalizing or Reformalizing Distanced Employment Relationships1. Port Workers in Colombia: Reinstatement as Formal Workers, Daniel Hawkins2. Retail and Hospitality Workers in South Africa: Organized by Trade Union of Formal Workers to Demand Equal Pay and Benefits, Sahra Ryklief3. Haitian Migrant Workers in the Dominican Republic: Organizing at the Intersection of Informality and Illegality, Janice Fine and Allison J. Petrozziello4. Domestic Workers in Uruguay: Collective Bargaining Agreement and Legal Protection, Mary R. Goldsmith5. Beer Promoters in Cambodia: Formal Status and Coverage under the Labor Code, Mary Evans6. Informalized Government Workers in Tunisia: Reinstatement as Formal Workers with Collective Bargaining Rights, Stephen Juan KingPart II. Securing Recognition and Rights for the Self-Employed7. Minibus Drivers in Georgia: Secure Jobs and Worker Rights, Elza Jgerenaia and Gocha Aleksandria8. Waste Pickers in Brazil: Recognition and Annual Bonus, Sonia Maria Dias and Vera Alice Cardoso Silva9. Street Vendors in Liberia: A Written Agreement With Authorities and a Secure Workplace, Milton A. Weeks and Pewee ReedConclusion: Expanding the Boundaries of Labor Organizing and Collective Bargaining,Susan J. Schurman, Adrienne E. Eaton, and Martha A. Chen
