WIEGO: Organization

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WIEGO Organization Representation Program
General Assembly 21-23 April, 2006, Durban
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The Problem

• Working poor women in the informal economy have
• the greatest NEED but the least POWER to
  influence
• policy and actions that affect their lives.
• The majority are UNORGANIZED or weakly organized.
• To give them power and voice they need STRONG
• ORGANIZATIONS locally, nationally and
  internationally.

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Program Goals

• To identify existing organizations and alliances
  of informal workers and document their
  strategies
• To help network and link existing organizations
  of informal workers
• To provide capacity building support- including
  networking, workers education, policy and legal
  analysis - to organizations of informal workers.

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Key Past Achievements

• Research - advocacy - networking - technical
  support
• Homeworkers. With UNIFEM and SEWA, helped extend
  organization and networks in South SE Asia
  (Homenets) to promote ILO Homework Convention
  177 and influence policy makers. Kathmandu
  Declaration in 2000 a milestone.
• Street market vendors. Helped facilitate the
  formation of NASVI (India-1998) and StreetNet
  International (2000) by providing research,
  assisting with funding opportunities.

5
Key Past Achievements.

• International Recognition of Informal Workers.
• IL0 2002 resolution on Decent Work the
• Informal Economy. Identified organizations, ran
  preparatory workshops, prepared background
  documents, convened strategic coalition to
  participate in discussions
• Support for formation of the ICC
• First international conference on organizing in
  the informal economy (2003) and follow up work

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Addressing Challenges Key Projects

• Data Base of Organizations
• To assist organizations, researchers, educators.
  Over 400 entries with organization profiles, and
  information on organizing strategies
• International Network of Wastepickers
• Support for member based organizations of
  wastepickers to build an international network-
  including helping to organize an international
  conference

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Key Projects..

• Legal Research Project
• Monitors documents developments relating to
  labour law and informal workers. Planning a major
  research project with a focus on labour law own
  account workers.
• Worker Education
• Support for IFWEA lead organization-to develop
  education materials on and for informal workers.
  Build a collection of education materials.
• Domestic worker and other networking
• Collecting information facilitating contact

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Labour Law Informal Workers
Project 2 Own Account workers Labour Law
Project 3 Labour Law Needs of IE workers
Project 1 Observatory of Labour Law I E Trends
Document disseminate information Participate ILC
Regional research Case Studies, Asia, Latin
America
Collect, document, disseminate Participate in
worker events
International Workshop Platform of demands
model laws