Informal Workers and Organized Agency in Bangladesh: The Defining Role of RMG Sector

Abstract:In January 2012 a broad spectrum of popular groups staged an unprecedented protest against the removal of what has been termed a “subsidy” on fuel prices by the Nigerian government. The participation of tailors in this national political event suggests that self-employed artisans were prepared to transcend their narrow nonpolitical agenda to promote their interests and demands for decent social and economic conditions. Interviews with participating organization representatives in Lagos indicate the supportive role of alliances with labor unions and organized informal workers at large. We see current global developments in the textile industry as conducive to this outcome.

Download Full-text

Rethinking Working-class Politics: Organising Informal Workers in Argentina

Global Labour Journal ◽

10.15173/glj.v12i3.4473 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Maisa Bascuas ◽

Ruth Felder ◽

Ana Logiudice ◽

Viviana Patroni

Keyword(s):

Social Policy ◽

Working Class ◽

Social Assistance ◽

Class Politics ◽

Informal Workers ◽

Political Work ◽

Self Employment ◽

History Of ◽

Popular Economy

Our article engages with discussions about the implications of precarious work and its impact on workers’ capacity to organise by analysing the case of Argentina’s Confederation of Popular Economy Workers (CTEP, Confederación de Trabajadores de la Economía Popular). The organisation was created in 2011 with the aim of representing a broad and heterogeneous group of workers in varying conditions of informality, precarious self-employment and workfare programmes. We trace the history of the organisation and analyse its development by focusing on the role of social assistance as a crucial expression of the changing relations between precarious workers and the state. Social assistance has provided some resources for addressing the reproduction needs of precarious workers and of the territories in which they live, and also the material means through which an organisation like CTEP has sought to consolidate its political work among precarious workers. Nonetheless, social assistance has also worked as a means to circumscribe broader demands for change into issues to be addressed through social policy. Our argument is that central to CTEP’s trajectory as an organisation of precarious workers was its attempt to break away from the narrow confines of social assistance, pushing for changes that would allow its members to gain some autonomy both materially and institutionally. KEYWORDS: Argentina; precarious worker organisations; CTEP; social assistance policy

Download Full-text

Informal Economies and International Trade

10.32920/ryerson.14649864.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hakan Toksoy

Keyword(s):

Labour Market ◽

Informal Sector ◽

Comparative Advantage ◽

Market Frictions ◽

Production Chain ◽

Informal Workers ◽

Trade Structure ◽

The Third ◽

Trading Partners

This dissertation studies the role of informal producers in determining the pattern of production and the trade structure of developing countries, and provides an understanding of the channels through which informal producers influence the outcome of trade. The second chapter examines the characteristics of informal workers in the Turkish export-oriented manufacturing industries using descriptive statistics and econometric analysis. We find that informality is highest among female workers with lower education levels who mainly operate from home, and report that the textile and clothing industries, which Turkey has a comparative advantage in the world market, have a share of informality. This finding inspires the third and fourth chapters. In the third chapter, informal producers directly export their products in the global market. We build a Ricardian model of trade with labour market frictions that justify the presence of informal producers. We find that the size of the informal sector is affected by not only a country's own labour market structure, but also by its trading partners' labour market frictions. We show that a decrease in trade costs results in an increase in the size of the informal sector in countries with relatively higher labour market rigidities, and a reduction of informality in their trading partners. The fourth chapter, which is joint work with professor Claustre Bajona, develops a theoretical framework with stages of production to investigate the role of informal producers in the supply chain. To quantify the changes in labour and trade policies on the trade structure of countries, we calibrate the model to the Turkish and German economies in 2003. In the model, informal producers may influence the comparative advantage of countries by supplying lower cost inputs to formal producers that compete in the global arena. In our calibrated model, second stage formal production is higher under a protectionist economy in a country with higher labour market frictions. This results in a larger informal sector due to the interlinkage between formal and informal producers in the production chain.

Download Full-text

Is Informal Sector Employment Marginal to Formal Sector Growth?

The Pakistan Development Review ◽

10.30541/v51i4iipp.543-564 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 51 (4II) ◽

pp. 543-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nadia Tahir ◽

Pervez Tahir

Keyword(s):

Informal Sector ◽

Informal Economy ◽

Labour Force ◽

Value Added ◽

The State ◽

Formal Sector ◽

Informal Workers ◽

Role Of The State ◽

The Government

Pakistan has adopted a neoliberal regime to open the economy to global competition and reduce the role of the state. This directional change brought increased flow of overseas remittances, speculative investment, and consumerism. Consequently, the economy in mid-2000s grew but commodity-producing sector contracted. Public sector spending has been falling, especially on social sectors. There are inadequate provisions for social security and employment based income guarantees. However, this growth and stability was short lived and there is now a fragile state and slowing economy. In the absence of an effective regulatory role of the state, and due to the failure in developing a long-term strategy to harness the labour force potential, there is a huge informal sector existing side by side with the formal economy. Almost 22 million of the employed labour force is earning its livelihood in streets and the government has no record of it. The informal workers can be categorised as self-employed workers and wage workers, doing diversified jobs from petty traders to small producers and from rickshaw driver to shoe shiners. It is difficult to measure the value added contribution of the informal sector in Pakistan. Indirect estimation approaches on the basis of employment and hours worked have been used to estimate the contribution of informal economy. For instance, Idris (2008) estimates the share at 36.8 percent of GNP, which is significant. Arby, Malik and Hanif (2010) measured the size of informal economy in Pakistan through a monetary approach. They find that the size has declined considerably.

Download Full-text

‘When the stomach is full we look for respect’: perceptions of ‘good work’ in the urban informal sectors of three developing countries

Work Employment and Society ◽

10.1177/0950017016650606 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 816-833 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

William Monteith ◽

Lena Giesbert

Keyword(s):

Informal Sector ◽

Working Hours ◽

Well Being ◽

Good Work ◽

Class Relations ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Informal Workers ◽

The Relationship

There is growing interest in the ability of the informal sector to provide gainful work in much of the developing world. However, the literature on work in the informal sector remains dominated by resource- and rights-based approaches, which fail to consider the features of work valued by informal workers themselves. This article investigates perceptions of ‘good work’ based on focus group discussions with informal workers in the capitals of Uganda, Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka. Using the capability approach as a framework, it reveals that informal workers value a combination of instrumental features of work, such as income and working hours, and intrinsic aspects, such as relationships and recognition. The article’s findings contribute to debates on quality of work in formal and informal contexts by illustrating the role of social and environmental conversion factors, including gender and class relations, in mediating the relationship between work and well-being.

Download Full-text

Collaborative Strategy in Preventing the Vulnerability of Elderly Informal Workers

Asian Social Work Journal ◽

10.47405/aswj.v4i1.79 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 29-37

Author(s):

Endah Dwi Winarni ◽

Ella Nurlela ◽

Diana S.

Keyword(s):

Case Study Research ◽

The Elderly ◽

The State ◽

Job Status ◽

Informal Worker ◽

Informal Workers ◽

Formidable Challenge ◽

Role Of The State

The elderly who work in an informal sector tend to bear two layers of vulnerability: both body and mental functions that have been degenerated and the insecurities of the job. Status as an informal worker does have an impact on the uncertain income, also the absence of health benefits, pensions, or workers’ compensation. Even if the state guarantees social protections for the elderly, it still has a formidable challenge when it must to be provided for the elderly informal workers specifically, for example, a contribution-based pension that reaches more to the elderly formal workers. Thus, this study discusses the efforts in preventing the vulnerability of elderly informal workers, especially the elderly farmers who are chosen as a case’s subject in this study. Previous studies in a similar topic often emphasize the role of the state in preventing the vulnerability of elderly informal workers (a vertical scheme). In contrast to those studies, the argument of this study is the collaborative roles between the state and communities that are based on capability approach and social capital is able to prevent the vulnerability of elderly informal workers (vertical and horizontal synergy schemes). This study is written based on a case study research with the qualitative approach on the elderly farmers in Padamukti Village, Sukaresmi Subdistrict, Garut Regency, West Java, Indonesia.

Download Full-text

Informal Economies and International Trade

10.32920/ryerson.14649864 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hakan Toksoy

Keyword(s):

Labour Market ◽

Informal Sector ◽

Comparative Advantage ◽

Market Frictions ◽

Production Chain ◽

Informal Workers ◽

Trade Structure ◽

The Third ◽

Trading Partners

This dissertation studies the role of informal producers in determining the pattern of production and the trade structure of developing countries, and provides an understanding of the channels through which informal producers influence the outcome of trade. The second chapter examines the characteristics of informal workers in the Turkish export-oriented manufacturing industries using descriptive statistics and econometric analysis. We find that informality is highest among female workers with lower education levels who mainly operate from home, and report that the textile and clothing industries, which Turkey has a comparative advantage in the world market, have a share of informality. This finding inspires the third and fourth chapters. In the third chapter, informal producers directly export their products in the global market. We build a Ricardian model of trade with labour market frictions that justify the presence of informal producers. We find that the size of the informal sector is affected by not only a country's own labour market structure, but also by its trading partners' labour market frictions. We show that a decrease in trade costs results in an increase in the size of the informal sector in countries with relatively higher labour market rigidities, and a reduction of informality in their trading partners. The fourth chapter, which is joint work with professor Claustre Bajona, develops a theoretical framework with stages of production to investigate the role of informal producers in the supply chain. To quantify the changes in labour and trade policies on the trade structure of countries, we calibrate the model to the Turkish and German economies in 2003. In the model, informal producers may influence the comparative advantage of countries by supplying lower cost inputs to formal producers that compete in the global arena. In our calibrated model, second stage formal production is higher under a protectionist economy in a country with higher labour market frictions. This results in a larger informal sector due to the interlinkage between formal and informal producers in the production chain.

Download Full-text

Conclusion

Labor Politics in Latin America ◽

10.5744/florida/9781683400455.003.0008 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 190-212

Author(s):

Paul W. Posner ◽

Viviana Patroni ◽

Jean François Mayer

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Case Studies ◽

Organized Labor ◽

Future Research ◽

Labor Flexibility ◽

Informal Workers ◽

Internal Fragmentation ◽

National Economies

The conclusion summarizes the case study findings from the book’s individual chapters while drawing more general lessons from comparative analysis of these case studies. In addition, the chapter proposes an agenda for future research. With regard to general trends observed on the basis of comparative analysis, the chapter identifies the pervasiveness of four negative, interrelated trends that cut across the book’s five case studies: (1) the adoption of labor flexibility practices, which increased the precariousness of labor; (2) the continued vulnerability of national economies to global competition and boom/bust cycles; (3) with the exception of Brazil, the significant weakening of party/union ties, leaving organized labor without strong, reliable political allies to help advance its interests; and (4) the internal fragmentation and attendant lack of efficacy of labor organizations in promoting positive reforms such as reducing flexibilization and increasing collective bargaining. Topics for future study include research to better understand intraregional migration, the relationship between economic growth and employment in Latin America, investigation into the conditions necessary to establish democratic unionism, and the role of politically targeted social welfare assistance in cultivating support among informal workers and thereby mitigating the need to build support from organized labor.

Download Full-text