Lund, Francie, WIEGO, 2009, Social Protection and the Informal Economy: Linkages and Good Practices for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.3. Social protection

Recommendation: 1) Include a range of stakeholders related to the IE in capacity strengthening and decision-making on social protection issues as it helps raise their awareness and strengthens their ownership of related processes. This should include government, employers and workers’ organisations, and other civil society groups and may include other non-state actors such as experts from academia.

Reference: Lund, Francie, WIEGO, 2009, Social Protection and the Informal Economy: Linkages and Good Practices for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment, General background document on issues in our research matrix, OECD, Paris, Good practices extracted from SEWA and StreetNet International projects in India.

Evidence sample: the report noted that the crisis in social protection for informal workers is so large, and the numbers involved so great, that as a matter of both principle and practicality, a multi-stakeholder approach is needed. Programmes needs to include governments, the private sector, and formal and informal workers.

________________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.3. Social protection

Recommendation: 4) Emphasise the dissemination of information to people dependent on the IE on social protection resources that may be available to them. Where associations of workers dependent on the informal economy cannot provide access to social protection themselves, provide support establishing linkages of IE operators and workers with social protection service through exchanges and meetings. Such events can help foster information sharing on good practices and lessons learned.

Reference: Lund, Francie, WIEGO, 2009, Social Protection and the Informal Economy: Linkages and Good Practices for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment, General background document on issues in our research matrix, OECD, Paris, Good practices extracted from SEWA and StreetNet International projects in India.

Evidence sample: StreetNet itself does not get involved in promoting or providing access to social protection. It does however build bridges between organizations, and through exchanges and meetings, vendors are exposed to the different practices in different countries. India’s National Alliance of Street Vendors of India, for example, has much to teach others about the legislation on social protection for the unorganized sector. At a meeting of WIEGO affiliates in Durban in 2006, there was much interest from the StreetNet International Council members in the new health insurance scheme in Ghana, now available to street vendors.

_________________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.3. Social protection

Recommendation: 8) Promote and facilitate the use of multi-stakeholder approaches to develop social protection approaches for people dependent on the informal economy.

Reference: Lund, Francie, WIEGO, 2009, Social Protection and the Informal Economy: Linkages and Good Practices for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment, General background document on issues in our research matrix, OECD, Paris, Good practices extracted from SEWA and StreetNet International projects in India.

Evidence sample: the evaluation noted that the crisis in social protection for informal workers is so large, and the numbers involved so great, that as a matter of both principle and practicality, a multi-stakeholder approach is needed. Programmes needs to include governments, the private sector, and formal and informal workers.

__________________________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.3. Social protection

Recommendation: 

12) Take into consideration that:

• Workers dependent on the IE face different vulnerabilities at different periods of their lives, and thus need different mechanisms of social protection at different times
• Donors have a special role to play in exploring the potential of mainstreaming social protection for informal workers into existing formal institutions, while continuing to support innovative ways of building independent institutions where appropriate.
• Facilitate the fostering of dialogues and coordination between organizations of formal and informal workers, governments, and the corporate sector.

Reference: Lund, Francie, WIEGO, 2009, Social Protection and the Informal Economy: Linkages and Good Practices for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment, General background document on issues in our research matrix, OECD, Paris, Good practices extracted from SEWA and StreetNet International projects in India.

Evidence sample: the analysis indicated that time is a key variable in social protections framework. The sequencing of the life cycle is important, recognizing that in practical ways, informal workers face different vulnerabilities at different periods of their lives, and thus need different mechanisms of social protection at different times.

The coordination between various actors within the public administration is considered a key factor in building comprehensive and sustainable social protection systems.

_____________________________________________________________

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.3. Social protection

Recommendation: 16) Verify if the approaches of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) to life, asset and health insurance can be adapted to local situations in other countries.  Adapt the approaches to local contexts as needed.

Reference: Lund, Francie, WIEGO, 2009, Social Protection and the Informal Economy: Linkages and Good Practices for Poverty Reduction and Empowerment, General background document on issues in our research matrix, OECD, Paris, Good practices extracted from SEWA and StreetNet International projects in India.

Evidence sample: the analysis noted as a good practice: the Self Employed Women’s Association’s (SEWA) integrated insurance scheme, or VIMO SEWA, has three components – life insurance, asset insurance and health insurance. It has over 102 000 members and was a response by SEWA to the concerns of members that the majority of what they earn is spent on health costs, and ill health was a major cause of loan default in their savings scheme. The health insurance helps cover the cost of seeking necessary medical attention. In so doing, it helps to avoid further loss of income in addition to that already caused by the illness or injury, such as loss of earnings. The reduction in cost of treatment is an important incentive for workers to seek medical attention when needed rather than risk continuing to work and further compounding health problems.