Informal/Unorganized Sector workers Rights
We all know that informal sector workers represent 92% of the workforce in our country also called unorganized sector workers. Informal sector workers have two-three major characteristics. They do not have permanent employers, they do not have also permanent employment and do not have social security. They are called casual workers.
Fedina works with them since 1993 and tries to implement the five ILO core labour rights conventions namely:·
- Convention No-87 of 1948 about the right to form unions·
- Convention No 98 of 1949 about the right to collective bargaining·
- Convention No 100 of 1958 on equal wage for equal work and no gender-based discrimination·
- Convention No. 105 of 1957 about the eradication of all forms of forced labour·
Concretely we try to train and support the formation of Collectives and Trade Unions that are capable of negotiating with employers, both in urban and rural areas. We have supported the formation of such collectives and trade unions in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Pondicherry, and Andhra Pradesh. The important unions in terms of numbers are unions that are old and have developed contacts with the existing unions and have become independent or got themselves affiliated to other national unions. Fedina facilitates in terms of community contact, organizing, collectivizing, democratic functioning, systematic training for its members and its leaders. We promote women and marginalized people's leadership. We also provide lawyers or legal services to enable unions to fight cases and legal battles with employers. This service will be taken over by the unions themselves only progressively. From our experience, efforts are seriously done to bargain to increased wages and improve working conditions.
We currently organize workers in the following sectors: Garment and Textiles, Domestic work, Beedi, Agriculture, Sanitation, and few other informal sectors. We also work jointly and associate with other collectives and unions.