Covid-19 has already had a profound economic and health impact on the lives of millions of informal transport workers, and the crisis shows little sign of abating. As with all crises, it is the most vulnerable in the workforce who have been hit the hardest.
This guide aims to support unions in both responding to the immediate challenges posed by the pandemic and embarking on new campaigns to positively shape urban transport in the interests of workers, passengers and communities beyond the crisis.
This project is the second BRT Labour Impact Assessment undertaken on behalf of the ITF. The first, completed in January 2019, was carried out in Nairobi by GLI in partnership with the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Nairobi. This report is available here.
This report assesses the potential impact of the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit on the workforce of Nairobi’s informal transport (‘matatu’) industry, and seeks to encourage the active engagement of matatu workers’ representatives in shaping a modern, accessible, efficient and environmentally sustainable transport system for the city.
“The Power of Informal Transport Workers” shows how informal transport workers across the world are organising in trade unions to fight back against precarious and dangerous working conditions.
Produced as part of the ITF Informal Transport Workers Project, which GLI Manchester coordinates on behalf of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the film brings together interviews with union activists from seven different countries who talk about the challenges that informal workers face and the ways in which their unions are building informal worker power.
The film highlights how women workers, who generally occupy the most precarious and poorly paid jobs in the sector, are joining unions to fight back against societal discrimination, sexual harassment and abuse at work.
According to Jodi Evans, ITF Women’s Officer, the pioneering work of unions involved in the ITF Informal Transport Workers Project has “exploded the myth” that informal workers are unorganisable.
The film ends with a powerful call to action by union organiser John Mark Mwanika from ATGWU Uganda who calls on trade unions to embrace mass membership of informal transport workers and to “globally mobilise” around the Informal Transport Workers’ Charter, which demands decent work and union recognition for all transport workers.
Working in partnership with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the Global Labour Institute is very pleased to announce the launch of the “Informal Workers Blog“.
The Informal Workers Blog is intended to form a central online space for the sharing of news, updates, resources, links and other information associated with the ITF Informal Transport Workers’ Project.
The ITF Informal Transport Workers’ Project is being coordinated by GLI on behalf of the ITF and is running from 2013-16.
The Global Labour Institute is very pleased to announce the launch of a new ITF guide – “Organising Precarious Transport Workers” – which is aimed at helping unions reach out to informal transport workers. The guide was written by GLI Manchester as part of our ongoing work with the ITF in support of precarious and informal transport workers.
The booklet is available for download in English, German, French, Arabic and Spanish, and it is hoped that they will soon be available in printed form
