Ss17-02 Engaging With State and Private Actors to Extend Occupational Health and Safety to Workers in Informal Employment: Best Practices From the Wiego Network

Introduction The majority of the world’s workers are informally employed, with 90% of all employment in developing countries being informal. Despite delivering an array of essential goods and services, workers in informal employment are often excluded from occupational health and safety provisions which, traditionally, only cover ‘formal’ workplaces and working arrangements - rendering them especially vulnerable to health risks. Methods In response, workers have mobilized within grassroots organizations to advocate for occupational health and safety (OHS) provisions at local, municipal and national level. These organizations - members of the Women in Informal Employment - Globalizing and Organizing [WIEGO] network - provide important examples of workers seeking accountability from the state and from private actors to extend the right to OHS to workers in informal employment. Results A home-based worker association in Thailand has worked with the state to integrate occupational health and safety services into primary healthcare, while domestic worker unions in South Africa have collaborated to successfully drive legal changes to secure compensation for illnesses, injuries and death caused by poor working conditions in private homes. Additionally, a trade union of waste-pickers in India has innovated to seek concessions from manufacturers whose production of waste in public spaces poses threats to workers’ health. Conclusion These initiatives offer important lessons on achieving OHS for workers in informal employment, challenging the notion of workers bearing full responsibility for occupational health and safety, and emphasizing the importance of both workers’ mobilization and active participation in political processes.