Formed in 1982
Membership: National alliance of organisations of non-salaried or own-account workers. 70% of members are informal, market and mobile traders. Informal sector workers form part of the agricultural and forestry sectors, in mining, manufacturing (crafts, etc), as well as the construction sector. However, where this sector has the most impact is on services provided, micro trading, street vending, transport of goods and passengers by taxis, various types of repairs, domestic workers; amongst many others, in these type of activities, capital is non-existent or very limited and quick income is obtained, although this income can hardly be considered a product of entrepreneurial activity. There are 7000 members.
Objective: Organise non-salaried or own account workers.
Activities: The actions of FNOTNA have been directed to providing social security, housing, life insurance and funeral insurance, as well as ways of accessing credit, to non-salaried workers.
These services are paid by the non-salaried workers affiliated to FNOTNA, by means of agreements which reduce the cost of obtaining these services, however there is a long way to go with regard to protective mechanisms with costs that can be afforded by the
workers themselves, such as: sickness subsidies; accident compensation; annual vacations and maternity leave – these are practically non-existent for workers in the informal sector.
Within FNOTNA it is recognised that the opportunities for generating union strategies for this sector are still limited, although there is a great need to protect the labour and social rights of workers in the informal sector.
