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Since 2017, StreetNet International has been a partner of Oxfam in implementing two five-year programs funded by the Belgium Development Cooperation (DGD). The first program called, “More Inclusive and Equitable Social Protection for Marginalized Workers in ASEAN” took place in 2017-2021. The aim of this program was to promote social protection for informal economy workers in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. StreetNet primarily worked on supporting the inclusion of informal economy workers in social protection frameworks. In particular, SNI worked on social dialogue in the informal economy, the use of ILO Recommendation 204 in a negotiation process on social protection, the review of policy proposals that aim to be transformational for informal workers. SNI also participated in the exchanging of good practices and strengthening the capacity of partners through training, coaching and mentoring. These interventions led to the following outcomes:
These two outcomes are important milestones in the struggle to get the voices and concerns of informal workers heard and encourage their participation in social dialogue. They also serve as foundations for the current 5-year DGD program we are implementing with Oxfam.
To better illustrate the conditions faced by street vendors and other workers in the informal economy, StreetNet produced a comic book meant to be used as a resource for worker’s education.
This short comic book about the importance of social protection for street vendors follows the story of Chivy, a woman street vendor, and how she manages to mobilize fellow workers to fight for their rights after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was written by Nash Tysmans, StreetNet’s Organizer for Asia, and designed by Juno Abreu, freelance illustrator from the Philippines.
This book was translated into Khmer, Lao, Vietnamese and is available in the main languages of StreetNet: English, French, Spanish and Russian. You are free to share it.
In the second program known as “Improved Social Protection and Labor Rights for Women Workers in ASEAN’s Agri-Food Sector,” StreetNet is continuing the work of extending social protection to informal economy workers and also contributing in the empowerment of workers in the agri-food sector to exercise their right and have access to adequate labor rights and social protection through the promotion of three pillars of Decent Work: Labor Rights at Work, Social Protection and Social Dialogue for All.
We have conducted a negotiation skills training in Cambodia in November 2023, gathering a majority of women worker representatives from the different provinces to develop negotiation plans and clarify their demands. In implementing these, the worker leaders have engaged in social dialogue which in turn strengthens the protection of the sector and capacitates workers to participate in making decisions that affect them.
The Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) has also recognized StreetNet’s contribution to organizing workers in the informal economy and as a result of this, we were invited to conduct a workshop on organizing and negotiations skills. It was the first time that regional representatives of LFTU joined worker leaders as participants in a workshop that allowed both groups to work together and develop strategies for organizing and mobilizing in the informal economy.
Through the Oxfam program, StreetNet has also begun research on the impact of climate change on women workers in the informal economy. Focusing on urban street vendors working in Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, and Vientiane, the research looks at the different types of hazards that street and market vendors are exposed to. It’s our hope that the research provides insight on demands that worker organizations can bring to the negotiating table.
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