Usage Statistics

Towards Economic and Social Security
for Women Workers in the Informal Sector

There have always been large numbers of women workers in the informal economy in Southeast Asia, many of them homeworkers whose only options are doing subcontracted work for various industries or self-employment in marginal livelihood activities or micro-enterprises. Here there is a distinct gender dimension because women become homebased workers so that they can simultaneously attend to their children and household chores while earning a living. Due to the onslaughts of globalization, the Asian crisis, and cut-throat competition in both export and domestic markets, industries increasingly rely on informal work arrangements to save on labor costs and shed off regular and protected workers who subsequently join the army of unemployed, underemployed, and/or informally employed. The phenomenon of informalization is not only confined to Asia; it is also a growing reality in Europe, which makes an information exchange between the two regions on common issues necessary and desirable.

The current situation presents a challenge to traditional notions of economic and social security tied to formal government-run or –regulated systems. Such systems barely covered women workers in the informal economy before the Asian crisis, since most could not establish clear employer-employee relations, and the self-employed did not have the information or the means to join. The situation is expected to worsen as formal social and health security systems are now under much pressure, stress, and increasingly suffering from a credibility gap. Long-standing campaigns by homeworkers’ and other informal sector networks have led to some gains in terms of gaining access to the formal systems.

But even if women workers in the informal economy are able to enroll in such systems, they cannot sustain their contributions if they have no employment or income security. Furthermore, there are other forms of security that are increasingly gaining importance in their lives, such as food security, health security, security of place of work, education security, reproduction security (covering childbirth and child care), security of capital and market demand (specifically for the self-employed).

It is in this light that we call for the following research and action agenda:

1. Continued mapping of homework (under subcontracting/putting out system and in self-employment) and other forms of informal work in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and other countries in Asia as well as Europe, focusing on working conditions, the employer-employee relationships (if any), remuneration system, reproductive and occupational safety and health problems, the rights of workers under the law, the available social protection;
2. Continued monitoring of the impact of globalization (specifically the Asian crisis) and increasing informalization of work on social protection;
3. Continued examination of the risks and vulnerabilities informal workers are encountering more and more due to globalization;
4. Documentation of initiatives they have taken to address these risks and vulnerabilities -- either through more access to formal social protection mechanisms or through alternative (including indigenous) social protection schemes;
5. Dissemination of lessons learned, ways forward, possibilities of learning from/ connecting with other (e.g. European ) experiences;
6. Support for inclusion of informal workers in formal social security and health insurance systems;
7. Promotion of indigenous social protection schemes as well as community based micro-health insurance schemes which benefit and empower informal women workers;
8. Development of an integrated approach to social security and protection for informal workers, taking into consideration the following factors: an income that is sufficient to cover basic needs; the ability to secure sufficient food for self and family; access to sufficient income, food and heath services so that health status can be secured; a secure place of work – a place in which work can be done safely and productively, a level of education that will enable economic participation in society; opportunities to reproduce and change skills in accordance with changes in the market; opportunities to work and to pursue a career; and for the self employed, access to capital for enterprise development and sustainability, as well demand for the commodity or service.

Prepared by HOMENET SOUTHEAST ASIA for the Asia-Europe People’s Forum, September 6-9, 2004.