TUC to host conference on organization of informal workers

Accra, Sept. 22, GNA - The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) would on Monday host an international conference on how to drum up support of various stakeholders to prioritize organizing workers in the informal economy, which employs about 80 per cent of the population in most countries.

The five-day conference to be attended by 120 participants made up of trade unionists, informal sector operators, research institutions and other social actors from Asia; Pacific, Latin America, Europe and Africa regions would try to address the neglect of workers in the informal economy.

Briefing the media in Accra on Friday, Mr Kofi Asamoah, Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC, said the conference would afford stakeholders to share experiences, develop strategies to intensify organization in the informal economy and build a network of informal economy organizations.

=93The idea is to bring to the attention of the world direct experiences, working conditions of workers in the informal economy who suffer all forms of abuse and insecure employment and workers, who are socially unprotected, unrecognized and engaged in hazardous jobs of earning a living,=94 he said.

Specifically, Mr Asamoah said, the conference would look at challenges facing the informal economy operators in areas such as collective bargaining and representation, social protection, employment and skills development, laws and policies and organizing strategies. He said the TUC would share its experiences with other trade unions since it adopted a policy in 1996 to reach out to workers in the informal sector.

The International Labour Organisation placed the plight of workers in the informal sector on its agenda during the 2002 conference on =93Decent Work=94 in the informal economy.