Towards Decent Work in Inclusive Cities

This side event explores how promoting decent work – particularly for the majority of the world's workers, who work informally – can contribute to inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

Informal employment comprises the large majority of all non-agricultural employment in South Asia (82 percent), Southeast Asia (65 percent), and Sub-Saharan Africa (66 percent). 51 percent of workers in Latin America are informal, and an increasing share of the working population in developed countries is working under similar conditions, often known as 'non-standard' or 'undeclared'.

For cities, informal workers are integral. They include street vendors, transport workers, domestic workers, home-based workers, and waste collectors. They bolster urban food security, facilitate mobility, support waste management, enhance urban safety, and contribute significantly to GDP. Yet these livelihoods generally suffer from 'decent work deficits.' Informal workers have insufficient access to productive assets, labor rights, social protection, and representation. Urban policies tend to both marginalize informal workers in decision-making and penalize them for pursuing their livelihoods.

Both the SDGs and the NUA emphasize the need for inclusive urbanism that bolsters the livelihoods and reduces the vulnerability of informal workers. This session will facilitate a discussion among worker leaders, municipal officials, and local advocates to consider:

uf02d What is the role of the informal economy in our urban systems? How do informal workers contribute to achievement of targets under SDG 11?

uf02d What are the challenges faced by informal workers in our cities, ranging from hazardous work environments to access to urban services?

uf02d How can municipal governments and member-based organizations (MBOs) of informal workers collaborate to build platforms, programs, and policies that integrate informal workers and build shared economic opportunity?