Work, Livelihood Strategies and Economic Security in the Twenty-first Century

Work, Li­ve­lihood Stra­te­gies and Eco­no­mic Se­cu­ri­ty in the Twen­ty-first Cen­tu­ry


Picture description: A so-called Small Tea Grower (STG)is plucking tea leaves along with casual labourers in her tea plantation during the second flush of the year. These plantations largely depend on unpaid family labour and casual workers. These casual workers (mainly tribal people), work in small tea plantations for a wage, hail from nearby large tea estate where the wage is low.

Overview

Year: 2013


Project Coordinators:
Prof. Dr. Edward Webster
Prof. Dr. Sharit Bhowmik
Prof. Dr. Khayaat Fakler


Research Cluster:
Strategics of Empowerment for Decent Work


Project's aims:
Identifying the new sources of power and the new forms of organisation
Developing a policy framework for the implementation of a decent work agenda in developing countries


Abstract

Growing unemployment and its impact on poverty is the central challenge in developing countries where formal employment can be less than 10% of the economically active population. The growing informalisation of work is eroding the membership base of organised labour worldwide. Informal workers are not able to draw on market-based power as they lack formal skills, nor are they in large enterprises where they can draw on workplace bargaining power. Labour is living in an age of insecurity (Webster, et al. 2008). In this context, it may seem utopian to think in terms of decent work.


Project's Aims

To identify the new sources of power and the new forms of organisation that are emerging amongst informal workers in India and South Africa; to develop a policy framework for the implementation of a decent work agenda in developing countries such as India and South Africa.


Expected Contribution to the Decent Work Agenda

Develop a strategy for progressively realizing the goal of decent work in developing countries that reconciles the goal of decent work with sustainable development.


Related Publications

Webster, E; Bhowmik , S (2013).Work , Livelihoods and insecurity in the South: a  conceptual introduction. Khayaat Fakier and Ellen Emke (editors) Socio-Economic Insecurity in Emerging Economies: Building New Spaces". London: Routledge /Earthscan.