Extreme weather batters home-based workers’ livelihoods
Chris BonnerTrade unions cannot ignore the plight of informal workers who could face more threats to their livelihoods from climate change than formal workers, says Chris Bonner. Goma Darji is a middle-aged woman working as a…
Public transport can reduce emissions and inequality
James BartholomeuszWhile public transport was largely absent from the official conference programme of COP26, on the civil society fringe, trade unions, city mayors and allies were powering ahead. James Bartholomeusz reports on a rare glimpse of…
A just transition to a sustainable food system
Brittany KesselmanWhile transforming the energy sector is viewed as the core of the just transition, transforming the food system is equally important says Brittany Kesselman. Transforming the food system is a critical part of the just…
Informal workers empower themselves around climate change
Renaldi PrinslooThe International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA) is running a 3-year on-line project for mainly informal workers on the effects of climate change on the poor. In 2021, 33 participants from three organisations in…
Editorial, Volume 44 No 2
Jenny GriceCrawling our way out of the pandemic This issue is being published in the midst of a global pandemic which has caused huge damage across the world, particularly to workers and the poor. The last…
“Government is ignoring us,” say informal street traders
Lulama MaliLulama Mali is an informal street trader in Johannesburg and a representative of the Johannesburg Informal Trader Platform (JITP). Since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, life and business has been tough…
Bring vaccination sites to taxi ranks
Clement DoncabeGovernment is trying to up the numbers of people that have been vaccinated against Covid-19. In this video, taxi driver Clement Doncabe, explains how taxi drivers have been working as essential workers alongside doctors and…
The sparks that lit the tinderboxes
Jenny GriceIn the aftermath of the wanton destruction, looting and violence that played out across KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng in July 2021, numerous press statements, articles, webinar discussions and debates have been written and ideas aired….
Obituary
Steve FaulknerDrew (Andrew) Lindsay – the humble, collaborative artist In the middle of a pandemic, when so many have passed away, in circumstances too terrible to contemplate, often leaving behind, as one friend expressed in poetry…
Whatsapp voice notes mobilise home-based workers
Vanessa PillayConfined to their homes because of Covid-19 lockdown regulations, home-based workers discovered that WhatsApp voice notes could be used as a powerful organising tool, reports Vanessa Pillay. The WIEGO Organization and Representation Programme in Africa…