Providing Social Security for Vulnerable Groups:

1. Providing Social Security for Vulnerable Groups: Informal Women Workers of SEWA, India

2. THE INFORMAL ECONOMY 93% of the workforce is in the informal economy SEWA organises informal women workers.

3. Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) SEWA is a trade union of 796,000 women workers in the informal economy in Gujarat and 7 other states. It was founded by Elaben Bhatt in 1972.

4. SEWA’S GOALS & SOCIAL SECURITY A. Full Employment: • Work & Income Security • Food Security • Social Security: • - health care • - child care • - insurance • - shelter • - pension

5. SEWA’S GOALS & SOCIAL SECURITY • Self-Reliance: • Economic • Decision-making • and control

6. Social Security: OUR APPROACH • need-based, at doorsteps • decentralized – through local teams, • associations • women – led, community - based • self – reliant • - contributory • - through workers’ organisations • holistic and integrated • - with work security • - with other services • - within a service

7. Social Security: OUR APPROACH • promotes organising, entry of new • members • partnerships • - with other People’s Organisations, • NGOs • - government • - private sector • grassroots work policy action

8. SEWA SOCIAL SECURITY – OUTREACH (2005) • Health Care through Cooperatives • - Health Education - 28,169 • - Camps - 38,380 • - Sale of Low cost Drugs - Rs. 11,106,007 - T.B. Screening - 5622 • Team: • Staff - 100 • Aagewans & Health workers - 500 Through workers’ cooperative

9. SEWA SOCIAL SECURITY – OUTREACH (2005) • Child Care • - Children - 9240 • - Mothers - 8034 • - Teachers - 581 Team: Staff - 21 Aagewans - 22 Teachers - 581 Through workers’ cooperative

10. SEWA SOCIAL SECURITY – OUTREACH (2005) C. Insurance Total Insured - 187,973 Team: Staff - 75 Aagewans - 120 Through workers’ cooperative

11. SEWA SOCIAL SECURITY – OUTREACH (2005) • Housing • Urban 73 slums 10,500 families • Rural 5345 houses Team: Staff - 125 Aagewans - 660 Through local CBOs

12. Some Lessons • Social Security for and by women workers promotes organising — it both builds solidarity and provides useful services. 2. Linkage with formal systems can be forged —with government, employers, others —to provide social security. 3. When women workers run their own social security programmes, it is empowering. They become strong leaders, managers.

13. Some Lessons • Social security programmes for informal workers can be sustainable — financially and in terms of human resources • Women workers are willing to contribute for social security. • 5. Social security must address workers’ varied and multiple needs —as comprehensive as possible. 6. Special organisations and institutions must be created for social security for informal workers preferably membership — based organisations — e.g. cooperatives.

14. Some Lessons • Work security and social security are two sides of the same coin. Each cannot be attained without the other. • Social security can and must lead to employment of local women. Possible areas: dais, creche workers, insurance promoters. • Partnerships are necessary to ensure that social security actually reaches the poor. • Government alone or the private sector alone cannot reach the poor (although the government must bear the primary responsibility).

15. Challenges • expansion – huge demand • quality control • capacity building - of aagewans • - of local teams • - of organisers • viability, self reliance • policy environment: • e.g. dais, own • insurance company, • childcare entitlement

16. Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)