1. Reducing Income Inequality: Trade Unions Role and Views of the World Bank Ishaque Otoo Ghana Trades Union Congress

2. outline  Inequality in Ghana  Informal employment  Unions and the informal sector  Challenges to union organisation in the informal sector  The way forward

3. Income Inequality in Ghana  High and rising income inequality  Income inequality and poverty reduction – hampering efforts at reducing poverty  Government effort at reducing income inequality  Dealing with the rising inequality – growth creates opportunity for the poor to make use of their most important assert – their labour

4. Informal Employment in Ghana  The size of the informal sector – 86% of total workforce, higher than it was in 2000  Why a large informal sector – low labour demand in the formal sector; inability of the formal private sector to absorb retrenched workers; absence of income support programmes;  Characteristics of the informal sector – low wage, poor working conditions; health and safety deficits; lack of social protection

5. Unions and the informal sector  The need to organise in the informal sector:  Most retrenched workers were union members  large number of workers; poor working conditions – wage, health & safety, social protection etc  Boosting the membership of the unions –  public sector could not be relied upon for union membership;  the falling share of formal private sector in total employment;  the informal sector as the only source of membership

6. Unions in the informal sector  Adopted a policy on organising in the informal sector – 1996  The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU);  The General Agricultural workers union (GAWU)  The Timber and Woodworkers’ Union (TWU)  Makola Traders Union (market women), Madina Traders Union – associate membership of TUC  The social enterprises project supported by the ILO

7. Challenges to Union Organisation in the informal sector  Irregular nature of employment in the sector – hampers effective organization  Financial constraints  Negative attitude of government and its agencies towards the sector  Failure of unions to come up effective modes of organisation in the sector

8. The Way forward  Defining effective organising mechanisms  Ghana TUC hosted International Conference on the Informal Economy (2006);  Ghana TUC is also coordinating a 4-country research on identifying best practices in organising in the informal sector  Continue to advocate for policies that promote employment in the formal sector