ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the critical role that public action by the state plays in SEWA’s strategy to organise members towards full-employment and self-reliance. The union’s claim to mainstream and formalise the informal economy is demons trated to be a radical one that demands a critical redrawing of key ideas, such as ‘the economy’ and ‘worker’, along more inclusive and democratically informed lines. In discussing the conceptual and practical challenges posed by SEWA’s agenda to mainstream and formalise, I situate the SEWA strategy within the contemporary international policy debate on the role of public/state action in promoting a vibrant informal economy.
