ABSTRACT
For many informal workers – especially the self-employed – a key focus of their struggle for rights, protection, decent work and livelihoods is defending themselves against legal exclusion; challenging and changing existing laws; and ensuring the fair and effective implementation of laws and regulations. This chapter introduces the Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) Law and Informality project, designed to strengthen workers' voice in tackling this challenge. In the past, the following normative frameworks have been invoked to protect the rights of informal workers: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international and regional human rights treaties, international labour standards and conventions, national constitutions, national legislation and administrative procedures. In their legal negotiations, some groups of informal workers – notably, domestic workers and home-based workers – have focused on obtaining recognition as workers and pushing for regulation of working conditions, as well as social protection. Several branches of legislation are particularly important for informal workers.
