Towards a Global Social Contract: Labour Rights for Legal Empowerment of The Poor

130 T he first is that governments and international organisations must address the decent work deficits of those who work informally, since the informal economy, characterized by low productivity , low earnings and high risks, has been growing worldwide, emerging in many new guises and in unexpected places. The second message is one of hope. It is about the new departure in international development strategies, in which we find broad coalitions being formed among governments , international organisations, trade unions, employers and non-governmental organisations that are willing to take on the challenge of creating and implementing policies for decent work and empowerment of the poor. We describe this new departure in international development strategies as an emerging 'Global Social Contract' and propose that the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (sometimes referred to by its acronym, CLEP) further develop the concept into a framework integrating access to justice, property rights, labour rights and business rights. In Section 2, we define concepts used in this report. Labour rights include internationally agreed fundamental principles and rights at work, as well as rights to social protection, income protection, workplace safety, decent working conditions and participation through representative organisations of workers, in national policy fora. This concept also takes into account and supports commitments and policies for the creation of full, productive and freely-chosen employment and training. Informal economy refers to economic activities by workers and economic units that are – in law or in practice – not covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements governing both enterprise and employment relationships. Legal empowerment is that process through which people are provided rights in an appropriate legal framework, which they can claim and understand, and which they can find useful in improving income and employment opportunities. It is a process recognized both formally (legally) and informally (legitimately). We define decent work as that available to all men and women, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Purpose of this chapter Chapter 3 is about labour rights for the fight against poverty. Based on our review of employment and working conditions in the informal economy, we present two essential messages. 131 and grounded in conditions of freedom, security and dignity. It has four pillars (a) fundamental principles and rights at work under international labour standards; (b) employment and income opportunities; (c) social protection and social security, and (d) social dialogue and tripartism. The vast majority of the poor earn their …