This is the third and last episode of the financing building block. Previously, we discussed alternative ways to finance social protection extension for waste pickers in India and Argentina, and the struggle to finance gig workers in Rajasthan. Now we explore the challenges of financing social protection in a changing world of work.

What are the possible paths, strategies and innovations countries are undertaking to include informal workers? What about digital platforms: is there room to improve social protection for these workers?

To discuss these and other issues we invited two guests: Sarah Cook and Ruth Castel-Branco.

Sarah is a Professor and Head of the School of Economics at the
University of Nottingham Ningbo China. She has held UN positions as Director of UNRISD and UNICEF’s Office of Research-Innocenti. Her research focuses on China’s economic and social development, covering issues of gender, labour and social policy.

Ruth Castel-Branco is a Senior Researcher at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the Wit-waters-rand. Her research is focused on the casualization of labour, worker organizing and the redistributive role of the state. She holds a PhD in Sociology also from the University of the Witwatersrand.

They talked to us about some of the findings and debates arising from their research.



*Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)


References

Podcast: Financing Social Protection for Waste Pickers in India and Argentina. Informal Economy Podcast, episode 33 https://soundcloud.com/informaleconomypodcastsp/33-financing-social-protection-for-waste-pickers-in-india-and-argentina

Pune Waste Pickers’ Innovative Efforts to Fund the Extension of Decent Work and Social Protection, WIEGO Resource Document 33. Available at: www.wiego.org%2Fpublications%2Fpune-waste-pickers-innovative-efforts-fund-extension-decent-work-and-social-protection&token=83d341-1-1701176313090

Efforts of Argentina’s Informal Waste Pickers to Finance Decent Work and Social Protection through Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation, WIEGO Resource Document 34. Available at: www.wiego.org%2Fpublications%2Fefforts-argentinas-informal-waste-pickers-finance-decent-work-and-social-protection&token=e9c485-1-1701176313090