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StreetNet hosts programme at the World Social Forum By Pat Horn, Co-ordinator StreetNet International A StreetNet delegation’s presence at the World Social Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya from 20th-25th January 2007 helped to put street vendors and informal economy workers’ organisation more firmly in the arena of social dialogue. The WSF is held under the banner “Another World is possible” and is attended by social movements of the world. Decent Work for a Decent Life campaign In August 2006, StreetNet joined the international campaign on “Decent Work for a Decent Life” which was started in 2005 by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), World Congress of Labour (WCL), Solidar and the Global Progressive Forum. Through this campaign, we made many allies via the internet even before reaching Nairobi. StreetNet’s programme at WSF 2007 In 2007 StreetNet had a larger delegation and a more extensive programme than in previous World Social Forums. There were 13 international delegates and a large number of Kenyan delegates organised by urban alliances in Eldoret, Kisumu, Machakos, Migori, Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru, which make up KENASVIT (Kenya National Alliance of Street Vendors and Informal Traders). The members of KENASVIT and its urban alliances, and their banners, were everywhere - in the marches from the slums to Uhuru Park for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as other events in which they participated with enthusiasm. Our Ugandan affiliate, NUIEWO (National Union of Informal Economy Workers’ Organisations) also brought a delegation of 11 mainly informal market and street vendors to the WSF. They participated in a range of activities and spoke on many panels about the challenges of organising workers in the informal economy. StreetNet convened the following events: Panel on Women Street Vendors and Informal Market Vendors Speakers: Clarisse Gnahoui (USYNVEPID, Benin); Bishnu Maya Bastola (NEST- GEFONT, Nepal); Faith Katanaka (NUIEWO, Uganda). Attended by various organisations including Public Services International (PSI), Solidar, Workers Education Association of Zambia (WEAZ) and our own affiliates from Kenya, Uganda and internationally, it became clear that the problems facing women street vendors in Benin, Nepal, Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe are very similar. It also became apparent that many women street vendors have become sole supporters of their extended families, because of widespread loss of formal employment. Clearly, the low incomes earned by women street vendors have to be addressed if anti-poverty programmes are to succeed. Panel on Migrant Workers in Street Vending and Cross-border Trade Speakers: Violet Mumba (AZIEA, Zambia) Charity Mandishona (ZCIEA, Zimbabwe) Mamadou Fall (SUDEMS, Senegal) Most participants were StreetNet affiliates, including the Cross-Border Traders’ Association of StreetNet’s Zimbabwean affiliate ZCIEA, with additional participants from KCTU (Korea) and Calcutta. In a detailed discussion of the issues facing cross-border traders in the SADC region and the informal fish trade in the ECOWAS region, the two main issues which emerged were: 1. Micro-issue: How to deal with competition in a sustainable way 2. Macro-issue: What kind of policy framework to promote regarding, inter-alia,
Panel on Child Labour in Street and Market Vending Speakers: Janet Anum (Ghana StreetNet Alliance) Anis Fatima Shaikh (NASVI, India) Orlando Mercado (CTCP, Nicaragua) Tambake Tounkara (African Movement of Child Workers and Youth) Gilbert Onyango (The Cradle children’s rights organisation, Kenya) The panel was attended by participants from various children’s and human rights’ rights organisations. We had good presentations and thought-provoking discussion. The position of the African Movement of Child Workers and Youth was controversial some of the activists against Child Labour. Their recognition of child workers as workers, campaigning for a platform of rights for them, conflicted with the standard abolitionist position which many human rights organisations uphold. This panel could have gone on for many more hours to do justice to the issues being discussed, but we had to end on time to rush to Uhuru Park for the Street Vendors’ Rally which was already under way. Street Vendors’ Rally: No! to Poverty and Inequality!Speakers: Nairobi street vendors leaders Eldoret, Kisumu, Machakos, Migori, Mombasa, Nakuru leaders, KENASVIT leadership, Municipal and Government representatives, Representatives of disabled street vendors from Kenya and Tanzania StreetNet delegates from Benin, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Despite being an accredited WSF event, officials from Nairobi Municipality attempted to close the rally down under the pretext that it had not been reserved with them. KENASVIT leaders spent hours negotiating - and eventually got somebody from the National Government to intervene and overrule the objections of the Municipality. So for street vendors and informal traders, it looks like even in “Another World” they may continue to experience harassment from municipal authorities! Due to the persistence of KENASVIT and their Nairobi urban alliance NISCOF, the rally eventually started around noon with a reduced crowd of a few hundred - mainly street vendors. It was an occasion for the street vendors of Kenya and the street vendors’ representatives from StreetNet’s other affiliates from other countries to meet each other and commit to the struggle for “Another World is Possible” with a better life for street vendors and informal traders. Conclusions StreetNet met its objectives of (1) placing the issues of street vendors and informal workers on the civil society agenda, and (2) building alliances with social movements and strengthening our alliances with the trade union movement on social issues. This was achieved through a widened level of participation including street vendors from Kenya and other countries.However, we did not really succeed in participating in developing and influencing the proposals to come out of the WSF as a programme of alternatives for “Another World” - one in which street vendors and informal traders will really start to see the difference with the one they have now. We have learnt that at the next WSF we should split the co-ordination of logistics and administration from programme activities and development of proposals and conclusions. StreetNet International affiliates will participate in the organisational evaluation of StreetNet’s participation in WSF 2007, to plan the next stage of engagement with WSF processes. Hopefully some affiliates will forward resolutions, to be adopted as StreetNet policy, to StreetNet’s International Congress, scheduled for August 2007. Participating in the WSF is different from participating in the processes of institutions such as the International Labour Conferences of the ILO. Each terrain has its own space for particular issues which StreetNet and its affiliates wish to influence - and so StreetNet will continue to use these spaces to the best possible effect in the interests of the street vendors and informal market vendors of the world. |
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