THE United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) Resident Coordinator to Nigeria, Mr Daouda Toure, has called for
improved welfare for informal workers as they provide a wide range of important
services to citizens saying that, for many people in the developing world, the
informal economy is an important source of livelihood for individuals, families
and communities, DigitalSENSE
Business News reports.
Toure told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that in many parts of the
world, the informal sector constitutes an intrinsic part of the social
landscape adding that in many developing countries, informality is associated
with a way of life, moulded by custom and tradition, than with a conscious
decision to remain outside the formal sector.
“It provides a wide range of important
services to citizens like local transportation, accommodation, food,
entertainment or services which sustain the life of many. Yet, there are other,
less desirable aspects of informality, which also need to be recognised.
Informal workers tend to have low and irregular incomes, long working hours,
and reduced access to benefits and opportunities for skills development. They
are also not mostly covered by labour legislation such as safety and health
requirements relating to conditions in the workplace,” he said.
He said all of these factors increased the
vulnerability of informal workers and their families to external shocks, and
exposed them to the so called “working poverty.”
Chukwudi Obi
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