"Floor Mats for Sale!" - Human Rights and Workers in the Informal Economy

Did you know you can get buy bed pillows, sweet mangoes, and six different styles of cowboy hats from the comfort of your own car while driving from Mombasa to Nairobi? And get a great deal at the same time?

Flexibility and entrepreneurship are highly prized skills in many cultures – they are particularly valued in today’s age of global capitalism.

During a recent partner visit to Kenya, UUSC witnessed this innovative spirit in the work of some of the world’s most enterprising workers.

Around the world, street vendors and mobile hawkers are demonstrating incredible flexibility as they respond to massive rural and urban change. These changes are a result of dramatic shifts in migration patterns, new policy environments, environmental changes, and shifts in cultural mores. The world is changing faster than ever, and because of that, the world of work is changing for people all around the globe.



UUSC is committed to strengthening sustainable livelihoods for those not usually recognized as significant contributors in the struggle for social and economic rights. Our economic justice program works to promote the rights – and responsibilities – of workers in the “informal economy.” These workers are often also the most marginalized and vulnerable – including women, children, and those workers migrating to find decent, paying work.

The concept of “informal economies” in most African countries dates back to the colonial period when colonial governments viewed indigenous unregistered economic activities as “informal” because they were not operating according to colonial government rules and regulations. The term now refers more broadly to all forms of “nonstandard” wage employment not covered by legal or social protections.

Informal economy jobs, however, can also be highly entrepreneurial. Currently, informal economy workers like street vendors and traders make enormous economic contributions to communities and nations, providing employment and substantive income that provide the basis for stable, peaceful civil societies.

Our partner, KENASVIT, the Kenya National Alliance of Street Vendors and Informal Traders, has made significant strides over the past two years by organizing and mobilizing street vendors. KENASVIT organizes to help traders gain access to their rights, and in doing so, the organization provides a voice and an infrastructure through which vendors can exercise their civic responsibilities as strong contributors to the economic health and civic order of their communities.

In August, UUSC programs staff visited KENASVIT Urban Alliances in Machackos, Nakuru, and Mombasa and attended the Annual General Meeting of the national leadership.

During our visit, we provided technical support and evaluation, and accompanied KENASVIT leaders as they paid calls on a variety of authorities including mayors, town councilors, district commissioners, and business leaders like the managing director of the Kenya Ferry Services Ltd., J.J. Ria.

During our meeting, Ria expressed, “We’re so happy that for once we’re able to deal with an organized team that is able to address concerns. We’re glad about the cooperation we’re getting from this alliance. They understand our mandate and we understand their rights. I hope we can replicate this kind of projects at other sites.”

KENASVIT is achieving recognition with local, regional, and national policy officials. Through their organizing efforts, the voice of street vendors and informal traders has informed the pending Micro and Small Enterprises Bill, now being considered in Kenya’s Parliament. This bill would formally recognize informal economy workers and provide for them in legislation and practices. This achievement has been made possible by the reciprocal recognition by vendors and policymakers that workers need to be able to exercise their rights as well as fulfill their responsibilities as contributing members of their communities and nations.

Informal work arrangements are here to stay. Street vendors and traders have not only persisted and expanded but have also emerged in new guises and unexpected places.

UUSC will continue to strengthen the work of innovative alliances like KENASVIT to provide a new model of successful worker organizing and policy impact that will strengthen rights for workers in the changing global economy.