Informal Sector Workers in Alliance in Zambia

Zambia has set a precedent as the first African country to form a national alliance of informal sector workers. The alliance aims to strengthen the voice of workers in the informal economy, to unite and engage with policy makers at all levels of government. The informal economy has grown tremendously in the past few years. In Southern Africa, women make up the majority of this sector – 60%-80%.

Alliance set up

The Alliance for Zambia Informal Economy Associations (AZIEA) was launched in October 2002 to promote and protect the rights of marketeers, street vendors and hawkers. The alliance had been conceived a year before in a workshop on organising workers in the informal economy hosted by the Workers Education Association of Zambia (WEAZ) in partnership with the Workers Education Association of England and Scotland.

At this workshop, participants discussed the need for the alliance. Later, WEAZ undertook a consultation involving marketeers and street vendor organisations around the country with the assistance of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions and StreetNet, an international network of street and market vendors and hawkers.

The process to establish AZIEA was done using a bottom-up approach. First, district committees were set up in preparation for the national launch. WEAZ identified the key educational needs of informal economy workers’ associations and their workers and teamed up with the interim officials of the Alliance in carrying out this work. Careful attention was paid to encourage the election of women leaders at all levels, and women’s representation from a wide range of member organisations. There was also emphasis placed on the organisation operating democratically in favour of their members.

StreetNet sponsored the launch convention and received regular reports throughout the process. The ZCTU gave their full support and assisted in the finalisation of AZIEA’s constitution, which was based on an initial draft by StreetNet.

Vision and aims

AZIEA’s vision is to build an equitable and democratic society, and its mission is to promote full participation and protection of informal economy workers in community and national development.

The main objective is to organise the unorganised and unite all associations engaged in the informal economy in Zambia. The aims of AZIEA are to:

• Promote local and national solidarity between informal economy worker organisations;

• Fight for recognition by advocating for the establishment of bargaining forums between government and informal economy workers’ representatives;

• Secure substantial representation of street and market vendors and hawkers in national and international forums;

• Educate workers and members in the informal economy on their civil, social and workers’ rights;

• Lobby government on legislation or policies affecting the interests of members and to provide support or oppose such legislation or policies and make representation to public and other bodies.

• Promote democratic and effective leadership in all structures of the alliance.

AZIEA’s founding organisations were: the Zambia National Marketeers Association; the Cross Border Traders Association; the Vendors Association of Ndola;the Tuntemba Association of Zambia; the Zambia Fisheries and Marketeers Union; the Visual Arts Council of Zambia; the Chibolya Carpentry, Shoe and Fence Wire Making and Black Smith Association; the Mansa Carpenters Association; and the Tins Smith Association of Zambia.

This Information was compiled from a brochure by the AZIEA.