Informal workers are people who work with no official contract arrangement. Working outside the workplace of their employers, they enjoy neither regular wages nor remuneration. They can be freelancers, or temporary labour. Thus, informal workers are neither protected by the existing labour protection laws nor the social security laws. They have no security in life and work and there is no guarantee for their fair wages, occupational health and welfares when they become more advanced in age. 

            Common types of informal workers are home-based workers, industrial outworkers, irregular workers, temporary workers and part-time workers. Many are employed in sweatshops, others are own account workers working at homes or unregistered and uninspected workplaces. This also includes independent workers who live from hand to mouth such as street vendors, shoe shiners, scavengers, and domestic workers.
           
            Since information about informal workers does not exist, they become invisible labour forces and are subject to unfair employment terms, a lack of stable income, and a lack of labour protection and social security. Having the least leverage to deal with the risks, they are more vulnerable to them compared to their counterpart in the formal sector.

            International Labour Office is keen on and has missions to work with informal economy. According to its estimate, most countries in the world employ informal workers more than the formal ones. And in developing countries, the informal economy is much larger than the formal sector as 80-90% of workforces belong to the former sector.

Informal workers in Thailand

            According to the second quarterly report of the Ministry of Labour concerning labour situation during April-June 2007, of the total population 65.68 millions, those in working age, i.e. older than 15 years, amount to 50.97 millions, of which 36.69 millions are in working age. Among 35.80 millions employed persons, 13.33 and 22.47 millions are engaged in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors respectively. 8.7 millions workers enjoy protection from the social security system. According to a survey by the National Statistic Office (NSO), 13.7 millions formal workers enjoy social and labour protection; the rest 21.8 millions have no access to any protection. Generally, nformal workers can be divided into three major groups;

1. Informal workers in production sector: Producing or working from home, the workers constitute one of the biggest labour groups. They can be found anywhere in the small alleys, urban slums, and rural area where they hardly find enough to make ends meet just from agriculture. Thus, these farmers have to become informal workers and work at home, too.

            1.1. Home-based workers (Subcontracted Workers) exist as the employers want to cut production costs to better compete in the free market. Taking loopholes in the Labour Proteciton Act B.E.2541 (1998), they can choose to employ the workers just for parts of the process, all processes including assembling work, packaging, etc. They work outside factories and earn very meager remuneration. Home-based workers are engaged in various kinds of work including sewing, leather ware, shoe making, plastic flower, gem cutting, etc.

            1.2. Self-employed workers are freelancers who rely on their skills and wisdom to produce goods and sell them. The best known case is the OTOP (One Tambon One Product) or community enterprises. In other instances, the workers take orders from the selling business or larger business. Self-employed workers can be found as either individual or group workers.

            It is often found that home-based workers can change to self-employed workers back and forth in the same work field. When there are no orders from factories, they have to produce and sell by themselves and thus become self-employed workers.

2. Informal workers in service sector includes employees and restaurant waiters/waitresses, vendors and street hawkers, garbage scavengers, recyclers, traditional masseurs, motorcycle taxi drivers, taxi drivers, domestic workers, etc.

3. Informal workers in agricultural sector include employees in agricultural sector and contract farmers.

 Issues of informal workers

           1) Invisibility: Since information about informal workers does not exist, they become invisible labour forces and are subject to unfair employment terms, a lack of stable income, and a lack of labour protection and social security. Having the least leverage to deal with the risks, they are more vulnerable to them compared to their counterpart in the formal sector.

            2) Enjoy no benefits from labour protection laws: Since all major instruments including the Labour Proteciton Act B.E. 2541 (1998), Workers' Compensation Act B.E. 2537 (1994), Social Security Act B.E. 2533 (1991), Occupational Safety and Health in Workplaces Act, Labour Relations Act, etc., provide for sole benefits of formal workers, informal workers are simply left out. Even if the Minisry of Labour issued a ministerial regulation for the protection of HMWs in 2004, but it has missed out on addressing many major issues, particularly, on fair wages. Clauses concerning occupational safety are also too weak and do not provide for good enforcement and practices.

           3) Unfair wages and instable income: Even though they are engaged in the production of goods of the same quality and characteristics as in factories, most informal workers are not paid minimum wages and do not have stable income. This happens as they are not protected by the Labour Proteciton Act B.E. 2541 (1998) and lack organization which has led to their weak bargaining power.

           4) Inconsistent and interrupted orders: Depending on the selling and marketing of each particular product, the informal workers do not have stable job orders and thus cannot plan ahead for production and work.

            5) A lack of access to social security: Since the current Social Security Act does not cover informal workers, they have no security contingency to address their drastic needs such as during their sickness, disability, death, child delivery, child rearing, aging, and unemployment.

           6) A lack of access to resources and state support: Thus, they have no chance to develop their skills, to benefit from revolving funds, and appropriate health services.

            7) A lack of organization, representation and bargaining power: Since informal workers are based in different places, it is difficult for them to get organized. Even though they can get organized, they can become just small groups and are not aware of their rights as workers. Thus, they have no power to bargain with the employers and relevant state agencies.

            8) Suffering from occupational health and unsafe working environment: Their lack of occupational safety and health knowledge and vulnerable working condition makes most of informal workers subject to health problems and work-related accidences.