In COVID-19 lockdowns one year ago, informal workers across the world lost their livelihoods, plunging their families into economic crisis and hunger. The lockdowns also revealed the critical role that so many informal workers play in society, whether in providing services such as collecting recyclables and caring for families, or by producing goods for local markets and contributing to food security through the sale of affordable produce. When informal workers were forced to stop working it became clear just how important these workers are to making cities and towns function. From the depths of the crisis in May 2020, we called on governments to recognize the essential role informal workers play in local and global economies; to partner with workers’ organizations to ensure robust relief and recovery approaches; and to do no harm and end practices of harassment, violence and forced evictions.

Yet throughout the year, informal workers have faced limited and patchy government relief, ongoing exclusion from recovery plans and policies, and continued violence and harassment in many contexts.

We urge policymakers to do the following as they plan for economic recovery: