My name is Mariam Kobalia. I’m from Georgia and I am 25 years old.  I always wanted to have something of my own, to create something by myself. 

Recently I opened a flower shop, “Mari’s Flowers”.  I also have two greenhouses where I grow flowers and I’m taking online university courses in public administration.  

My new flower shop, "Mari's Flowers", is in the centre of the village.  

I was 22 when I started all this. I was married with a small child. We lived at my parent’s house. I had an ordinary life. 

Then, quite by chance a friend of mine told me about a training course for women in Anaklia. This is how I ended up at the training organized by USAID, the Women’s Empowerment Foundation and the TASO Foundation. 

We were asked to come up with projects in agriculture. I opted for flowers because I was young and I thought I could make something out of it. When you write a project proposal you have to calculate everything and really think everything through. I already had a metal structure for a greenhouse at home, which would mean I would need less money to make it operational, and this worked to my advantage.  With this first project proposal I received a small grant and bought the plastic sheeting to cover the greenhouse. 

I cut the roses in the greenhouse first thing in the morning.  My four-year-old daughter likes to come with me. 

After the first training I wanted to participate in others. I got into a school for young entrepreneurs and got some more funding which helped me to buy seedlings, a drip irrigation system and other supplies. That was in 2019.

I remember I planted my first flowers at the end of March and already I had roses in July.

At first it was very difficult and troublesome because I didn’t have any experience working in such a big greenhouse and caring for roses, which have a lot of diseases that need to be treated. Also I didn’t know how to price them.  Gradually I met people who had greenhouses.  Then I started going to flower shops and gained some knowledge through practice. 

I started selling roses from home and supplying the market and shops in Zugdidi, a nearby town.

Being goal-oriented was the key, and the trainings helped me to build contacts with people.

At the same time I attended trainings organized by different organizations and developed my entrepreneurial skills. Being goal-oriented was the key, and it helped me to build contacts with people.

I did an ILO training, “Start and Improve Your Business”. Before these trainings I had no knowledge at all about the marketing side of business. It was the most important thing for me to learn. They taught us the basics of marketing and advertising. They also trained us on accounting and pricing, how to manage our finances and how to produce.

I arrive at the shop at 9:30am and start to prepare orders.

I was always alert and tried to keep an eye on grant announcements. The last project grant I received was the result of exceptionally hard work. I went through a lot of stages. It was also very difficult to come up with project proposals and, most importantly, there was so much competition. 

The project was about a Gypsophila greenhouse. It was supposed to be innovative – the Gypsophila flower is really rare in Georgia, it is imported from Turkey and the Netherlands, and I wrote in the project that I would make a Gypsophila greenhouse. Everything had to be calculated, how much profit it would generate, what kind of care it would need, etc.

And when there were only four projects selected out of 27 very strong participants, and I found myself among those four, it was a great feeling.  I will never forget this day.

My customer-base is expanding and now they are coming from nearby villages.

Having two greenhouses created many more opportunities. I could see that it was becoming profitable. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit us. The market was closed and it was very hard for us.

As there were no shops people came to my house to buy flowers. They needed flowers for funerals, you see, or for birthdays. I had to learn how to wrap a flower bouquet.  I asked a woman who has a flower shop in Zugdidi for some hands-on experience.  When I started wrapping I started thinking about having my own shop.

When I decided to open the flower shop a big challenge I had to overcome was the fear of failure. 

When I decided to open the flower shop a big challenge I had to overcome was the fear of failure. I didn’t have a bank loan and I did everything with the funding I had left, but it still made me nervous. You worry about making it a success. First of all, you don’t want to let yourself down, and then you want to live up to the expectations of your family and other people who have supported you.

It has been a family business so far. Mostly, it is my father who helps me. In the morning I cut the flowers in the greenhouse and when I’m in the shop my father looks after the greenhouses. My mother also helps us with the cutting and my husband helps with deliveries.

During my free time I enjoy spending time with my daughter and my husband.

Any free time I have, I spend with my child who is now four years old. Now, for example, in the summer, my husband and I take our daughter to the sea after 8pm and watch the sunset together.

On a good day our sales revenue is USD 160 to 200.  I’m selling my roses as well as flowers from other local greenhouses. I have many online orders. Now, for example, I have to get 300 roses ready for an engagement party. 

I want “Mari’s Flowers” to become a famous brand!

It is very difficult for a woman to start a business in Georgia. I never expected to have my own shop and two greenhouses at the age of 25, but I managed with hard work, purposefulness and family support. My family were encouraging me: – "You failed? Don’t give up, be patient". 

Now that I have my own business, I am the boss of myself. Yes, there is more work but I enjoy it.  My business generates a good income, my family can see this and they are happy.

I’m thinking of setting up two more greenhouses in the near future.  In five years time I want to employ a salesperson in the shop and have some other shops in Zugdidi.  And I want to have branded shops. I want “Mari’s Flowers” to become a famous brand!

The part I enjoy the most?  Cutting the roses when they are in bloom!

The ILO’s project “Inclusive labour markets for job creation in Georgia”, funded by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to provide technical support to employers’ organizations and government bodies in Georgia to put in place interventions to promote youth entrepreneurship and improve the business climate for the establishment of new businesses by young people.

336 potential young Georgian entrepreneurs were trained in the “Start and Improve Your Business” (SIYB) programme during 2020, as part of the ILO project.

The Georgian SIYB beneficiaries gained practical knowledge on how to generate business ideas and prioritize them, how to evaluate their success, how to do market research, define target groups, sales strategy, and in general said they came away with a fresh perspective on the meaning of business and business processes.

According to a recent ILO report, “Research on youth entrepreneurship stimulation in Georgia: understanding the barriers and recommending reform interventions”, government policy and a supportive business development infrastructure contribute to a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and start-up development.

The report also highlights the need to address particular challenges related to cultural attitudes, underdeveloped alternative financing, and a lack of entrepreneurial skills in Georgia.

ILO report: Research on youth entrepreneurship stimulation in Georgia: understanding the barriers and recommending reform interventions 

ILO project: “Inclusive labour markets for job creation in Georgia” 

ILO Start and Improve Your Business Programme 

Global Call to Action for a human-centred COVID-19 recovery 

Taking every business training opportunity she could find, 25-year-old Mariam Kobalia has developed a thriving business in Georgia running a flower shop and growing roses in her own greenhouses.

A blooming business for a young entrepreneur

The Future of Work Podcast - International Lefthanders Day (English).mp3

About 10 per cent of people are left handed, yet the world of work is overwhelmingly set up for right-handers. There are also numerous examples – historical and contemporary - of discrimination and stigma in relation to left-handed people. International Left-handers Day, on August 13, aims to counter some of these disadvantages and draw attention to the strengths of the world’s left-handed workers and the problems they face.

About 10 per cent of people are left handed, yet the world of work is overwhelmingly set up for right-handers. There are also numerous examples – historical and contemporary - of discrimination and stigma in relation to left-handed people.

International Left-handers Day, on August 13, aims to counter some of these disadvantages and draw attention to the strengths of the world’s left-handed workers and the problems they face.

Left-handed workers in a right-handed world

My name is Ann. I am from the Philippines. I arrived here in Kuwait in the year 2000.  

I worked as a domestic worker for four years, but I wasn’t treated right, I was being abused and maltreated.  Afterwards, I started working in sales. 

Then, in 2008, some of us decided to form a group of domestic workers to spend leisure time together, cooking and playing games. At the time, that was the only purpose of the group, but as time went on, workers were coming to us to tell us their story. They wanted help. 

That is when we started to study the issue and we created some focus group discussions with workers, especially domestic workers. 

How domestic workers got organized in Kuwait

In 2010, we founded Sandigan Kuwait, a more serious group that advocates for the protection and welfare of domestic workers.

Sandigan Kuwait is a volunteering group. We gather volunteers depending on the activities that we have. In the beginning, we studied the processes of our embassy and of the government, and we started looking at the more serious problems domestic workers face. It's not only here in Kuwait. These problems also occur in the countries of origin. 

Domestic workers in Kuwait learn how to sew on sewing machines at a livelihood training organised by Sandigan Kuwait.

The workers' organization is very important, especially the domestic workers' sector of the organization. 

It's very important that domestic workers can air their problems. They will be the ones to tell the government, "Hey, this is the experience that I have. You need to do something about this." 

Because of what we are doing, organizing the workers, we are able to create a better recommendation to our government and monitor the workers and monitor the  policies that we have in order to ensure that the workers are being protected.

The Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association and Sandigan Kuwait mobilized 400 workers and domestic workers for an International Domestic Workers Day celebration entitled “Domestic Workers: Partners for Change”. The celebration took place 28 June 2019 in Kuwait, and domestic workers from the Philippines and Sri Lanka were given awards, along with their employers.

As an organization, Sandigan Kuwait and Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association, we assist and assess workers’ cases from different nationalities, from different work sectors. We have a repatriation programme, we offer legal aid, we also have psychosocial activities. We have the livelihood programme for domestic workers, every Friday.  At the moment we are running a sewing class for them.  We have already finished our first session. Now we have our second session for the Ethiopian domestic workers. They really enjoy learning new talents and new skills from this training.

It's a safe place for domestic workers, especially on their days off, where they can learn a lot of things. Aside from going out on their day off, at least here they will learn something new.

Domestic workers show off the trousers they have made at the sewing livelihood training run by Sandigan.

Every year we have an award programme for domestic workers and their employers. Many of them stay together for 30 years. When you hear their stories, I think the basic factor that helps to make the relationship good is respect. Respect each other regardless of the nationality, regardless of the work. They should respect also the law, the rights, the culture, and tradition of each other because they decided to be together. They could easily say "Khallas, I'm finished," but they choose to be together.

I think the basic factor that helps to make the relationship between domestic workers and their employers good is respect.

Founding Chairperson of Sandigan Kuwait and Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association

The most important convention that helped us when we started our advocacy, is the ILO’s Domestic Workers Convention, Convention 189, because that was the basis in 2013 for when we started lobbying for the Domestic Workers Law here in Kuwait.

And then in 2018-2019 Sandigan oversaw the creation of the Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association, a domestic workers organization.

There have been a lot of changes over the past 13 years!

On Friday November 8, 2019, Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association elected its leadership during its first congress attended by Ann Abunda and 50 domestic workers.

Still there are a lot of challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an especially big impact on domestic workers. Most of them have been working 24/7 because the employers have stayed home. One of the challenges I can say is that domestic workers are not a priority when it comes to health care, especially when a domestic worker has COVID - even if she has COVID, she is sometimes expected to work.

Before, nobody talked about domestic workers. We are making sure that they are visible, that people are talking about them, about the issue.

Before, nobody talked about domestic workers. They were there, but nobody could see them. But over the past 13 years, there have been a lot of changes. Sandigan has added value to the dignity of domestic workers. We are making sure that they are visible, that people are talking about them, about the issue. And I think being part of the creation of the Domestic Workers Law here in Kuwait was a big achievement. We are part of the long journey for domestic workers. 

Migrant domestic workers face multiple issues through the migration journey, including incurring high recruitment costs, contract substitution, non-payment of wages, lack of decent living conditions, trafficking and forced labour, and discrimination in employment and occupation.

In 2015, the Kuwaiti government passed a law governing the basic rights of domestic workers in the country. Sandigan was part of the consultation process to formulate the law.

According to Kuwait’s Public Authority of Civil Information, there are around 732,000 domestic workers in the country comprising a quarter of the total workforce in the country (December 2000).

This is the second highest percentage of domestic workers in a labour market after Saudi Arabia.

With the ILO’s support, the Sandigan Kuwait Domestic Workers Association, in 2020, became the first affiliate of the International Domestic Workers’ Federation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Members of Sandigan have travelled to other countries to meet and learn from other domestic worker organizations.  The ILO also supports training activities of domestic workers in Kuwait.

These activities are part of the ILO’s FAIRWAY Programme, which seeks to address the interlinked structural, behavioural, and practical barriers to improved labour migration for migrant workers in vulnerable situations, including domestic workers.

June 16, 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the ILO Convention on Domestic Workers, Convention 189.  Its objective is to improve living and working conditions for the millions of domestic workers throughout the world, guaranteeing them a decent job that provides them with protections equivalent to those enjoyed by other workers.

International Domestic Workers Federation

10 years on, domestic workers still fight for equality and decent work

Ann Abunda arrived in Kuwait 21 years ago to work as a domestic worker.  After living through her own challenging experiences with employers, she helped found a thriving organization that advocates for the rights of domestic workers in the country.

I’ve been a professional flamenco dancer for over 20 years. The pandemic was really hard on me and all artists. It cut us off from the public and really reduced our incomes. The help I received saw me through the lockdown, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the crisis, it’s that we need measures that take into   account the specific nature of our occupations. 

I live in Lausanne. I’m 46 years old, I was born in Switzerland, and I’m the son of Spanish immigrants from Malaga. I’m very lucky because they always supported my desire to dance. I’ve always wanted to dance, but also to teach. For a long time, I 've also run a flamenco school in Geneva, in the Eaux-Vives area.

Flamenco en compañía: Sevillanas

When the COVID-19  pandemic struck, the authorities introduced support measures fairly quickly. As a self-employed worker, I’ve been receiving loss-of-earnings benefits from the Compensation Fund of the Canton of Vaud since March 2020. It's allowed me to survive but it doesn't even represent half of my usual income. 

And then there’s all the administrative stuff. Before taking up dance full time, I went to business school, so I’m used to paperwork. But sometimes I felt like I had hit a wall, the red tape was so complicated. I don’t even want to think about what it was like for artists who aren’t used to that kind of thing! 

We need support that is more adapted to our needs. I think that we should be considered essential workers because what we do is essential for life.

France has a social protection system for intermittent workers in the performing arts. It’s a specific system that takes into account the particular nature of theatre, cinema and audiovisual occupations. We need support that is more adapted to our needs. I consider that we’re entitled to this. I think that we should be considered essential workers because what we do is essential for life. 

A lot has been said about the role of culture during the pandemic. During the first lockdown, I really mobilized for my students. With my sister Sylvia, who’s also a flamenco instructor, we gave courses on all kinds of online platforms. On Fridays we even gave a cooking class. We felt that people really needed this. That was our role: to give them moral support.

But all this has taken an emotional and economic toll. Now that things are returning to normal, I’m far from having recovered the number of students I had a year ago. I hope that the social benefit support will last until at least into the autumn and the start of the school year. 

I use lots of castanets for my shows. I have one pair in Plexiglas. They broke during one of my shows. I posted a picture on Facebook at the height of the pandemic to show how I felt. I still feel a bit like that.

Social security is a human right. Yet this right is not a reality for the majority of the world’s population. 

Workers in the cultural and creative sector often lack access to social protection due to their fluctuating employment status, irregular incomes, intermittent nature of work, and geographic mobility. They are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

Many countries have implemented emergency measures to support workers in the cultural and creative sector. Thanks to these measures, Antonio managed to get through the crisis.

States have an opportunity to build on temporary COVID-19 social protection measures, by putting in place long-term entitlements anchored in law and in line with international social security instruments, that people can count on when they need them. 

Social protection schemes should be comprehensive and adapted to the realities facing all workers. They should include innovative design and financing solutions that reach everyone no matter their employment arrangements.

Social protection is a recurrent discussion item at the 2021 International Labour Conference.

Extend social protection to workers in the culture and creative sector (video)

Extending social protection to the cultural and creative sector (publication)

Social Protection in the Cultural and Creative Sector - Country Practices and Innovations

Protection against unemployment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis: Country responses and policy considerations

2021 International Labour Conference - Recurrent Discussion Committee: Social security

The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly hard on performing artists, who feel that they haven’t received adequate support.  Antonio Perujo, a flamenco dancer from Geneva, Switzerland tells how he’s coped over the past year while unable to work.

Artists need social protection benefits adapted to their occupations

Growing up in Makurdi, in Benue state, in Nigeria, it was a normal phenomenon to see children in child labour. It has always been my dream to combat this worm that has eaten deep into our society.

I got engaged in the fight against child labour because it has menaced children in my environment. I have personally known children who have been raped, physically abused, and deprived of education and childhood. It is a great pain to me.

During my university days, I organized lessons for children living in nearby villages, since most of them did not attend school. My goal was to prove the value of education to their parents and ignite a passion for school in the hearts of the children.

This photo was taken at a government secondary school during my project on the Child Rights Act in Bauchi state.

Children often work with their families on nearby farms or sell goods in the streets, at bus stops, and at gas stations. They hawk things like water, soy milk, and biscuits. If they come from farming families, they might sell their product: groundnut, corn, and so on.

On my university campus, I saw children who would work until 11 p.m. and fall asleep near the student walkway. Some students feel pity for these children; others accept it as the norm. 

After I graduated, I knew that I wanted to make an impact. I went to camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) and educated teenagers on topics including sexual reproductive health. My siblings and father assisted me. 

From there, my passion to help my community only grew stronger.

Promote community education to end child labour   English

During my year of service in the Nigerian Youth Service Corps in Bauchi state in northeast Nigeria, I realized the state has one of the highest rates of child rape, child labour, and child marriage. 

So, I started a campaign around the adoption of the Child Rights Act, which is currently under review.

It wasn’t always easy: Stakeholders were not always accessible to us, and my team really needed their audience. We also encountered financial challenges, since we had to move around a lot.

But I kept going. When I help a child, I feel like I’m living my dream and, at the same time, I feel the need to do more.

My parents always encouraged me to stay focused and achieve my dreams, no matter the challenges in front of me. That drive is why I am able to organize young people against child labour.

Growing up as the third of five children, I experienced what it meant not to have all my needs met. This ignited in me a fire for greatness. My parents always encouraged me to stay focused and achieve my dreams, no matter the challenges in front of me. I also have supportive siblings, especially my elder sister, who has a similar drive.

That drive is why I am able to organize young people against child labour. I engage them through active discussions around our common goal, and together we work to achieve our vision.

I currently work with Beulah Future Leaders Foundation, an NGO based in Kaduna state that works on issues affecting girls and women. Working directly with our target beneficiaries, we empower children, adolescents, and young people through education. We improve their access to information and services about their rights and sexual reproductive health. 

In our practical, community-based approach, we try to meaningfully involve the most marginalized, especially girls and women and people living with HIV. Our goal is to eliminate child labour, gender-based violence, and child abuse through advocacy, shared learning, capacity building, and quality programming. 

Some of the things I do to end child labour include: organize classes for children in rural communities who do not go to school, partner with organizations and individuals on sensitization activities, and organize community development services.

Regular people can take action against child labour by raising awareness, volunteering, and funding projects that seek to end child labour. They could also make posters or write to local newspapers.

Recruiting others into your awareness campaign is important. Establish contacts with young people in schools and advocates in community groups who could work with you in your action against child labour.

This is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. Get involved!

In March 2021, the ILO and the African Union launched the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour in Africa, paving the way for greater collaboration among stakeholders on the continent.

More than half of Nigerian children aged 5 to 17 (50.8%) are involved in child labour

Child labour in Africa occurs mostly in family agriculture. Addressing the factors that lead to family dependence on children’s labour will be critical to progress in the region.

The Africa region has also been among those most affected by situations of conflict and disaster, which heighten the risk of child labour.

Progress has stalled in the region, meaning it has fallen even further behind the rest of the world in the fight against child labour.

Child labour rises to 160 million – first increase in two decades

International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour

Meet Peace Okebugwu, a project manager at the Beulah Future Leaders Foundation.  She is using community education to help end child labour in Nigeria.

It takes a community to end child labour

My name is Olenka Marquina, I am a Peruvian entrepreneur, mother and architect by profession. I am in charge of two businesses: a coffee shop and an architecture firm. We give direct employment to more than 50 people in both companies.

Every day I work day and night to keep my businesses going. I have always been known for being persistent and hard-working, but above all empathetic, and COVID-19 has been the biggest challenge for me.

When the pandemic started, the simplest option would have been to close the businesses, wait for time to pass and see what happened, and then see how we could get back on our feet. The problem we had, well we don't call it a problem, but the reality, was that 50 families depended on us for their livelihoods.

Resilience and empathy, strengths of a female entrepreneur in Peru

So the plan was to keep the whole team working. In the case of the coffee shop, we had to reinvent ourselves and start giving new tasks to waiters, cooks and baristas. Some became packers or were involved in production issues, while others were checking labels or assembling packages for home delivery. 

In the case of the architecture firm, it was a bit more complicated because we had people on site such as electricians, drywallers or painters who could not carry out any work at that time. So we decided to put them in delivery uniforms and they all went out to make deliveries.

One of the employees prepares coffee and wears personal protective equipment and clothing  to avoid contagion.

During the pandemic, the issue of occupational safety and health was crucial. Not only because we had already complied with a COVID plan that had some protocols, but also because it was very important to keep all our staff healthy and to maintain our activities.

One thing we talked a lot about with the workers was that all the precautions that were taken in the workplace, whether it was in the coffee shop or on the construction sites, the same protocols and precautions had to be maintained when they were on their way home so that they always stayed safe.

Olenka Marquina works in her architectural office in compliance with the safety regulations imposed by COVID-19.

With my family the quarantine has not been easy because of the additional care and attention to the children, but I am grateful that with my husband we have worked as a team and we have been able to get all the domestic chores done, each one of us taking turns, since I also work.

Being a woman and an entrepreneur is not easy and there are always obstacles along the way due to gender discrimination.

In Peru, it is widely believed that the man is the only one who should work and the woman should dedicate herself to the children, but in this case, women also work and also move forward and we need the help of our partners to be able to prosper and move forward with all the plans we have together. 

Being a woman and an entrepreneur is not easy for many and there are always obstacles along the way due to gender discrimination. In my case, there are still some remnants of the idea that the architect is the one who sits down to draw and the engineer is the one who goes to the building site. But in reality times have changed now and we are the ones who go out and do everything.

Olenka is optimistic about the future. Despite the resurgence of the pandemic, she is not discouraged.

Also, there is now strong and growing evidence that the presence of women in management positions works for business. Unfortunately, however, this has not yet translated into reality.

From my personal perspective I see the future of work with optimism. Despite the resurgence of the pandemic earlier this year, we have not been discouraged. We know that we will have to be resilient during these months as some activities have been paralysed by the containment measures.

Women who want to grow in this world will always do so.

My expectation for 2022 is that our coffee shop will be overflowing with customers and we will probably open two more locations. 

In the case of the architecture firm, we hope to open a coworking space in April and to continue to grow, as people continue to think about their homes, and keep changing, keep renovating, and keep improving the spaces where they now spend more time than before.

In conclusion, I believe that women who want to grow in this world will always do so. Dreams never end and it’s only those who stop dreaming who do not achieve their dreams.

Peru was one of the worst affected countries in the world in terms of lost working hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest ILO Monitor report on COVID-19 and the world of work, the Andean country recorded a 27 per cent loss of working hours in 2020. 

Low productivity and informality explain to a large extent the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the Peruvian economy and labour market.  

According to the results of an ILO global survey (2019) of nearly 13,000 enterprises, the presence of women in management positions in Latin America and the Caribbean is around 34 per cent compared to 66 per cent for their male counterparts. 

While the Latin American region has seen a significant increase of women in senior management positions in companies over the last thirty years, this progress is still not enough and the impact of the pandemic on the labour market could delay it even further. 

In June 2020, the ILO launched an initiative to unite women entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Through the programme "Win-win: Gender equality means good business" implemented by ILO and UN Women with the support of the European Union, almost 600 Latin American women entrepreneurs have joined this network.

Delegates at the 2021 International Labour Conference are discussing a special outcome document on the ILO response to COVID-19.

Peru: Impact of COVID-19 on employment and labour income (in Spanish)

Women in Business and Management: The business case for change

Win-Win: Gender equality means good business (in Spanish)

ILO launches initiative to unite women entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean (in Spanish)

Five steps to help women entrepreneurs cross the business gender divide

2021 International Labour Conference: COVID-19 Response Committee

Despite the adversities of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Peruvian businesswoman is using her leadership and ingenuity to drive her business forward by prioritising the job stability of her workers and strict compliance with occupational health and safety measures.

A woman entrepreneur in Peru thrives with resilience and empathy

It was mid-2018 and I needed a job. For five years in a row, I waited tables and worked in the food industry. But, like many others, I became unemployed. 

Just then, someone pointed to all those folks cycling around Palermo with colourful boxes attached to their backs.

"You'll be your own boss", they said. "You'll set your own schedule," they said. The perks quickly caught my attention: time flexibility, freedom. So I signed up, did the training and hopped on the bike. Since then, I have been a digital platform worker, delivering food products in Buenos Aires.

Actually, that is what I do for a living. This is who I am: an Argentine woman in my  thirties, living with my parents in their apartment in Almagro neighbourhood. I am a single mother of a 9 year old boy, a medical lab student, and former Deputy Secretary of the "Asociación de Personal de Plataformas" (APP, Spanish for Platform Staff Association), the first workers’ organization that represents digital platform workers in my country, which advocates for better working conditions in our sector. 

María Belén's story is a common one for many digital platform workers around the world.

Time to deliver in Argentina: Decent work in digital labour platforms

This is what my daily routine looks like: I have virtual classes early in the morning until noon. Then work until 4 pm. I go back home. I eat. I help my son with his homework. Spend some time with him. Once again, I go back to work around 8 pm, until midnight. I try to complete eight full hours of work each day. It’s quite stressful and the pandemic has made it more intense.

Like any other job, this one has pros and cons. You can organize your working hours to suit your personal life, although the platform demands that you work at specific times, or else. Penalties will lower your scoring and negatively affect your access to future orders. And that's what gets us paid: the number of delivered orders, regardless of how many hours you are available for the app.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, demand grew considerably. The government said that delivery work was essential, next to key activities such as public health and transportation, among others.

In fact, platform workers have been contributing greatly during this crisis, making it easier for people to avoid being in the streets unless they absolutely have to. It sounds nice to take part in essential work, but having decent work would be much nicer.

María Belén Fierro is inspired by her son in her quest to improve working conditions for everyone.

Treated by the companies as independent contractors, most of us have no social protection benefits, such as pension coverage, health or insurance plans. 

Sick days? Paid leave? Occupational hazard coverage? It is wishful thinking for now, even when our risks are high.

Keeping her equipment disinfected is crucial to keeping herself and her family safe.

Exposed to traffic and compelled to speed up, we pick up and drop off goods, handle cash and follow strict sanitary protocols to secure our own and other people's health. And all without access to public sanitary facilities. We constantly use hand sanitizers and facemasks that companies provide to their workers, yet insufficiently.

Checking the application often is crucial to not missing possible jobs.

The concerns and claims of digital platform workers are gaining more and more visibility. Nowadays, our main priority is protecting our source of income. 

Our organization is making efforts to improve digital platform working conditions. Because of the pandemic, it has been difficult to meet and organize, though we keep connected across social networks, email and messaging apps.

Social networks, email and messaging apps have become a vital tool in organizing and protecting workers rights.

I am certain that digital platform work is here to stay. It will continue growing, and it will reshape labour markets in the near future.

That is precisely its opportunity: to become the catalyst of positive transformation by securing decent work and providing basic labour rights to all employees, like in any other sector. This is our goal and this will be our achievement.

Work on delivery platforms in Argentina: Analysis and policy recommendations

Delivery work during a pandemic: delivery platform workers in Argentina

Legal analysis on labor relations in home delivery services through digital platforms in Argentina

World Employment and Social Outlook 2021: The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work

ILO Topic Portal: Digital labour platforms

InfoStory: Can digital labour platforms create fair competition and decent jobs?

In Argentina, digital platforms are a recent phenomenon. By July 2020 there were four food-delivery companies operating in Buenos Aires, most of them having started their activity after 2017. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Argentine government considered these services to be essential activities.

According to an ILO global survey, workers flexible work schedules, freedom to choose tasks and the choice to work anytime anywhere make platforms popular.

For digital platform workers, considered to be essential in many countries, the COVID-19 outbreak increased their vulnerability and lack of protection. The silver lining: with decent work, the pandemic could drive a positive digital transformation.

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