R204 - Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204)

• Subject Matter: Pendiente de clasificación,Not yet classified,Non encore classifiée
• Court: International Labour Organization

Preamble

The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its 104th Session on 1 June 2015, and

Recognizing that the high incidence of the informal economy in all its aspects is a major challenge for the rights of workers, including the fundamental principles and rights at work, and for social protection, decent working conditions, inclusive development and the rule of law, and has a negative impact on the development of sustainable enterprises, public revenues and governments’ scope of action, particularly with regard to economic, social and environmental policies, the soundness of institutions and fair competition in national and international markets, and

Acknowledging that most people enter the informal economy not by choice but as a consequence of a lack of opportunities in the formal economy and in the absence of other means of livelihood, and

Recalling that decent work deficits – the denial of rights at work, the absence of sufficient opportunities for quality employment, inadequate social protection and the absence of social dialogue – are most pronounced in the informal economy, and

Acknowledging that informality has multiple causes, including governance and structural issues, and that public policies can speed up the process of transition to the formal economy, in a context of social dialogue, and

Recalling the Declaration of Philadelphia, 1944, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up, 1998, and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008, and

Reaffirming the relevance of the eight ILO fundamental Conventions and other relevant international labour standards and United Nations instruments as listed in the Annex, and

Recalling the resolution and Conclusions concerning decent work and the informal economy adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 90th Session (2002), and other relevant resolutions and Conclusions as listed in the Annex, and

Affirming that the transition from the informal to the formal economy is essential to achieve inclusive development and to realize decent work for all, and

Recognizing the need for Members to take urgent and appropriate measures to enable the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy, while ensuring the preservation and improvement of existing livelihoods during the transition, and

Recognizing that employers’ and workers’ organizations play an important and active role in facilitating the transition from the informal to the formal economy, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the transition from the informal to the formal economy, which is the fifth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a Recommendation;

adopts this twelfth day of June of the year two thousand and fifteen the following Recommendation, which may be cited as the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015.

I. Objectives and scope

1. 1. This Recommendation provides guidance to Members to:
   • (a) facilitate the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy, while respecting workers’ fundamental rights and ensuring opportunities for income security, livelihoods and entrepreneurship;
   • (b) promote the creation, preservation and sustainability of enterprises and decent jobs in the formal economy and the coherence of macroeconomic, employment, social protection and other social policies; and
   • (c) prevent the informalization of formal economy jobs.
2. 2. For the purposes of this Recommendation, the term “informal economy”:
   • (a) refers to all economic activities by workers and economic units that are – in law or in practice – not covered or insufficiently covered by formal arrangements; and
   • (b) does not cover illicit activities, in particular the provision of services or the production, sale, possession or use of goods forbidden by law, including the illicit production and trafficking of drugs, the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, trafficking in persons, and money laundering, as defined in the relevant international treaties.
3. 3. For the purposes of this Recommendation, “economic units” in the informal economy include:
   • (a) units that employ hired labour;
   • (b) units that are owned by individuals working on their own account, either alone or with the help of contributing family workers; and
   • (c) cooperatives and social and solidarity economy units.
4. 4. This Recommendation applies to all workers and economic units – including enterprises, entrepreneurs and households – in the informal economy, in particular:
   • (a) those in the informal economy who own and operate economic units, including:
     • (i) own-account workers;
     • (ii) employers; and
     • (iii) members of cooperatives and of social and solidarity economy units;
   • (b) contributing family workers, irrespective of whether they work in economic units in the formal or informal economy;
   • (c) employees holding informal jobs in or for formal enterprises, or in or for economic units in the informal economy, including but not limited to those in subcontracting and in supply chains, or as paid domestic workers employed by households; and
   • (d) workers in unrecognized or unregulated employment relationships.
5. 5. Informal work may be found across all sectors of the economy, in both public and private spaces.
6. 6. In giving effect to the provisions of Paragraphs 2 to 5 above, and given the diversity of the informal economy across member States, the competent authority should identify the nature and extent of the informal economy as described in this Recommendation, and its relationship to the formal economy. In so doing, the competent authority should make use of tripartite mechanisms with the full participation of the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, which should include in their rank, according to national practice representatives of membership-based representative organizations of workers and economic units in the informal economy.

II. Guiding principles

1. 7. In designing coherent and integrated strategies to facilitate the transition to the formal economy, Members should take into account the following:
   • (a) the diversity of characteristics, circumstances and needs of workers and economic units in the informal economy, and the necessity to...