FacebookTwitterLinkedInCopy LinkEmailPrint
What is "Just Transition"?

The Contribution of Social Dialogue to the 2030 Agenda: Formalizing the Informal Economy

This report discusses the importance of social dialogue in formalizing the informal economy, as outlined in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Detail

The author summarizes findings of case studies from Argentina, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Kenya on the contribution of social dialogue to formalizing the informal economy and meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. She discusses how social dialogue serves as a mechanism for implementing the 2030 Agenda and provides recommendations for improving social dialogue to better contribute to formalizing the informal sector.

The author offers a brief explanation of social dialogue before discussing the scale of the informal sector in the global economy. She then highlights the challenges that informal workers face, demonstrating the need for formalization and explaining why social dialogue is essential to the formalization process. Citing examples from around the world, the author also demonstrates how social dialogue can facilitate progress on social protections, inclusion, and more.

The author highlights the continued challenges to formalization, including lack of commitment to social dialogue by various actors, insufficient time and resources, and lack of coordination between dialogue processes. She concludes with recommendations to address these challenges and strengthen social dialogue outcomes.

Local Community Participation in the Transformation Action Plan for the Slovakia’s Upper Nitra Coal Region

This brief describes local involvement in the creation of an action plan for the coal transition in Upper Nitra, Slovakia, and proposes new ways to improve community engagement.

Detail

This brief describes the process of creating an action plan for the transformation of the coal region of Upper Nitra, Slovakia, which included the involvement of local citizens, various levels of government, and the European Commission.

The local government invited citizens and community stakeholders to contribute to the action plan through approximately fifteen meetings. The Upper Nitra region became a pilot in the European Commission’s initiative for coal regions in transition, created to facilitate the development of projects and long-term strategies in these regions. Through their involvement, the European Commission sought to support the development of the action plan.

The brief reflects on how the process of local engagement could have been improved and offers recommendations for how to enhance local engagement throughout all stages of implementation. It urges the government to improve communication with the general public, increase civil society involvement, and communicate transparently about layoffs of mine workers.