Services Within Reach: Breaking Down Barriers for Informal Workers

Case Studies In Convergence Series No. 2

Services Within Reach: Breaking Down Barriers for Informal Workers [LINK]

The waste pickers of Pune provide an essential service for Pune City in Maharashtra, India. Organized by the union Kagad, Kach, Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) and the cooperative SWaCH, over 3,500 waste pickers service around 840,000 households of the city daily, collecting waste from each doorstep. Due to advocacy through collective action by the union, waste pickers are eligible for social services and entitlements. However, access to programs are hampered by a range of barriers, resulting in underusage of government benefits.

This case study documents findings from the first year of implementation of an innovative hub-and-spoke service delivery model for informal workers in Pune City to bring information and enrolment support for a range of schemes from across sectors to waste pickers in the communities in which they live. The model, comprised of a central workers resources center or Kashtakari Sadhan Kendra and a network of community-based satellite centers or Kashtakari Seva Kendras, is being implemented by KKPKP and SWaCH to improve access by waste pickers, and ultimately other informal workers, to programs, opportunities and benefits they are entitled to.

 

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