Policy highlights:
- The livelihoods of domestic workers, kayayeis (porters) and street vendors in Ghana are threatened by strict regulations regarding informal sector workers. To address this, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) and the legal team from Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC) make a number of policy recommendations.
- With regards to the punishment of street vendors, policymakers should: 1) reduce fines and harsh sentences; 2) abolish the option of imprisonment as street vending is not criminal per se; and 3) discipline guards and others responsible for the extortion and assault of street vendors.
- Policymakers should regulate contract agreements between domestic workers and employers that specify work hours, pay, responsibilities, rights and so forth. These contracts should also include a provision for training/education and capacity building.
- Public-private partnerships should be actively promoted to facilitate access to (skills) training, foster entrepreneurship, provide financial support and stimulate the formalization of the informal economy.
