Pune, August 24: THE South Asian Informal Worker’s Exchange Programme will be the first step towards a national network linking various sub-sectors of the informal sector across South Asia, feels Kagad, Kach, Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), which along with Commission of Asian Women (CAW), had organised the four-day conference-cum-workshop at YASHADA from August 19-22.

“The participants found the entire experience insightful and inspiring,” said KKPKP general secretary Laxmi Narayan. “The programme was meant to provide space for all groups and trade unions, working on informal economy, to make linkages across as well as within sectors and to share experiences and strategies besides initiating a solidarity network among them.”

Narayan also said it was unanimously agreed that a strong network between the SAARC countries was needed. “While a South Asian network in the form of Asian Domestic Workers Network (ADWN) already exists for the domestic worker sub-sector, only India has a national network for organisations working with waste pickers called Swachh. The workshop was insightful for the other participants who have decided to focus on the waste sub-sector in their countries as well,” said Narayan.

Participants from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan will engage in gathering baseline information on the waste picking and management economy of their countries.