Workers most exposed to economic risk around the world are commonly not covered by labour law either because laws were designed with people with a standard, continuous employer in mind or because of poor enforcement. According to the International Labour Organization’s estimates, informal work, as a percentage of non-agricultural employment, continues to account for over 50% of all employment in half of the countries with comparable data across the globe. In onethird of countries, it involves over 65% of workers.1 There are exciting local and national experiments in new forms of labour regulation occurring in various countries that aim to extend labour regulation to non-standard workers, ensuring that they receive living minimum wages. This article compares four experiments in regulating work, including innovations in the regulation of work for head load (Mathadi) workers in India, immigrant industrial clothing outworkers in Australia, garment workers in Cambodia, and workers in Bulgaria who rely on a range of homebased activities to survive. The schemes have enjoyed varying success, providing lessons about what does and does not work in different contexts.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations