NGO Lament Institutional, State Violence Against Vendors

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), under the aegis of StreetNet International, has decried institutional and state organised violence against members of the informal sector.

Its general secretary, Comrade Gbenga Komolafe, appealed to law enforcement agencies for protection against violence and other abuse on members of the sector.

Komolafe, while speaking on 2022 International Day of Street Vendors, being celebrated globally every 14 November said: “Over the years, StreetNet has fought for the recognition of street vendors as workers, this celebration testifies the growing importance and voice of informal economy workers in the global agenda.”

“When we launched the first-ever international federation of street vendors we had a dream of a global union federation of workers in this sector of the informal economy.  That dream has been realised, thanks to the unity and commitment of street vendors and their leaders who have built the organisation to what it is today,” said,  former International coordinator and founder of StreetNet, Pat Horn.

In addition he said, the global alliance of street vendors, market vendors and other informal traders was founded in Durban, South Africa and has over 700.000 members in over 50 countries in the world.

It is led by workers from the Global South and fosters the participation and leadership of women employed in the informal economy  in the global trade union movement, he said.