Intervening
in Policies through Trade Unionism The main objective of
NASVI is to bring together trade unions, co-operatives.
Associations and other membership based organisations
of street vendors under one common federation. NASVI is
not a political organisation nor is it a union that is
linked to other political federations. NASVI is an independent
federation that aims at gaining the rights of street vendors
to carry out their trade without hindrance. The unions
affiliated to NASVI can have their own political agendas
and affiliations. NASVI is not interested in influencing
political parties. The politics of NASVI lies in mainly
influencing the state to take up issues in favour of street
vendors and the poor. NASVI’s first success was
in the getting the government to frame a national policy
for street vendors. NASVI also played a major role in
drafting the policy. The immediate task before NASVI is
of having the policy implemented by the state governments.
NASVI’s goals are
not limited to merely influencing policies. As a federation,
NASVI will unite all sections of street vendors to fight
for their rights to ply their trades. Its goal is to not
only be the main, if not only, federation of street vendors,
but to also encourage street vendors to unionise themselves
in order to fight for their rights. NASVI will promote
trade unionism and collective action among street vendors
and will assist street vendors to form their own unions
in case they do not have any.
Besides promoting and
assisting in the growth of unionisation, NASVI promotes
union democracy. The leaders of the unions must reflect
the aspirations of their members. They must genuinely,
through democratic means, be elected as leaders. NASVI
opposes any form of intermediaries in trade unions.
Urban Planning and Urban Local Bodies
(ULBs)
Street
vendors’ unions by and large are engaged mainly
in defending their members in their right to work. Unions
organise protest meetings and demonstrations when street
vendors are threatened by the municipalities or the police.
If this does not get them any redressal, they go to court
and obtain stay orders against the action taken by the
civic bodies. These are basically stop-gap arrangements
and are more like fire-fighting methods. In other words,
whenever hawkers feel threatened they resort to actions
that enable them to continue their business, though for
temporary periods. These methods are not sufficient, as
they are merely reactions to the threats from the authorities.
What is needed is a long-term perspective on street vendors.
In order to do this NASVI has to intervene at the stage
when urban plans are framed. It is important to include
space for street vendors in the urban plans in the same
manner in which space is allotted for parks, hospitals,
markets, educational institutions etc. It will be the
aim of NASVI to ensure that every urban plan provides
space for street vending activities.
The
most convenient places for street vendors and the consumers
are those near public places such as railway stations,
bus terminuses, hospitals, places of worship and the regular
markets. These are also known as natural markets because
sellers and buyers tend to collect at such places. However
in most cases, street vending is banned in such places
and street vendors face constant harassment. NASVI will
try to lobby with the authorities that such places should
be regularised for street vending as they are most helpful
for the buyers, besides being so for the street vendors.
Changing Policy Orientations
It will be
NASVI’s endeavour to change the present policies
of the ULBs. The municipal policies and laws in our country
were framed by the British colonisers very much on the
lines of the anti-poor legislations in Britain. These
policies still continue. They focus on the fact that the
poor and the marginalized in urban areas create problems
for the city dwellers and they should be discouraged to
settle in the cities. Thus, the government cannot provide
housing for the poor but if the poor themselves build
their own houses, they are declared illegal structures
and are demolished. Similarly, there is chronic unemployed
among the urban population. The government is not in a
position to provide jobs or any form of relief to the
unemployed. Yet when some of these people try to solve
their unemployment problem by taking to street vending,
they are declared as illegal and the municipal authorities
destroy their goods and let loose a reign of terror.
NASVI will fight
whole heartedly to see that the urban policies try to
help the poor. In doing so it will align with other sections
of the urban population who are affected by such anti-people
and anti-poor policies.
Urban Local Government
Though NASVI
is basically a non-political trade union federation of
the street vendors, in order to be effective it has to
intervene through political institutions. In other words,
NASVI and its affiliates need to enter the democratic
process of the ULBs by contesting elections to these bodies.
We can envision a time when representatives of NASVI and
its affiliate unions will find a rightful place in the
ULBs. Thereby, they will be in a stronger position to
influence laws in favour of the poor.
Fighting
elections cannot be the only aim of NASVI. The organisation
will pressurise for change even outside the local bodies.
It will lobby for including plans that are favourable
to street vendors. It will also resort to mass mobilising
tactics in order to put pressure from the people.
Social Security
Street vendors
are self-employed. Their work is full of insecurity and
uncertainty. Even if some street vendors do very well
in their trade, a single raid from the municipality can
turn them into paupers. The uncertainty in their work
also gives rise to an increase in illnesses concerned
with physical or mental tension, such as hyperacidity,
lack of sleep, high blood pressure and hypertension. In
most urban areas, government or the municipalities are
gradually withdrawing free medical services. They therefore
have to depend on private medical services which leads
to additional burden on the family income. One illness
in the family may lead to its ruin because of the expenses
involved.
NASVI is
actively involved in framing of legislation on labour
in the unorganised sector. It has joined hands with other
organisations to draft an ‘umbrella’ legislation
for workers in the unorganised sector. This will help
the street vendors throughout the country. There can be
other means too through which social security can be provided
and NASVI will also look at these. In the final analysis,
NASVI envisions a time when all street vendors and their
family members, will avail of social security and they
will have some provisions after they retire.
In addition
to this, NASVI will help promote health camps for free
medical treatment and for building up their awareness
on issues related to health and hygiene.
Education and Skill Development
NASVI will
also to organise skill development programmes for street
vendors that will help them increase efficiency in their
work, or in encouraging them to take up alternative employment.
Thus we can
finally say that NASVI as a trade union does not restrict
its aims to merely fighting for the economic rights of
street vendors. It envisions a time when street vendors
will not only be free from harassment in conducting their
activities, but will also have social security, better
living conditions and better education for themselves
and their children. In other words, street vendors will
live their life with self-respect and as decent citizens
of this country, which they are denied at present.
Street Vendors
have been defined as : A
person who offers goods for sale to the public at large
without having a permanent built up structure from which
to sell. Street vendors may be stationary in the sense
that they occupy space on the pavements or other public/private
spaces or, they may be mobile in the sense that move from
place to place by carrying their wares on push carts or
in baskets on their heads. The term street vendor includes
stationary as well as mobile vendors and it incorporates
all other local/region specific terms used to describe
them, such as, hawker, pheriwalla, larigalla, rehri-patri
walla, footpath dukandars, sidewalk traders, nadaipadhaigal,
thari thela, patridukandar, headloader.
The aims and objectives of NASVI are
as follows :
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To build an association of
Trade Unions, Co-operatives, Trusts, Association and
Community Based organization working with street vendors.
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To protect and promote livelihood
and employment of street vendors.
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To build and strengthen the leadership
of vendors and to develop information base, regarding
their numbers, conditions, etc.
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To document and disseminate successful
organizing strategies among vendors
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To advocate the rights and legal
aid of vendors and to forge linkages with national
and international people movements for the benefits
of vendors in policy making, law making and other
activities.
-
To provide legal rights and legal
aid to the vendors and to advocate institution
of policies and laws favourable to vendors and amendment
or change in policies and laws hindering smooth conduct
of business of vendors.
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To make an arrangement for census
surveys, issuing of license by competent authority
and Identification Card (ID) to the vendors and to
designate and make available proper places for conduct
of business of the vendors. To work
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for abolition of contract and intermediate
system and to encourage the propensity of natural
market place.
-
To protect the rights of vendors
and to advocate mechanisms for coordination among
vendors, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)/ District Administration/
Land owning authorities/ Village and Town Bodies/
Regional Development Authority/Railway/ Housing Boards
and Transport Authority.
-
To promote various organization
like Trade Unions/ Cooperatives / Associations and
others among vendors.
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To link street vendors with financial
institutions.
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To lobby and network for providing
space/places to the vendors into Urban Development
Plan/Urban Master Plan, Panchayat and Town Master
Plan.
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To promote social security, including
pension, insurance, health facility among vendors.
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To do awareness campaign on health
related problems (Aids, Cancer, Hepatitis B, Family
Planning, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Child Development)
and to make arrangements for preventive and curative
methods.
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To facilitate education including
informal and technical education for the vendors
and their dependents and to arrange provisions of
scholarship for children of vendors and child vendors.
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To promote child development and
child care for the children of vendors
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To make street vendors a special
component of the plans for urban development by treating
them as an integral part of the urban distribution
system.
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To sensitize concerned officials
and departments and citizen groups on the issue affecting
street vendors.
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To improve skill of vendors by
imparting skill development training in alternative
employment
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To enforce regulations and promote
self-governance amongst street vendors
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To organise special benefits programme
for women and physically challenged vendors and to
built an old age house, Palna Ghar, Alap Awas Grih
etc.
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To print newsletter/magazine/documents/pamphlets/posters
and other audio-video materials for the purpose
of creating awareness among street vendors and society.
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To provide/ promote social security
( pension, insurance etc) and access to credit for
street vendors through promotion of SHGs/co-operatives/Federations/
Micro-Finance Institutions etc.
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To undertake relief work during
disaster/emergency situations
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To encourage environment friendly
and cultural activities.
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To establish/construct mandi /godowns
and market for street vendors.
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To undertake programe for elimination
of social ills and bad practices and habits among
vendors.
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To promote any other activity for
betterment of street vendors and their families.
