With 84.6 per cent of all workers in Nepal engaged in informal employment, many of them women, the need for inclusive, rights-based support has never been greater. Informal workers often lack formal employment contracts, access to social security, and representation in trade unions.
Trade unions play a critical role in organizing, educating and supporting informal workers. They provide legal and social services and advocate for policy and legal reforms aimed at securing better working conditions and social protection.
To strengthen this role, the ILO Country Office for Nepal, ILO's Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV) and the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) launched a hybrid design sprint, a collaborative process designed to co-create practical, union-led, and tailored training tools tailored to the needs of workers in the sanitation and domestic work sectors in Nepal.
© ILO
The initiative was launched on 25 July 2025. A total of 14 trainers from major trade union confederations in Nepal- the All Nepal Federation of Trade Unions (ANTUF), General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) and Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) participated.
In the upcoming sessions, trainers will jointly transform their training materials into interactive, participative and inclusive training modules covering key topics such as labour rights, social security system, freedom of association and collective bargaining addressing violence and harassment and promoting decent work for domestic and waste management workers.
"Co-creating the training materials is important, as we can tailor them to the realities on the ground. In the future, I look forward to adapting these materials for other sectors," a participant from ANTUF highlighted.
© ILO
This initiative is part of the ILO's Promoting Rights and Social Inclusion (PRS) Phase 2 project which aims to improve the rights and working conditions of informal workers and economic units and support their transition to formal employment in India, Nepal and Pakistan. In Nepal, the project works closely with ANTUF, GEFONT, NTUC and Solid Waste Management Association of Nepal (SWMAN) and municipality authorities to enhance the rights, health, safety and dignity of domestic and waste management workers.
