This volume looks at the living and working conditions of street vendors in different cities of the world. It examines the legal guidelines regarding control of public space and the rights of the working poor to earn their livelihood, and the civic authorities' constant regulation of this space.

While work-related insecurities and worker vulnerability induced by neoliberal globalization are undeniably affecting an increasing number of workers around the world, crossing the Divide reveals that the history and legacy of colonialism is shaping the response of the Global South in ways that are quite different from that of the North. Comparing precarious work in India, Ghana and South Africa, this book shows how innovative organizational strategies are emerging in the Global South to bridge the widening divide between the formal and informal economy. Farm workers in Ghana, India and South Africa are challenging colonial-type work practices. Municipal workers in Johannesburg and Accra are organising collectively. In the cities of India, Ghana and South Africa, workers in domestic service, unregulated factories and home-based work face difficult conditions with little or no union representation. Yet, these vulnerable workers are engaging in a range of creative strategies to fight for decent work and living conditions. The studies in this collection are predominantly ethnographic, drawing on the experiences of vulnerable workers through in-depth interviews, observation and, in some cases, large-scale surveys. Together they uncover the largely invisible world of the informal economy and vulnerable workers. Crossing the Divide makes clear that informal workers are not passive victims but are building new forms of collective solidarity to promote their rights and interests.

First published in 2010. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.