The water and sanitation (WASH) sector employs tens of millions of people in the Global South. However, most of this is through the informal sector, suffers from severe forms of prejudice and discrimination, and leads to significant health risks, economic deprivation, and social stigma, especially for sanitation workers. The perceived “informality” of this space leads to a lack of formal attention, budget deficits, and safety considerations.

In this episode, we talk to  Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan from LabourNet who highlights the problems with employment in WASH and allied sectors. We learn about solutions and approaches to increase employment, improve skilling, bridging the budget gap, creating appropriate labour contracting models, innovations in the sector, and the role of collaborative action.