(De)Motivation, Homeless, City Cleaning & Municipality Accountability (Linkedin)
- Vagner da Silva
- 27 de jan. de 2025
- 4 min de leitura
– Managing from the daily happenings standpoint.
In a recent publication, here in the LinkedIn platform, United Nations, and one of its organizations, the International Labour Organization, has indicated that decent work is a human right as also understand all – thus considered, civilized world. This latter cited organization produced a work entitled Monday’s World Day of Decent Work, accessible here: https://lnkd.in/dGqcDQw7.
Being this the feasible manner to maintain a healthy relationship with workers, another publication in this platform of the United Nations, emphasizing the work of World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday’s World #MentalHealth Day, called my attention, sharing an “Employers To Do List”, including: flexible working hours, extra time to complete tasks, regular and supportive check-ins with supervisors, and assist people living with mental health conditions to return work after an absence. More details can be viewd in this link: https://lnkd.in/eA6iyhpk.
As we see, these publications are interconnected. And will be connected, either, with a data about the increase of 82% in the e-waste production from 2010 to 2022 in the world. A record of 62 million tonnes produced, just in 2022. The information is based in a publication of United Nations, in this platform, considering the #EwasteDay and #BeatWastePollution, accessible through this link: https://lnkd.in/eT-F3NNn.
On the other hand, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities contributed with a publication in this platform 6 days ago, with the collaboration of Yale School of the Environment’s Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, that integrated their #PrizeforCities, with focus in innovation, in those school Practitioner Toolboxes. One of the finalists of the prize, is the Brazilian City of Fortaleza, in the Northeastern of the country, due to the dedicated project on waste management, among other cities, like: Buenos Aires (ARG), Aurangabad (IND), NYC (USA) and Oslo (NOR), respectively with projects in climate-resilient housing, river restoration, green schoolyards and climate budgeting. Details, here: https://bit.ly/48IntDz, with references to #SustainableCities, #UrbanDevelopment, #UrbanSustainability, and #cities.
Related to the themes here already cited and combined, Decent Work and Economic Growth is the #SDG number 8. Good Health and Well-Being, the 3. Sustainable Cities and Communities, 11. Responsible Consumption and Production, 12. All these SDGs are part of the #Agenda2030, of United Nations.
And you, whom arrived until this part of the article, must be asking yourself, what this guy is looking to call my attention for?
I’ll try to explain.
This last week days, I’ve been continuously observing many waste pickers (here called “catadores”) at the streets of São Paulo City, where I actually live. It is not a complete novelty that they are always in torn and dirty clothes, some barefoot, using nothing to protect their hands, subject to all types of weather impacts throughout the days and nights, once part of them is homeless and do this activity trying to obtain a minimal gain to their subsistence. In some cases, there are families depending on this activity. In others, the activity is developed clearly by chemical addicted people. Thus, the motivation to perform this kind of work varies from people to people. The question is: is this the kind of motivation they deserve for their daily work?
Of course, there are programs associated to local cooperatives of waste pickers. One was called, in the past, Solidarity Collection Program for Recyclable Waste of São Paulo City, in a free translation. Nowadays there is one called “SP Coopera” (SP Cooperates), encompassing 30 cooperatives of waste pickers.
The labor conditions for many of the waste pickers at the streets, as yet observed, do not reach the minimum expressed by local legislation or the global agreements. My suspicion is that the issue is the tonic in the major part of global cities, once the work of these people are not really valued, like here, and in other developing countries with huge inequality amid the society members.
They are doing an extremely important work for the communities where they are inserted and the planet, at the same pace exposing themselves to enormous risks of contamination, compromising their health once being outside all the time, subject to the weather changing, mentally fragile and recurring to chemicals to endure these conditions.
This is another opportunity to improve our standards as society and citizens, including orders to the next lawmakers, governors and politicians, to pay attention to these situations, finding ways to, at least, protect them with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPEs), in one way.
Other ways are linked to the corporations by means of, for instance, circular economy, from cradle-to-grave programs and so on. These initiatives need to be part of their stakeholders management, inside of the so called #ESG management. Having in mind that annual reports of many organizations around the globe incorporates these dimensions and are responsible for their subsidiaries in developing countries, is mandatory to be certain that the information is correctly addressed at this level, avoiding the threats related to “greenwashing” at some point of what is being considered along the processes of the integrated management systems (IMS).
This is useful for the private, as well to the public management. Both deserve prudent approach in front of the society. The latter due to the public financial resources managed. The former due to the societal license to operate. Both leading to legal implications for those responsible for the accountability of the processes, if not satisfied the minimal operational conditions, or misleading initiatives involving the themes.
Important to think in advance about these aspects of daily issues and contribute to the improvement of our society, aligned with the SDGs. Think and fight for that. The people at these circumstances are our similar and deserve care like anyone else. Even more, contributing to the daily city cleaning in an informal way. 🤲🌎🤲
Post initially published on Linkedin platform, in Nov-02-2024.
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