Between NGOs and Trade Unions

In this article, I highlight the issue of organizational forms within the informal-sector workers’ movement by examining the experiences of domestic workers in India and South Africa. I am motivated by the growing body of literature that explores the tension between NGOs and trade unions as opposing organizational forms in the context of emancipatory struggles under neoliberalism. My argument is that trade unions and NGOs are not mutually exclusive within the domestic workers’ movement; they work with similar communities and address similar issues. Grassroots organizations mobilizing domestic workers in India and South Africa exhibit characteristics of both NGOs and trade unions, even if they self-identify as belonging strictly to one category. Within these movements, ideological tensions between NGOs and trade unions become pronounced, particularly as they compete for control over constituencies and funding sources. In India the domestic workers’ organizations tend to adopt a hybrid form that leans toward the NGO model, while in South Africa they align more closely with the trade union model. By comparing the historical context of domestic workers’ movements in these two countries, I demonstrate that state recognition of domestic workers’ rights and the influence of the mainstream labor movement play significant roles in determining the direction of this hybridization.