Street work legal framework: the imposition of an order without the workers

Abstract

 The legal framework of street work has been scarcely studied by the national legal theory. This article aims to contribute in the academic debate by gathering the main rules that govern the work of street vendors and sex workers and by assessing them with the help of the principles of participatory equality (Fraser) and freedom as non-domination (Pettit). In this evaluation, entry requirements and street work conditions established by municipal ordinances are highlighted. The former involves denigrating requirements in demanding to prove to be a deserving person in order to be granted access to a precarious economy. The later, the analysis of the work condi­tions, shows that there is no protective statute for workers, but rather that the aim of the legal framework is to achieve a specific urban order. Then, the situation of workers whose activities are omitted or prohibited by law is examined. These groups of people are targeted by aggressive police control and are harmed by illegal acts and practices, such as the confiscation of property and rights’ limitations by municipal ordinances. It concludes by suggesting the need for redistri­butive measures and the participation of workers in the construction of a regulatory framework that incorporates their interests.