Urban revolts and revolutions happen through mass demonstrations and direct actions in the streets, of which strikes are a part but not the main event (cf. the Iranian Revolution, the Gas Wars of Bolivia). If you live in the South and have a regular job in the formal sector, public or private, you are most likely in the top 10-30% of the population, depending on countries. The rest of the workforce have jobs in the informal sector or rural agricultural areas, and the rest of the population are unemployed or underemployed. In short, you are among the elite of the country and have a lot to lose, especially relative to those below you, so you are unlikely to be on the cutting edge of any revolutionary change that seeks to radically improve the lot of the poorer 70-90%. Depending on your union leadership, you may find yourself among the force of neoliberal reaction against a populist government. If you join any revolution of the Left at all, you are more likely to be in the rearguard than the vanguard. You leave work to join the masses outside from behind.
<http://www.global-labour.org/trade_unions_and_the_informal_sector_wiego.htm> Global Labour Institute Notes on Trade Unions and the Informal Sector
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SIZE OF THE INFORMAL SECTOR
INFORMAL LATIN AFRICA ASIA SECTOR AMERICA SHARE CARIBBEAN OF
Total 15% 18% 15-30% employment excluding agriculture
Total 45% 75% 75-85% employment including agriculture
Non- 57% 78% 45-85% agricultural employment
Urban 40% 61% 40-60% employment
Poor 50% NA NA employment
New jobs 84% 93% NA
LOW- MIDDLE- HIGH-
INCOME INCOME INCOME
COUNTRIES COUNTRIES COUNTRIES
Total 80% 40% 15% employment outside formal sector
-- Yoshie