euractiv (19.11.2021) The European Commission, which is due to present its proposal on platform workers on 8 December, faces a tricky balancing act: ensuring decent working conditions while maintaining the flexibility of a booming sector.

unescap.org (07.10.2021) This is the sixth in a series of policy primers developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy primer explains how social protection systems can be designed to recognize and…

plos.org (04.11.2021) Latin American governments swiftly implemented income assistance programs to sustain families’ livelihoods during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. This paper analyzes the potential coverage and generosity of these measures and assesses the suitability of current safety nets to…

oecd.org (09.11.2021) OECD Health at a Glance 2021 says that the mental health impact of the pandemic has been huge, with prevalence of anxiety and depression more than double levels observed pre-crisis in most countries with available data, most notably in Mexico, the United Kingdom and the…

Willis Towers Watson (05.11.2021)  A Senate-approved bill in the Netherlands provides both maternal and paternal paid leave for up to nine weeks after a child is born.

pravda.com.ua (01.11.2021) Ukraine is in the top 15 countries globally for the fastest ageing population and the State Budget has allocated about UAH 170 billion to cover pensions in the security and defence sectors, fund social contributions for some categories of people, allowances, increases…

worldbank.org (17.06.2021) A region known for its volatility, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has suffered severe economic and social setbacks from crises—including the COVID-19 pandemic. These crises have taken their toll on careers, wage growth, and productivity. Employment in Crisis:…

unicef (june 2021) The importance of mainstreaming gender into social protection policies and programmes is increasingly recognized. However, evidence on the extent to which this is actually happening remains limited. This report contributes to filling this evidence gap by drawing on the…

CTV News (17.10.2021)On Oct. 23 – the last day of Small Business Week – the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) are set to expire. Both programs have been extended several times since being implemented in 2020.

As for individual benefits, the…

Philippine News Agency (17.10.2021) The implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) has resulted in milestones for the country's social protection and digital transformation, according to a World Bank official. 

He said success in utilizing PhilSys for social…

OECD (21.10.2021) The COVID-19 crisis has hit the long-term care (LTC) sector particularly hard, with large numbers of people dependent on care and particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 have fallen ill, and a disproportionate rate of LTC workers both exposed to, and infected by, COVID-19. The…

There were a massive 99 data breaches and cyber attacks in August, making it the third-biggest monthly total of the year by number of security incidents. But, by contrast, only 36,673,575 records were confirmed to have been leaked, which is the fewest we’ve recorded since May 2018. The true…

As always, you can find the full list of incidents below, with those affecting UK organisations listed in bold. In case you missed it, you may also be interested in our first quarterly review of data breaches and cyber attacks. The report takes the information collected in these lists and…

"This is not a good day for South Carolina." That was Governor Nikki Haley's public reaction to news that a foreign hacker had infiltrated South Carolina's Department of Revenue and made off with 3.6 million social security numbers and 387,000 credit/debit card numbers. Of the compromised cards…

We've already seen supposed "elite hackers" attacking the World Health Organization, cyber criminals hitting a COVID-19 vaccine testing facility with ransomware and healthcare workers being targeted with Windows malware using coronavirus information as the lure.

Now, it has been reported…

INPS has been distributing emergency funds to those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic

The website of INPS, the Italian department of social security and welfare, appears to be operational again after an apparent cyber-attack forced it offline yesterday (April 1).

A ransomware attack forced Ireland’s healthcare service to shut down its servers. Here’s what we know so far.

Kaspersky Team May 14, 2021 Updated on May 17, 2021. Media outlets are reporting an attack by ransomware on the Health Service Executive (HSE), Ireland’s healthcare system. The…

U.S. Congress is discussing legislation, not yet finalized, that could significantly alter the employee health and benefit landscape.

ilo.org (19.10.2021) The online platform will serve as a unique worldwide reference and source of information on national employment policies, and strategies to promote youth employment.

worldbank.org (07.10.2021) The World Bank, in collaboration with the Government of South Africa, released a new report assessing the country’s social assistance programs and systems. In an environment of high unemployment, persistent poverty, weak economic growth and shrinking fiscal resources…

ZAWYA  (18.10.2021) Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved a further 92 billion baht ($2.76 billion) of relief measures to help boost its flagging economy as the Southeast Asian country deals with its biggest and most prolonged coronavirus outbreak.  Thailand earlier this year approved…

allafrica.com (14.10.2021) Social protection is a right for the federal government and not a token or favour. The last 18 months have been difficult for families and communities across the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vision of equality and inclusion as explained in the…

oecd.org (14.10.2021) The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant deterioration in public finances, adding to pre-existing strains from long-term structural challenges including population ageing, climate change, rising inequality, digitalisation and automation. This report, originally…

blogs.worldbank.org (07.10.2021) The Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) program is the flagship of Greece’s social protection reforms and particularly effective by international standards in reaching poor households.  Its national launch in February 2017 aligned Greece with other EU members in…

 Asian Development Bank (August 2021) The three-tiered elderly system in the country consists of home-based care as the core support, community-based care as necessary support, and residential care as supplementary support. The main policies and progress of the system are explained,…