sixthtone.com (31.10.2018) Chinese authorities plan to introduce a blacklist system by the end of the year that specifically targets those who pocket social security benefits, China News reported. 

Alan Turing Institute (24.10.2018)  In this document, we offer a review of recent literature on the future of work. Using a critical review method, the report synthesises key findings about the future of work focusing on three main areas: broad research findings, emerging research directions, and innovative data science research directions. The first part of the review summarises and discusses changes in the nature and creation of jobs, assignments, and tasks; changing organisation of work and production; varying impacts of the changing nature of work on society; and the governance of these changes through politics, policy and institutions. The second section addresses potential drivers of the changing nature of work; disparate impacts of technology on different tasks; challenges for young people to boost employability; impacts of the changing nature of work on the disenfranchised; and proposals for policies and governance models to manage the transitions related to the future of work. The third section discusses research approaches and findings around the susceptibility of tasks and assignments to computerisation; industrial diversification and data-driven policy tools; and development of online labour markets.

arabtimesonline (07.11.2018) Society’s security could not be achieved without having effective economic and social security policies that meet people’s needs and preserve their rights, Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Minister of Finance Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf has stated. This remark was made by Al-Hajraf at the inauguration of the 19th conference of the International Conference of Social Security Actuaries, Statisticians and Investment Specialists which kicked off on Kuwait Tuesday under aegis of His Highness the Amir.

The volumes on “Social Protection Floors” present best practices and experiences from countries that are useful for South-South learning, for practitioners and to provide the basis for more informed policy-making.

From 1981 to 2014, thirty countries privatized fully or partially their public mandatory pensions; as of 2018, eighteen countries have reversed the privatization.

Annual review 2018 

This issue of Policy in Focus gathers articles from leading scholars, researchers and practitioners to discuss these challenges from different perspectives. They examine the current state of non-contributory social protection in the MENA region as a whole and in specific countries and explore how these countries have been coping with and learning from the recent economic and humanitarian crises.

ILO (31.10.2018) From 1981 to 2014, thirty countries privatized fully or partially their public mandatory pensions; as of 2018, eighteen countries have reversed the privatization. This report: (i) analyses the failure of mandatory private pensions to improve old-age income security and their underperformance in terms of coverage, benefits, administrative costs, transition costs, social and fiscal impacts, and others; (ii) documents the reversals of pension privatization, the laws, governance, new entitlements, financing and contribution rates of the new public pension systems; (iii) provides guidance on the key policy steps to reverse pension privatization, for those countries considering returning back to a public system.

Gesundheitsstadt Berlin (29.10.2018) Viel Hochleistungsmedizin, wenig Vorsorge: Dieses gemischte Zeugnis stellt die EU-Kommission de deutschen Gesundheitssystem aus. Bei den Ausgaben steht Deutschland indes an der Spitze

ILO (05.11.2018) Organized with ILO assistance, the first annual conference following up on the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans examined opportunities of a knowledge-based economy in Serbia.

Harbour Times (01.11.2018) New and repeat parents in Hong Kong are now entitled to longer parental leave, thanks to the latest Policy Address and LegCo decisions. But economic concerns might get in the way of future extensions.  Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive, announced the extension of maternity leave from the current 10 weeks to 14 in her Policy Address on October 10. Both the public and private sectors have quickly followed suit.

socialeurope (01.11.2018) Italy’s draft 2019 September Budget Law, which will enter into force in January 2019, has been defined as a “courageous manoeuvre” for change by the political forces which have designed and implemented it very recently. Indeed, it may indeed take much courage to introduce a measure of basic income (the so-called ‘reddito di cittadinanza’) which is conditional upon undertaking ‘unpaid work’ in community-based services. The reform states that to get the subsidy, the ‘poor’ will have to work eight hours a week for ‘free’ (unpaid) ‘for the state’ and accept a job proposal out of three, perhaps in three years (and not more than 18 or 24 months as previously thought) under threat of expulsion from the system.

La Razón (01.11.2018) E l 7 de octubre se celebra el Día Internacional del Trabajo Decente, fecha que es aprovechada para evaluar los esfuerzos de los actores laborales (trabajadores, Estado y empleadores) destinados a materializar los objetivos que impulsan dicha conmemoración.

Eurofound (24.09.2018) Platform work is a form of employment that uses an online platform to match the supply of and demand for paid labour. In Europe, platform work is still small in scale but is rapidly developing. The types of work offered through platforms are ever-increasing, as are the challenges for existing regulatory frameworks. This report explores the working and employment conditions of three of the most common types of platform work in Europe. For each of these types, Eurofound assesses the physical and social environment, autonomy, employment status and access to social protection, and earnings and taxation based on interviews with platform workers. A comparative analysis of the regulatory frameworks applying to platform work in 18 EU Member States accompanies this review. This looks into workers’ employment status, the formal relationships between clients, workers and platforms, and the organisation and representation of workers and platforms.

biometricupdate.com (05.10.2018) The World Bank has announced the launch of the Mission Billion annual innovation challenge to address the most critical issues in digital identification as it works toward achieving sustainable development goal 16.9 to establish legal identity for all.

ILO (31.10.2018) The 11th ASEAN Forum on Migrant Labour held in Singapore on 29-30 October discussed how to maximize the potential of digitalization to promote decent work for migrant workers in the Asia Pacific region. Anna Engblom, senior expert on labour migration at the International Labour Organization (ILO), reviews the opportunities and challenges brought by digitalization in this area.

Conclusions of the Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas after the Tallinn Digital Summit

INSIGHTS 06/10/2017 12:29 #eu2017ee #TallinnDigitalSummit

Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas has published conclusions from the Tallinn Digital Summit, which are going to be discussed by the European Union leaders at the next European Council taking place on 19-20 October in Brussels.

brinknews.com (31.10.2018) 

EurActiv (31.10.2018) À partir de janvier 2019, l’Autriche indexera les allocations familiales au niveau de vie des pays dans lesquels vivent les enfants concernés. La Commission veut maintenant se saisir de la question.

The United Nations welcomes you to our interactive e-Government Knowledgebase (UNeGovKB). The Database was created by the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to provide governments and all members of civil society easy access to this valuable information for research, education and planning purposes. We invite you to use the interactive UNeGovKB to view, sort, and print information from the UN E-Government Survey, or download copies of the annual (2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018) United Nations E-Government Survey. The United Nations E-Government Survey presents a systematic assessment of the use and potential of information and communication technologies to transform the public sector by enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability, access to public services and citizen participation in the 193 Member States of the United Nations, and at all levels of development.

Bloomberg (30.10.2018)  Just months after Uber Technologies Inc. persuaded a London judge to allow it to keep operating in the city, the ride-hailing company is back in court. At stake during two days of hearings at the Court of Appeal in London is an issue that could strike at the core of the U.K.’s burgeoning gig economy: whether Uber’s drivers are really self-employed

FOCUS Online (21.10.2018) Die Altersrenten in Deutschland sind in den zehn Jahren zwischen 2007 und 2017 um 22 Prozent gestiegen. Lagen sie 2007 im Durchschnitt bei 718 Euro im Monat, erhöhte sich die Durchschnittsrente bis 2017 auf 875,68 Euro, wie aus aktuellen Daten der Deutsche Rentenversicherung hervorgeht. Sie liegen der Düsseldorfer „Rheinischen Post“ vor.

 VOX, CEPR Policy Portal (03.10.2018) Many European countries are revisiting how best to finance long-term care, balancing financial sustainability and the economic welfare of households. Using examples of Spain and Scotland, this paper demonstrates that an expansion of public funding for long-term care has an effect on caregiving choices, household finances, and hospital care. Unconditional or cash subsidies may entail a ‘caregiving moral hazard’, but both cash and care subsidies can bring savings to the health system by reducing the frequency and intensity of hospitalisation. 

L'Economiste (29/10/2018) En dépit des progrès dans la mise en œuvre des programmes, l’efficacité et l’efficience du système de protection sociale restent limitées. C’est l’une des principales conclusions du rapport de l’Unicef sur le «Mapping de la protection sociale au Maroc».

Malijet (31.10.2018) Les travaux de la 4ème édition de la conférence nationale sur la protection sociale se sont ouverts à l’hôtel de l’Amitié de Bamako, le mardi 30 octobre 2018 sous le thème « opérationnalisation et financement du socle de protection sociale au Mali ». Deux jours durant, les participants à ces travaux vont non seulement exposer des produits mais aussi aborderont  une pluralité de thèmes dont le fil conducteur va certainement être la définition et l’opérationnalisation d’un socle de protection sociale pour le Mali.