IFEX (08.08.2018) G20 countries have both the opportunity and the responsibility to lead efforts to reinstate trust in the digital age. G20 members can inspire hope and embrace the goal that no country, no community, and no individual will be left behind and that their rights will be respected. G20 countries can set a digital agenda that places people at the centre.

info.gov.hk (06.08.2018) The Labour Department (LD) will expand the scope of the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) in September to cover part-time on-the-job training and raise the ceiling of the monthly on-the-job training allowance. The YETP provides a comprehensive job search platform with one-stop and diversified pre-employment and on-the-job training for young school leavers aged 15 to 24 with educational attainment at sub-degree level or below. 

EurActiv (10.08.2018) Greece’s unemployment rate, the highest in the European Union, has dropped below 20% for the first time in seven years, statistics bureau Elstat reported on 9 August.

Measuring Financial Literacy

Assessing the levels of financial literacy in the population is a key component of a successful national strategy for financial education, enabling policy makers to identify gaps and design appropriate responses. International comparisons increase the value of such an assessment by enabling countries to benchmark themselves with other countries. Where similar patterns are identified across countries, national authorities can work together to find common methods for improving financial literacy within their respective populations.

marketwatch.com (04.08.2018) The company, called Trupo, is launching a new short-term disability insurance product. A broken leg can spell financial disaster for a freelancer.

Deloitte US (August 2018) Man versus machine—it’s one of the oldest storylines in Hollywood. Because if robots can replace us, what’s left for us to do? As it turns out, plenty. Learn more about the talent dimensions of IT investments in our 2018 mid-market technology survey.

ILO (01.08.2018) For people with disabilities in Bangladesh, finding a job can be a huge challenge. Yet attitudes are changing, as the private sector increasingly sees the benefits of hiring disabled workers.

Adweek (09.08.2018) T he machines are taking over? The chat bots are coming for our jobs? Not according to the results of a recent survey conducted by market research firm OnResearch for Deloitte. However, human skills must be sharpened and updated consistently in order to remain part of the workforce.

OpenGovAsia (06.08.2018) The National Health Protection Mission targets approximately 107.4 million deprived families. It has identified the occupational category of urban workers’ families as per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data, for both rural and urban India.

MarketWatch (01.08.2018) The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection informs the population about the emergence and promotion on the Moldovan market of non-electrically heated tobacco products iQOS (Electrically Heated Tobacco Product - EHTR), manufactured by Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology, , which are harmful and present a danger to human health and life.

The Edge Markets (08.08.2018) The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has revealed that out of Malaysia's 22 million working-age population, 62% are self-employed, outside the formal labour force, and not covered by any form of social protection such as the EPF or government pension scheme.

Canadian Occupational Safety (06.08.2018) Outdoor workers must be better protected from extreme heat with nationwide regulations to fill a dangerous lack of safety measures, environmental and labour groups in the United States said. Mandatory rest breaks and access to shade should be required and enforced under a national effort, according to a call by more than 130 groups, former heads of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and universities.

 Euronews (01.08.2018) A new industrial revolution is predicted. The digitalisation of the economy is expected to disrupt production processes, the world of work and society at large. But we still don’t have a clear idea of what this so-called digitalisation entails and its likely social impacts.

Les Echos (07.08.2018) L'employeur a l'obligation de préserver la santé et la sécurité de ses salariés. L'Assurance-maladie préconise l'évacuation au-delà de 34° C.

NZ Herald (07.08.2018) It is very common to hear population ageing discussed in terms of those aged 65+ years (currently just over 15 per cent of New Zealanders) and its projected rise to around 23 per cent within two decades.

Nouvel Obs (03.08.2018) Le passage à l'allocation sociale unique (ASU) ferait plus de "perdants" que de "gagnants", souligne une étude interne.

 World Finance (01.08.2018) Prima AFP is offering a compelling argument for the need to increase the limit for foreign investments in Peru’s intrinsically important private pension system

ScienceNordic (23.07.2018) Swedish doctors and lawyers take twice as much parental leave as their less well-educated peers. But the trend is the opposite for well-educated women.

Le Matin (01.08.2018) Le Souverain appelle le gouvernement à entreprendre une restructuration globale et profonde des programmes d’appui et de protection sociale

Economic and labour market transformations in Europe have led to an increase in non-standard work and new forms of self-employment as well as an upsurge in transitions from one labour market status to another — with great variations between countries, sectors, age groups and gender. In this context, European social protection systems are facing growing challenges in covering social risks for these workers.  

This Synthesis Report produced by the core team of the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) describes the social and labour market situation of the self-employed and non-standard workers in 35 European countries. It also analyses their statutory and effective access to the main social protection schemes, and identifies recent national reforms aimed at extending their social protection.   The report draws on the national Thematic Reports prepared by the 35 ESPN Country Teams.

These case studies support the impact assessment on the European Commission initiative "Access to social protection for workers and the self-employed".

They examine gaps in access to social protection for specific types of non-standard forms of employment in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain.

FREELANCERS DESEAN SEGURIDAD SOCIAL

Prestaciones laborales, anhelo de los trabajadores independientes Tanto asalariados como quienes trabajan por su cuenta coinciden en que deben hacer algo en lo que se refiere al ahorro para su retiro.

By SARA HOROWITZ APR 18, 2017 

For the 55 million Americans who make their living as freelance workers, tax day is more than just a headache. It's an annual fleecing. Freelancers now constitute a third of the American workforce, and over the past decade, 94% of new jobs added to the U.S. economy were created in the so-called gig economy. Yet freelancers must retrofit themselves into an archaic system designed for the industrial era, one that taxes independent workers disproportionately even as they benefit less from the social safety net.

A quaint 400 pages, the original tax code was adopted in 1913, when industrial-era workers might have had one or two jobs for life. It has since evolved into a 74,608-page behemoth that few self-employed individuals can navigate on their own.

Hiring an accountant to serve as one's guide through the Byzantine process is only the first step — and only the first expense. Freelancers must collect 1099s from each of their multiple clients, organize countless bills and small receipts into deductible expenses, and plan out a confusing payment schedule for making separate, estimated outlays toward federal, state and even local tax collectors.

IADB (24.03.2018) El futuro del trabajo es un tema cada vez más presente. El interés es creciente, a medida que constatamos cómo se intensifican algunas tendencias, como la automatización o la economía gig, de las que venimos hablando desde hace ya tres años en este mismo blog. Así que es de esperar que, este 2018, el futuro del trabajo sea un tema muy presente en las discusiones sobre mercados laborales y políticas públicas, también en América Latina y el Caribe.

Cada vez más profesionales de América Latina trabajan ‘online’ para compañías globalizadas, cobran muy bien en moneda dura aunque a costa de resignar condiciones laborales. Los argentinos son los mejor pagados, por encima de los mexicanos y brasileños, aunque éstos representan el 50% de la oferta regional al mayor mercado global de trabajo independiente del mundo: la tercerización en ‘freelancers’.