blogs.lse.ac.uk (may 2017) The European Commission published its proposals for the creation of a European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) at the end of April. Eleanor Brooks writes that it will be crucial to ‘mainstream’ the EPSR by integrating it into the EU’s existing policies, while civil society organisations will need to be afforded a strong role in the Pillar’s implementation if it is to meet its aims.

Radio Algérie (03.07.2017) Le Rapport de la Commission africaine de la deuxième session du Comité technique spécialisé sur le développement social, le travail et l'emploi (CTS), organisée récemment à Alger sera soumis à l’examen et l’adoption par la 29eme Conférence des Chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement, dont les travaux débuteront lundi à Addis-Abeba.

derStandard (07.07.2017) Die Reform der Invaliditätspension hat weder die erhofften Einsparungen gebracht noch Menschen in ausreichendem Maß wieder zurück ins Arbeitsleben geführt. Das hat eine Rechnungshof-Prüfung ergeben. Dieser zu Folge wird das Budget in den Jahren 2014 bis 2018 nicht wie angekündigt um knapp 649 Millionen entlastet sondern es werden Mehrkosten zwischen 100 und 200 Millionen entstehen.

Gabonreview (13.07.2017) La prise en charge des personnes du troisième âge et son mode de financement sont au cœur du forum national sur la retraite, dont les travaux ont été lancés le 13 juillet à Libreville.

La Nacion (11.07.2017) Un estudio preparado para la Anses afirma que la Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH) no tiene impacto negativo sobre el mercado laboral.

Zilient - Reuteur (21.07.2017) Thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan's Azraq camp don't pay for their food with cash but by a scan of their eyes. Purchases are then recorded on a computing platform based on blockchain - the technology behind bitcoin. The U.N. agency launched the futuristic system in May as a one-month pilot involving 10,000 of Azraq's more than 50,000 inhabitants in a bid to explore blockchain's potential to cut costs and bottlenecks.

Eurofound (13.07.2017) This report examines developments in non-standard employment over the last decade. It looks at trends in the main categories of non-standard employment – temporary, temporary agency and part-time work and self-employment – based mainly on data from the European Union Labour Force Survey. The report includes a specific focus on work mediated by digital platforms, which is the most innovative of the new forms of employment that have emerged in the past decade.

INCLUDE Platform (22.05.2017) Summary of the synthesis report ‘Boosting youth employment in Africa: what works and why?’

Depending on who you ask, the gig economy, in which workers set their own schedules at companies such as Uber, either liberates employees from the grind of wage-slavery — or recreates the exploitation of earlier centuries by putting workers at the mercy of capricious and exploitative companies.

ILOblog (30.06.2017) During an economic crisis, Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) are one way that governments can use to protect vulnerable people from falling into poverty. Between 2001 and 2002, Argentina suffered one of the worst economic crises in its history. Unemployment rose, the share of people living below the poverty line increased and political instability and social unrest ensued.