BBC News (09.03.2021) The £20 weekly increase in Universal Credit must be extended for at least a year to avoid impoverishing hundreds of thousands of people, MPs have warned. The measure, which has been called a lifeline for struggling families, is in place until the end of March.
EURACTIV.com (12.02.2021) Spain’s labour ministry, trade unions, and employer’s associations have agreed this week in principle to a law improving the rights of food delivery workers employed by global digital platforms like Deliveroo, granting them the status of “permanent staff” instead of self-employed.
EURACTIV.com (04.03.2020) An EU reinsurance scheme to support national unemployment benefits was not part of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan presented on Thursday (4 March), although the European Commission has been supportive of the idea.
Global Development Institute Blog (18.02.2021) Social protection has played a leading role in government responses to Covid-19. Public programmes providing income and in-kind transfers to vulnerable population groups have been strengthened and enhanced to address the effects of the pandemic. In low and middle income countries, the expansion of social assistance provided governments with a ready-made platform to reach and support low income groups.
UN/DESA Policy Brief #92: (Feb 2021) COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of digital transformation: implications for social inclusion
Reuters.com (22.12.2020)
Kenya’s parliament on Tuesday voted to end tax cuts put in place in April to cushion the economy from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a move lawmakers said would help to plug revenue shortfalls but investors said would hamper a recovery. The tax cuts were introduced weeks after Kenya reported its first case of the coronavirus and aimed to shield East Africa’s richest economy.
apnews.com (01.03.2021) With the floodgates set to open on another round of unemployment aid, states are being hammered with a new wave of fraud as they scramble to update security systems and block scammers who already have siphoned billions of dollars from pandemic-related jobless programs.
aseanbriefing.com (18.02.2021) The House of Representatives in the Philippines have passed House Bill No. 8461 (HB 8461) which seeks to authorize the President to suspend the premium contribution hike to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), in addition to House Bill No. 8512 (HB 8512), which provides the President the power to defer the scheduled hike in contributions to the Social Security System (SSS). Both PhilHealth and the SSS were mandated by existing laws to increase their premium rates in 2021.
ilo.org (23.02.2021)
Up to 17,000 garment workers in Lao PDR affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are to each receive two months’ emergency income support worth 900,000 LAK (approximately US$100). Eligible beneficiaries, of whom 85 per cent are women, will receive the cash transfers by the end of March.
