ILO 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated the social protection gap between countries with high and low income levels.
Modern Diplomacy (31.08.01 ) As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to ripple across the world, they leave in their wake an upheaval touching all areas of public life. While all have been effected, no segment of the population has been impacted more, and in more varied ways, than women. The pandemic has shown scant regard for women’s socio-economic or marital status, for motherhood, occupation ethnicity or region of origin.
ideas.repec.org (2021) This paper examines North–South linkages in the politics of contemporary food assistance and social welfare, and in particular the normalisation of poverty and humanitarian crisis caused by increased digitalisation, privatisation and individualisation of aid or welfare. Migrants and displaced populations are considered as extreme cases and we examine how these policies and practices are leading to the growth of a global precariat who are constantly on the edge of survival (or death).
Forbes India (20.08.2021) Structural weaknesses in the jobs market, amplified by Covid-19, continue to quietly impact many, particularly women and younger workers. Creating sustainable, quality employment opportunities need urgent policy attention and reforms
BORGEN (14.08.2021) In an attempt to protect from economic disaster in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments enacted an unprecedented number of social protection programs. According to the World Bank, Social protection “traditionally consists of labor markets, pensions, social funds and ‘safety nets’.” Although developing countries introduced 1,300+ social protection and jobs programs related to COVID-19, the International Labor Organization (ILO) “estimates 255 million full-time equivalent” job losses in 2020.
notesfrompoland.com (17.08.2021) The Polish government has unveiled plans for a new child benefit scheme. It hopes that the policy will provide an “incentive to have more children”, who will “create the future of our nation”. Under the “Family Welfare Capital” scheme approved by the cabinet today, the state will from the start of next year pay families 12,000 zloty (€2,630) for each child after their firstborn between the age of 12 and 36 months. The benefit will be available to all families, regardless of income.
thefinancialexpress.com.bd (10.08.2021) The Government of Bangladesh has allocated 17.83 per cent of the total budget for fiscal 2021-22 for Social Safety Net Programmes (SSNPs). The coverage is diverse; it includes programmes related to poverty eradication, education, health, infrastructure, disaster management, housing for the poor, amongst many. However, if we take out pensions and honorarium for the non-poor, educational stipends, agricultural subsidies and so on, the actual social safety net allocation comes down to 50 per cent.
policyoptions.irpp.org (10.08.2021) COVID revealed the shortcomings of Employment Insurance and income-support programs. As the economy rebuilds, now’s the time to examine the system.
Pension Policy International (19.07.2021) Spain will pay workers to postpone retirement as part of a pensions reform strategy that analysts warn does not go far enough to cut a huge deficit in the system.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights - JAKARTA – As COVID-19 cases surge in Thailand and Malaysia, as well as elsewhere in the region, Southeast Asian lawmakers urge these governments to take more inclusive measures to protect everyone without discrimination, regardless of their migration status, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today. “While we are all affected by the pandemic, governments are excluding migrant workers from their social and public health policies in their response, leaving them behind and struggling to survive.
