An overview of the key features of the ambitious reforms which fundamentally reshape the social protection landscape in Oman.

wtwco.com (30.06.2023) Facing an aging population, low birth rate and increased life expectancies, Uruguay’s government acts to shore up its social security retirement system through sweeping reforms.

Benefits Canada.com (06.07.2023) Amid the growing gig economy, as well as workers’ calls for increased flexibility and a volatile labour market, there’s increasing demand for portable benefits.

oecd (Jul 2023) This study sets out a conceptual framework to analyse the impact of climate change and greenhouse gases mitigation efforts on the labour market, migration flows and people’s health, as well as the most important policy levers that can cushion potential negative impacts and maximise opportunities from the climate transition.

OECD (Jul 2023) This study provides an in-depth examination of the fiscal and governance decentralisation of long-term care (LTC) across OECD countries, offering projections of future fiscal burdens of LTC spending across levels of government. With rapid population ageing and a decrease in the supply of informal care, LTC spending has increased significantly. The paper introduces a novel methodology to estimate LTC expenditures across different government levels, including central and subnational governments.

ilo.org (29.06.2023) The International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation , has launched a new series of policy briefs examining trends and issues in youth employment, including the impact of COVID-19 in seven sub-Saharan African countries.

The digital platform observatory is a joint initiative of ETUC, IRES and ASTREES, funded by the European Commission. It brings together trade unionists, experts, activists, specialists of workers representation and collective action in the  platform economy.

oecd.org (June 2023) This report presents an in-depth cross-country analysis of how long-term care workers fare along the different dimensions of job quality. In the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the applause for care workers was a clear expression of the strong recognition of their hard work and exposure to risks in their job. However, as the applause faded after the peak of the crisis, questions have re-emerged about how to improve the working conditions of long-term care workers in a sustainable way.

This book documents the results and impact of the Social Protection Support Initiative at the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. The initiative has been instrumental in advancing the development of evidence-based social protection policies in the region. It was devised with the intention of strengthening the amount of available evidence in the East Asia and Pacific region and has resulted in more than 70 research papers in 23 countries in six regions by the end of the initiative.

pensionpolicyinternational.com (19.06.2023) A growing number of pension savers would like to see the oil sector completely excluded from their pension fund’s investments. Some 21 per cent of pension savers say they want oil to be axed from their pension, according to a survey from online pension provider PensionBee. This has jumped from 15 per cent of pension savers last year. Alongside oil, the main investments people want excluded from their pensions are companies contributing to deforestation, habitat destruction and predatory lending.

UNICEF India (May 2023) This document aims to present a selection of case studies from India and other countries showing how Shock-Responsive Social Protection approaches have been used in response to disasters and shocks, including climate change induced risks and the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Shock-Responsive Social Protection can contribute to strengthening disaster risk management along the four key priorities of the Sendai Framework

Gigpedia provides an overview of available information about the global platform economy. You will find information about existing legislation, court cases and ratings of labour standards for specific platforms. The data at Gigpedia was collected by leading research organisations in the field, including WageIndicator, Fairwork and Leeds Index of Platform Labour Protest. This includes Platform Labour Ratings, Platform Case Studies, Repository of Court Cases and Platform Economy News.

New regulations in Singapore will mean some of Asia’s largest fintechs will have to comply with stricter new rules on supporting their gig economy staff. But across the industry worldwide, these employees are missing out on vital access to financial services. Under the new rules, to be implemented from 2024, staff working for the likes of ride-hailing firms Grab and its competitor Gojek will be required to provide pension support and compensation for accidents that happen while working. There are currently more than 73,000 gig economy workers in Singapore.

Among the wide range of possible roles of social insurance, this report aims to explore the potential of social insurance schemes in addressing climate risk and minimizing the impacts of related shocks in Indonesia.

worldbank.org (June 2023) Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, limited work opportunities and low-productivity informal work have played a significant role in increasing poverty and vulnerability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

ids.ac.uk (01.06.2023) The Covid-19 pandemic has re-emphasised the need to ensure equitable access to safe, effective and affordable health services. The very rapid shift to the use of smartphone apps and telephone consultations (telemedicine) has highlighted the potential impact of digital innovations on the capacity of health services to meet this need. It is time to take digital health seriously. In 2021, The Lancet and the Financial Times published a report by a commission of experts entitled Governing health futures 2030: growing up in a digital world.

The Korea Times (14.06.2023) Income inequality in Korea is likely to accelerate due to a rapidly aging population, according to a report released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday. The report revealed that income inequality among households has worsened by 30 percent over the past 25 years, largely as a result of the aging population. "The aging population is expected to have a significant negative impact on the Korean economy, not only by lowering labor productivity and increasing the burden of care, but also by widening economical inequality," the report noted.

consilium.europa.eu (12.06.2023) The Council is ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament on a new law that will help millions of gig workers gain access to employment rights. Today, ministers for employment and social affairs agreed on the Council’s general approach for a proposed directive to improve working conditions for platform workers. The proposal introduces two key improvements: it helps determine the correct employment status of people working for digital platforms and establishes the first EU rules on the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.

News Ghana (10.05.2023) The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has launched the Self-Employed Enrolment Drive (SEED), a product geared towards expanding coverage of the basic national social security scheme to self-employed Ghanaians. Dr John Ofori-Koranteng, Director-General of SSNIT, speaking at the launch of the product in Kumasi, said the aim was to redefine social security in Ghana and give hope to the self-employed to be able to retire in dignity and comfort.

 OECD iLibrary (May 2023) OECD countries continue to face persistent gender inequalities in social and economic life. Young women often reach higher levels of education than young men, but remain under-represented in fields with the most lucrative careers. Women spend more time on unpaid work, face a strong motherhood penalty, encounter barriers to entrepreneurship and fare worse in labour markets overall. They are also under-represented in politics and leadership positions in public employment.

oecd.org (2023) This second edition of Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared jointly by OECD and the World Bank, presents a set of key indicators of health status, determinants of health, healthcare resources and utilisation, healthcare expenditure and financing, quality of care, health workforce, and ageing across 33 Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

IOM (Janv 2023) This report interrogates country-of-origin measures to extend social protection and broader-based support services to African migrant workers abroad.

worldbank.org (2023) As the world struggles to cope with global economic imbalances, diverging demographic trends, and climate change, migration will become a necessity in the decades to come for countries at all levels of income. If managed well, migration can be a force for prosperity and can help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. World Development Report 2023 proposes an integrated framework to maximize the development impacts of cross-border movements on both destination and origin countries and on migrants and refugees themselves.