The OECD Forum Network (13.12.2021) How can workers in the gig economy be better protected against severe shocks and adverse working conditions?
ilo.org (29.11.2021) COVID-19 pandemic that caused massive unemployment has forced countries to review their employment policy and protection system. This paper summarized efforts taken by Republic of Korea in reforming their employment protection system during the pandemic.
ilo.org (07.12.2021) This regional report documents and analyses country experiences and lessons on the extension of social health protection coverage in the Asia and the Pacific region. It provides a detailed account of progress made, challenges encountered and remaining coverage gaps, and explores their root causes.
EURACTIV.com (09.12.2021) The EU will propose a set of criteria on Thursday (9 December) to determine whether a gig worker in Europe using platforms like Uber, Bolt or Deliveroo should be considered an employee. The proposal by the EU executive is an effort to sort out once and for all the employment status of millions of drivers and delivery people that the major platforms insist are self-employed. The debate has clogged up courts across Europe for almost a decade, with judges handing out more than a hundred decisions across the bloc’s 27 member states, with hundreds more still pending.
Jamaica Information Service (06.12.2021) For the first time, Jamaica’s household helpers and fisherfolk will be able to secure pension benefits under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) as the Government moves to formalise these sectors. This will be facilitated under the Transition to Formality Action Plan, which will see this segment of workers being able to access health and life insurance, pension and other facilities to provide them with security and protection in their work environment. The Action Plan, which was officially launched by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon.
International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) - (08.12.2021) This Policy Research Brief presents the reforms under way in the social protection systems of Tunisia and Morocco in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Although both countries have demonstrated political will and commitment to address coverage gaps, they still need to develop a proper legal framework and fiscal space to implement social protection floors in the coming years.
Willis Towers Watson (30.12.2021) Legislation establishing the creation of a universal health system (l'assurance maladie universelle – AMU) has been approved by the national assembly. This follows the approval of a new Labor Code in June 2021 (to be effective 12 months after being signed into law), which includes the general right to health insurance coverage for all workers. The government aims to complete the rollout of AMU by 2025, although a detailed plan has yet to be released.
ilo.org (25.11.2021) This report is produced for the G20 Development Working Group by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank. It demonstrates the key role that social protection has played in countries at all income levels in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
pd.co.ke (24.11.2021) It will be a major score for expectant and lactating mothers working in the informal sector if the government adopts a newlyproposed maternity scheme. The Maternal Income Protection Benefits (MIPB) joins Linda Mama that was initiated by the National Hospital Insurance Fund, which has seen more than one million expectant mothers register for the scheme since inception in 2017. According to NHIF, which has come up with the latest scheme, MIPB is aimed at cushioning mothers in the informal sector from anxieties associated with poverty.
euronews.com (05.05.2021) In this episode of Real Economy we ask what happens when job retention schemes come to an end in Europe? Job retention schemes have kept millions of people in work during the pandemic and lockdowns. As these emergency measures are gradually phased out, how does Europe ensure there are enough jobs and that people have the right skills for the jobs of the future?
worldbank.org (16.11.2021) While health indicators and macroeconomic data are essential for addressing the fundamentals of the COVID-19 crisis, countervailing policies need detailed information on the mechanisms through which the pandemic affects human capital, livelihoods, and welfare. This is especially important in Nigeria because the pandemic threatens to compound the country’s high levels of poverty: even before COVID-19, around 4 in 10 Nigerians lived below the national poverty line, and multidimensional poverty was even more widespread.
The third global survey on eHealth conducted by the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe) has a special focus – the use of eHealth in support of universal health coverage. eHealth plays a vital role in promoting universal health coverage in a variety of ways. For instance, it helps provide services to remote populations and underserved communities through telehealth or mHealth. It facilitates the training of the health workforce through the use of eLearning, and makes education more widely accessible especially for those who are isolated.
The aim of the third global survey on eHealth was to explore developments in eHealth since the last survey in 2010 and the role it plays in achieving universal health coverage (UHC). It has become increasingly clear that UHC cannot be achieved without the support of eHealth. The impetus for the global surveys on eHealth came from the increasing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in support of health services in both developed and developing countries since the early 2000s.
This publication presents a study on the availability and provision of long-term care (LTC) in Indonesia. It discusses findings from the analysis and offers recommendations for the development of LTC systems in the country.
etui (2021) The Covid‑19 pandemic severely affected some categories of non-standard workers, and particularly the self‑employed.
euractiv (19.11.2021) The European Commission, which is due to present its proposal on platform workers on 8 December, faces a tricky balancing act: ensuring decent working conditions while maintaining the flexibility of a booming sector.
unescap.org (07.10.2021) This is the sixth in a series of policy primers developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy primer explains how social protection systems can be designed to recognize and compensate for interruptions in paid work, low earnings and informality that disproportionately impact women.
plos.org (04.11.2021) Latin American governments swiftly implemented income assistance programs to sustain families’ livelihoods during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. This paper analyzes the potential coverage and generosity of these measures and assesses the suitability of current safety nets to deal with unexpected negative income shocks in 10 Latin American countries.
oecd.org (09.11.2021) OECD Health at a Glance 2021 says that the mental health impact of the pandemic has been huge, with prevalence of anxiety and depression more than double levels observed pre-crisis in most countries with available data, most notably in Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Willis Towers Watson (05.11.2021) A Senate-approved bill in the Netherlands provides both maternal and paternal paid leave for up to nine weeks after a child is born.
pravda.com.ua (01.11.2021) Ukraine is in the top 15 countries globally for the fastest ageing population and the State Budget has allocated about UAH 170 billion to cover pensions in the security and defence sectors, fund social contributions for some categories of people, allowances, increases to pensions and to bridge the deficit of the Pension Fund. The Ukrainian pension system stands at a crossroads and the recent COVID-19 crisis has only amplified the urgent need for reform.
worldbank.org (17.06.2021) A region known for its volatility, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has suffered severe economic and social setbacks from crises—including the COVID-19 pandemic. These crises have taken their toll on careers, wage growth, and productivity. Employment in Crisis: The Path to Better Jobs in a Post-COVID-19 Latin America provides new evidence on the effects of crises on the region’s workers and firms and suggests several policy responses that can bolster long-term and inclusive economic growth. This report has three key findings.
unicef (june 2021) The importance of mainstreaming gender into social protection policies and programmes is increasingly recognized. However, evidence on the extent to which this is actually happening remains limited. This report contributes to filling this evidence gap by drawing on the findings of two complementary research projects undertaken by UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti and UN Women in 2019.
CTV News (17.10.2021)On Oct. 23 – the last day of Small Business Week – the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) are set to expire. Both programs have been extended several times since being implemented in 2020.
As for individual benefits, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) and the Canada Recovery Caregiver Benefit (CRCB) are also set to terminate on Saturday. These programs, too, can be extended into November by the government.
Philippine News Agency (17.10.2021) The implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) has resulted in milestones for the country's social protection and digital transformation, according to a World Bank official.
He said success in utilizing PhilSys for social protection has a "significant demonstration effect" in accelerating digital transformation among government agencies and even the private sector.
