Europe
COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor
The Health System Response Monitor (HSRM) has been designed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak to collect and organize up-to-date information on how countries are responding to the crisis. It focuses primarily on the responses of health systems but also captures wider public health initiatives. This is a joint undertaking of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, the European Commission, and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
Europe: Guidelines to protecting seasonal workers in the context of Coronavirus
ec.europa.eu (16.07.2020) The European Commission presents Guidelines to ensure the protection of seasonal workers in the EU in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. It provides guidance to national authorities, labour inspectorates, and social partners to guarantee the rights, health and safety of seasonal workers, and to ensure that seasonal workers are aware of their rights. Cross-border seasonal workers enjoy a broad set of rights, but given the temporary nature of their work, they can be more vulnerable to precarious working and living conditions.
Temporary Basic Income (TBI)
UNDP (23.07.2020) This paper provides estimates for a Temporary Basic Income (TBI), a minimum guaranteed income above the poverty line, for vulnerable people in 132 developing countries. A TBI amounts to between 0.27 and 0.63 per cent of their combined GDPs, depending on the policy choice: i. top-ups on existing average incomes in each country up to a vulnerability threshold; ii. lump-sum transfers that are sensitive to cross-country differences in the median standard of living; or, iii. lump-sum transfers that are uniform regardless of the country where people live.
COVID-19 and social protection in Europe and Central Asia
WHO/Europe, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (16.07.2020) Government across the European Region and Central Asia have introduced a variety of policy responses to mitigate the consequences of the containment measures on well-being and the economy, employment and incomes, and on families and children who are not able to access social and health services.
WHO | Strengthening the Health Systems Response to COVID-19 - Technical guidance #6, 21 May 2020
This technical guidance identifies 10 policy objectives for decision-makers, policy-makers and national or regional health authorities as they strive to prevent and manage the COVID-19 pandemic in long-term care settings.
Europass: take the next step! New platform launches today
Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion - European Commission(01.07.2020)
The new Europass offers a range of online ‘e-Portfolio’ tools and information for people of all ages, at all stages of their lives, to manage their learning and career such as:
EU regulation hampers cross-border workers’ home office ambitions
The coronavirus pandemic has instigated a work-from-home culture with many employees wanting to extend the experience.
However, the conditions imposed by the EU risk acting as a brake for cross-border workers in regions like Geneva, which borders with France, Swiss public radio (RTS) reports.
Cuba: Teams of doctors and nurses are sent to the hardest hit regions in Europe
theguardian.com (06.05.2020) Now, as the world grapples with another era-shaping catastrophe, Cuban doctors and nurses are on the ground once again, only this time in a less common location: Europe.
Today, an estimated 28,000 Cuban medical professionals ply their trade overseas, primarily in the developing world.
“Yes, of course there are big human rights problems in Cuba – there have been since the start [of the revolution] and there are still problems.
Société | Les "damnés de la terre" : fraudes sociales, ouvriers "en esclavage"... le procès qui fait trembler Terra Fecundis | La Provence
L'un des cas les plus emblémamtiques de la fraude au détachement européen dans le secteur agricole. Pour la seule période de 2012 à 2015, celle retenue par la procédure pénale, c'est un peu plus de 112 millions d'euros de cotisations qui auraient échappé à la Sécurité sociale, selon l'accusation, grâce à un système parfaitement huilé consistant à "jouer sur des conflits d'interprétation entre notre législation nationale et le droit communautaire", a analysé Béatrice Mesini, chercheuse au CNRS. "Cette affaire hors norme est celle qui présente l