Reuters (16.02.2024) Europe's attempt to give workers at Uber, Deliveroo and other online platforms more social and labour rights failed a second time after France and three other countries abstained from voting on the watered-down political deal. Belgium, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, is unlikely to muster enough support for yet another attempt, especially as the European Parliament which has to endorse a final deal, gradually winds down ahead of elections in June.

huffingtonpost.fr (17.02.2024) La fin d’un travail de plus de deux ans ? Plusieurs pays ont bloqué ce vendredi 16 février l’adoption d’une législation européenne censée renforcer les droits des travailleurs des plateformes numériques comme Uber ou Deliveroo, mais largement vidée de sa substance. Parmi eux : la France ou l’Allemagne.

European Parliament (17.01.2024) Although a provisional political agreement between the Council and Parliament was announced on 13 December 2023, 10 Member States could not endorse this agreement on 22 December 2023. The Belgian Presidency is seeking to revive informal discussions with the European Parliament so as to set a date for new negotiations. Platform work is an umbrella concept covering a heterogeneous group of economic activities completed through a digital platform.

theconversation.com (21.01.2024) Young people – under the age of 15 – currently make up 29% of South Africa’s population. But this will soon change: the aged portion of the population is forecast to rise from 2030, bringing many challenges. Lauren Johnston, an economics and political economy expert, recently published a paper on the subject. We asked her to put the developments into perspective.

lefigaro.fr (06.02.2024) Après l'Assemblée nationale en novembre, la proposition de loi portant sur une panoplie de mesures pour «bâtir la société du bien-vieillir en France» est bien partie pour être adoptée très largement par les sénateurs

worldbank.org (29.01.2024) In early 2020, Cameroon had a well-established safety net. The Social Safety Net Project had reached almost 10% of the poor (140,000 households) with either cash transfers or, mainly for youth, temporary employment through public works. More broadly, the project had put in place robust systems to identify beneficiaries, monitor implementation, and handle complaints. While it had recently expanded support to refugees, it remained focused on addressing chronic poverty rather than responding to crises. The COVID-19 pandemic provided the impetus for change.

India Today (29.01.2024) The proposed fund, outlined in the Social Security Code of 2020, represents a significant move towards providing universal social security for a wide range of workers.

World Economic Forum (17.01.2024) A new analysis from the World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute shows how improving women's health can significantly boost GDP. Enhancing women’s health benefits individual women and helps families, communities, organizations and the global economy. In recognition of the importance of addressing the gender health gap, the World Economic Forum is launching the Global Alliance for Women's Health.

Euractiv (12.01.2024) Last month, a coalition of EU countries blocked the provisional agreement on the Platform Workers Directive. But while the Belgian EU Council presidency wants to use the political deal as the starting point for future discussion, Paris wants a more comprehensive file reshaping.

Reuters (08.01.2024) The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will release a final rule as soon as this week that will make it more difficult for companies to treat workers as independent contractors rather than employees that typically cost a company more, an administration official said. The U.S. Department of Labor rule, which was first proposed in 2022 and is likely to face legal challenges, will require that workers be considered employees entitled to more benefits and legal protections than contractors when they are "economically dependent" on a company.