South China Morning Post (03.01.2024) Questions for people aged 60 and above were added to a survey on population changes and the labour force, including their ability to use a smartphone. A demographer urged China, one of the world’s fastest ageing countries, to ‘build a digitally inclusive society’, while firms were asked to produce age-friendly products

thenationalnews.com (14.12.2023) Millions of people globally will have no choice but to work into their seventies to ease increasing pressure on pension systems as life expectancy rates continue to rise, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has said. OECD countries are moving to increase statutory retirement ages, curb early retirement and offer employees incentives to work longer to boost the sustainability of their pension systems, the Paris-based organisation said in its Pensions at a Glance 2023 report.

ILO News (15.12.2023) The Parliament of Lebanon has passed a law that establishes a comprehensive pension system for private sector workers and fundamentally reshapes the governance of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Previous attempts spanning three decades to replace Lebanon’s end-of-service indemnity system with a modern pension scheme had been met with failure. Until this recent milestone, Lebanon stood as one of only two countries in the Arab region without a scheme that protects insured workers with long-term periodical benefits for retirement, death and disability.

 EURACTIV.com (13.12.2023) The Platform Workers Directive is a bill to regulate the gig economy and ensure that workers of digital platforms like Deliveroo and Uber have the correct contractual status based on their treatment and working conditions. According to the European Commission, almost one in five platform workers ought to be reclassified from self-employed to full-time employees. The Directive intends to establish a harmonised mechanism to assess and operate contractual changes across the bloc.

consilium.europa.eu (13.12.2023)The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on a proposed directive to improve working conditions for platform workers. In the event that the deal struck today is confirmed by both institutions before going through the formal adoption procedure, it will help millions of them gain access to employment rights.

businessinsider.com (10.12.2023) Americans are flocking to the gig economy for extra cash — but it's not working out for all of them. While it's unclear how many people work as delivery drivers, babysitters, resellers, freelance writers, or one of many other gig jobs, experts told Business Insider that the number is growing — and that there's no sign of it slowing down. While these workers are likely happy to have extra income in their bank accounts, the gig economy might not be the solution to people's finances that some think it is.

voxdev.org (30.10.2023) Improving the payment infrastructure for India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme raised incomes — mostly through increases in non-programme earnings India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is among the largest and most influential social programmes in the world, guaranteeing 100 days of paid work to 8% of the world’s population. The programme was designed as a vital lifeline to India’s poor, tasked with smoothing income in agricultural off seasons and providing “employment of last resort” in the face of unforeseen economic hardship.

helpage.org (23.11.2023) The world is turning a blind eye to the need to address the profound link between the rapidly ageing population and climate change – leaving older people invisible in debates about how to address the crisis. With HelpAge’s new report on climate change, we look at what is happening around the world and share recommendations for a more inclusive response to climate change.

The Guardian (23.11.2023) On Tuesday, the supreme court ruled unanimously that Deliveroo riders are self-employed and do not have a right to collective bargaining. After seven years of legal battles, a case brought by the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) that began in Camden and Kentish Town, north London, finally reached the end of the road. For Deliveroo, the result is a substantial victory. The decision means the company is protected from the need to collectively bargain with a union over fundamental issues such as the lack of a guaranteed minimum wage.

ssa.gov (Social Security Bulletin, Vol. 83 No. 4, 2023) Since 2012, the Social Security Administration has offered online my Social Security accounts to provide a key informational resource to the public. Yet the number of my Social Security accountholders remains lower than the agency had hoped for. We conducted a mixed-methods study involving quantitative analysis of survey data and qualitative analysis of personal interviews to examine potential barriers to my Social Security access and to evaluate account users' experiences.