Beyond a Production- and Productivity-Centred View on Technological Progress
Technology is an important means of implementation for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, SDG Targets 17.6,1 17.72 and 17.83 highlight the importance of transferring and diffusing technology and skills from developed to developing countries. The research, development, deployment and widespread distribution of technology—and environmentally sustainable technologies in […]
Beyond Addis: Financing social protection in the 2030 Agenda
In 2015, both the Third International Conference on Financing for Development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit resulted in a renewed global commitment to development and poverty eradication. Following the Summit, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This new global development […]
Sustainable Development Goals and the Case for a Developmental Welfare State
Debates around a new development agenda that is to build on, but broaden, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are shifting into higher gear. The Open Working Group (OWG)—a group of more than 30 countries convened by the Rio Conference on Sustainable Development—recently presented its outcome document on sustainable development goals (SDGs) (OWG 2014). The Sustainable […]
Judicial Protection of the Right to Social Security
The right to social security is enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as well as other international treaties, and has been upheld by numerous judicial bodies at the national, regional and international levels, both explicitly or implicitly through other rights including civil and political ones, and/or other constitutional and […]
A Rights-Based Approach to Social Protection: The Case of Tunisia
Tunisia today is at an important stage in its thinking about a new development model that combines optimal allocation of resources and social equity, welfare being an essential factor in the success of the democratic transition and at the core of the 2011 popular uprising. However, structural reform cannot be achieved in the absence of […]
Workers in the arts and entertainment sector
Workers in the arts and entertainment sector (AES)[1] often lack effective access to social protection. The insufficient extent of coverage in many countries stems from the deficiency of social protection schemes to address and accommodate the specificities of AES work. These include diverse forms of employment, including self-employment, temporary or open-ended, part-time or full-time employment relationships […]
Domestic workers
Domestic work is an important source of employment, representing 4.5 per cent of employees worldwide. Yet domestic workers are amongst one of the most vulnerable and unprotected categories of workers. They consistently lack decent working conditions including social protection and are disproportionately exposed to violence and harassment. The vulnerabilities experienced within the sector are also compounded […]
New technologies and the gig economy
New technologies are changing how we organize our societies and our lives. Often called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and broadly understood as the emergence and adoption of new and often disruptive technologies that combine elements of the digital, material and biological, this shift both poses challenges and creates opportunities for social protection. Examples of these […]
Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups
As a human right that is intrinsic to all, the international community recognizes the need to design and implement social protection systems according to the principle of social inclusion, underlying the particular need to include persons in the informal economy (Recommendation No. 202, para 3e). Delivery systems should therefore be particularly attuned to the challenges […]
Poverty, inequality and standards of living
The lack of social protection coverage, being associated with economic insecurity, poverty, high levels of inequality and low investments in human capital, is seen as a major obstacle to economic and social development. Social protection plays a critical role in reducing poverty and inequality, improving the standards of living and promoting social cohesion. Due to […]
Informality and transitions to formality
The number of workers engaged in informal employment has increased in many parts of the world. In many developing countries, workers in the informal economy represent the majority of the labour force. Workers in the informal economy are not covered by labour regulations and lack of access to social security coverage, which make them more […]
Fragile states and post-crisis contexts
Social protection plays a fundamental role in fragile states where the prevalence of civil wars, humanitarian crisis or violence, make people extremely vulnerable and more exposed to economic risks. During the time of turmoil, social protection ensure in these contexts livelihoods and some sort of income security and access to health care. However, wars and […]
Environmental sustainability, climate change and the green economy
The link between climate change, economical scarcity and poverty is straightforward. The world’s poor are especially prone to natural disasters given the fact that in many cases their livelihoods are directly dependent on natural resources. Moving towards a green economy is expected to improve the living conditions of the poor in the long run. By […]
Adequacy of Benefits
From a rights-based perspective, the level of benefits provided must be adequate. According to the CESCR’s General Comment 19 (para 22), “Benefits, whether in cash or in kind, must be adequate in amount and duration in order that everyone may realize his or her rights to family protection and assistance, an adequate standard of living […]
Argentina, Ley 27203, Acitividad Actoral
The Argentinian law No. 27203 defines the scope of actions of an actor-performer and equates them. Further, it introduces a special method to estimate the number of years of service and contributions to the social security scheme (Article 13). Link to Ley 27203
Germany, Künstlersozialversicherungsgesetz
The mainly mandatory scheme for artists was set up in 1983 and accommodates a broad list of occupations. Under the Artists’ Social Security Act, persons who benefit from art and creation are obliged to contribute as employers. These contributions are subsidized by the Government. The rest is paid by the CCS workers themselves.
India, The Code on Social Security (2020)
The amendment of September 2020 reforms and consolidates India’s social security laws with the goals to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organised or unorganised or any other sectors and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
India, Atal Pension Yojana
The Atal Pension Yojana, which was set up in 2015, targets informal and self-employed workers who do not contribute to any other pension programmes and do not pay income tax. The key feature for this target is the flexibility of the scheme. Contributions can be made monthly, quarterly or even every six months, making it […]
Republic of Korea, Artist Welfare Act
Korea adopted the Artist Welfare Act in 2011 with the purpose to legally protect the professional status and rights of artists; to promote the creative activities of artists; and to contribute to artistic development by providing artists with welfare support services (Article 1). Link to the Artist Welfare Act (english)
Uruguay, Ley 18.384, Artistas y Oficios Conexos
With Law 18.384 Uruguay adapted the labour and social insurance conditions to artistic jobs. The law defines the scope of actions of performance and extents coverage for all activities which are carried out in dependence, e.g. the law recognises rehearsal time as service if a contract has been signed (Article 2). Link to Ley 18.384
South Africa, Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act 32 of 2003
The Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act granted domestic workers a number of social protection benefits by including domestic workers in the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Fund provides (a) full or partial unemployment benefits in case of dismissal, retrenchment, illness, or death of the employer; and (b) maternity benefits for pregnant domestic workers before or after their […]
Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189)
The Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and its accompanying Domestic Workers Recommendation, 2011 (No. 201) address closing the gaps in social protection coverage. It calls on Members to ‘… take appropriate measures, in accordance with national laws and regulations and with due regard for the specific characteristics of domestic work, to ensure that domestic […]
Domestic Workers Recommendation, 2011 (No. 201)
The Domestic Workers Recommendation, 2011 (No. 201) accompanies the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) and urges ILO member States to take measures to facilitate the payment of social security contributions. It also highlights the potential of bilateral and multilateral agreements to guarantee equal treatment of migrant domestic workers in terms of social security, with […]
Access to courts and the right to work for informal traders in South Africa
Upon an urgent request, the Constitutional Court of South Africa intervened in a lower court affair to prevent the municipal government and Metropolitan Police Force from hindering what was asserted to be lawful activity by informal traders under the auspices of “Operation Clean Sweep”. Until the legality of the program that prevented trading in public […]
Protecting pensions against austerity measures in Latvia
Summary: Latvian pensioners formed a petition and challenged the constitutionality of Latvia’s Law on State Pension and State Allowance Disbursement – commonly known as the ‘Disbursement Law’ – in the period from 2009 to 2012. The overall economy in Latvia was rapidly declining in 2009, and the Latvian Parliament, with advice from the International Monetary […]
Extend social protection to workers in the cultural and creative sector
Lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of theatres and cinemas, and the suspension or cancellation of movie, television and music productions. Many workers in the industry lost their jobs and had no social protection to help them. A new ILO study shows that extending social protection to the creative and […]
Extending social protection to the cultural and creative sector
This policy brief outlines the challenges in extending social protection to the cultural and creative sector (CCS), which were exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. These include, inter alia, legal and de facto exclusion due to the specificities of CCS work such as fluctuating employment status, irregular incomes, intermittent nature of work or geographic mobility. The […]
Social Protection in the Cultural and Creative Sector: Country Practices and Innovations
The ILO Working Paper examines social protection schemes covering workers in the cultural and creative sector (CCS). After an overview of economic and employment trends in the CCS, the working paper reviews policy and legal frameworks in selected countries that have pursued specific solutions to extend social security to workers in the CCS, in order […]
Cultural and creative industries in the face of COVID-19: An economic impact outlook
The UNESCO report identifies which cultural and creative industries have been disrupted the most by the pandemic and attempts to measure the economic impact of COVID-19 on the cultural and creative sector. Looking ahead, the report explores some of the newer ways in which digital technologies are being used by audiences and cultural professionals.
Culture shock: COVID-19 and the cultural and creative sectors
The OECD Policy Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lays out how the cultural and creative sector is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies factors that make the effects long-lasting. It describes the fragility of the cultural and creative sector and the inadequacy of social protection schemes to offset and to lessen the effects. It […]
Work for a brighter future – Global Commission on the Future of Work
The Global Commission on the Future of Work acknowledges States’ opportunities to shape the transition of the world of work to the better, including the extension of social protection. With regard to working conditions like fluctuating employment status or geographic mobility, which also characterize AES work, it declares the ‘need to evolve to deliver continued […]
Extending social security to domestic workers: Lessons from international experience
This policy brief outlines the challenges in extending social protection to domestic workers, which were aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis. These include inter alia legal exclusion in relation to working conditions and arrangements (part time work, multiple employers, informality, etc). Even where domestic workers might be covered in law, administrative barriers or the lack of […]
Expanding Social Security Coverage to Migrant Domestic Workers
The briefing note explains the ILO strategy to expand social security coverage to migrant domestic workers, including the ILO standards relevant to migrant domestic workers. Despite the long list of ILO social security instruments adopted, the note goes on by describing the main challenges of standards setting for migrant domestic workers, not only in multilateral […]
Human Rights Council Side Event on 19 June
On 19 June, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the International Movement ATD Fourth World, with support of the Permanent Missions of Belgium, Chile, France and Romania will hold a side event at the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston will appear on […]
Brussels Conference on Social Protection after 2015
Isabel Ortiz, Director Social Protection of the ILO and UNRISD Senior Research Fellow Magdalena Sepúlveda participated in Post-2015: Social Protection for All, a conference hosted by the Belgium’s Federal Public Service in Brussels on 27 April. The meeting identified ways to ensure that a rights-based approach to social protection is an integral part of the post-2015 agenda. […]
