Ensuring Adequate and Effective Social Security and Protection for All Workers

Despite progress in recent years in extending social protection in many parts of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep-seated inequalities and significant gaps in social protection coverage, comprehensiveness and benefit adequacy across all countries. Social protection coverage gaps are often linked to a significant underinvestment in social protection. The temptation to revert to fiscal consolidation to pay for the massive public expenditure outlays necessitated by COVID-19 must be avoided as austerity leaves deep social scarring, hurting the most vulnerable in society. Countries are now at a crossroads with regard to the trajectory of their social protection systems. Recovery will only be sustained and future crises mitigated if countries move towards comprehensive, sustainable and shock responsive social protection systems. OBJECTIVES Support workers’ organisations in contributing to the ILO's Global Flagship Programme on Building Social Protection Floors for All with strong and effective positions in social protection policy making and implementation at the national, sub-regional and regional level by strengthening their understanding of (i) the role of social protection in crises responses and beyond, (ii) its financing mechanisms, (iii) impacts/ implications of social security reforms, as well as by enhancing their ability to monitor and evaluate the implementation of social protection schemes; The specific objectives are: • Sharing good practice experiences on comprehensive, efficient and innovative services to the TUs members with regard to social protection; • Follow up to the ILC Resolution and conclusions concerning the second recurrent discussion on social protection (2021) and in line with the plan of action that was adopted by the 343th Session (November 2021) of the ILO Governing Body; • Giving tools for an effective implementation of Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) and effective implementation and promotion of ratification of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) and other relevant social security standards. • Analyse the discussion of tripartite constituents during the 344th ILO Governing Body on Securing social protection for migrant workers and their families: Challenges and options for building a better future. CONTENT - Effectiveness of social protection. - Coordination between social protection and employment, economic and fiscal policies. - Social Protection as a tool for formalization of the informal economy and enhancing equality - Transformative changes in the world of work, driven by technological innovations, demographic shifts, and environmental and climate change; and responses from the Social Protection schemes. - Protection floors for all in need in line with the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202). - Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) and the vision of the Centenary Declaration towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals targets on social protection. - Monitoring and evaluation of social protection schemes, including the reporting on SDGs. - Innovative financing mechanisms and the debate on domestic financing and finding fiscal space, and were domestic financing is not sufficient, complementing domestic financing with international financing, e.g. through the Global Accelerator and a Global Fund for Social Protection, as suggested by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. - Policy coherence on social protection in the multilateral system, and advancing care policies. - Trade unions’ participation/ actions/ in the context of the covid pandemic, and their role in building forward better. NUMBER OF HOURS: 40