Social protection
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Social protection

Access to adequate social protection is recognized by International labour standards and the UN as a basic right . It is also widely considered to be instrumental in promoting human welfare and social consensus on a broad scale, and to be conducive to and indispensable for fair growth, social stability and economic performance, contributing to competitiveness

Today, only 20 per cent of the world’s population has adequate social security coverage, and more than half lack any coverage at all. They face dangers in the workplace and poor or non-existent pension and health insurance coverage. The situation reflects levels of economic development, with fewer than 10 per cent of workers in least-developed countries covered by social security. In middle-income countries, coverage ranges from 20 to 60 per cent, while in most industrial nations, it is close to 100 per cent.

Social Protection is one of the four strategic objectives of the Decent Work agenda that define the core work of the ILO. Since its creation in 1919, ILO has actively promoted policies and provided its Member States with tools and assistance aimed at improving and expanding the coverage of social protection to all groups in society and to improving working conditions and safety at work.

The ILO has set out three main objectives reflecting the three major dimensions of social protection:
 
  1. Extending the coverage and effectiveness of social security schemes
  2. Promoting labour protection , which comprises decent conditions of work, including wages, working time and occupational safety and health, essential components of decent work
  3. Working through dedicated programmes and activities to protect such vulnerable groups as migrant workers and their families; and workers in the informal economy. Moreover, the world of work's full potential will be used to respond to the AIDS pandemic, focusing on enhancing tripartite constituents' capacity

The Social Protection Floor Initiative

Recognizing the importance of ensuring social protection for all, the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (UNCEB) adopted, in April 2009, the Social Protection Floor Initiative, as one of the nine UN joint initiatives to cope with the effects of the economic crisis. This initiative is co-led by the International Labour Office and the World Health Organization and involves a group of 17 collaborating agencies, including United Nations agencies and international financial institutions.

The Social Protection Floor approach promotes access to essential social security transfers and social services in the areas of health, water and sanitation, education, food, housing, life and asset-savings information. It emphasizes the need to implement comprehensive, coherent and coordinated social protection and employment policies to guarantee services and social transfers across the life cycle, paying particular attention to the vulnerable groups.

Latest

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    15 February 2013

    How can we reduce child labour in the less favourable circumstances of a global economic slowdown?

  2. Interregional conference: "Improving social protection and promoting employment. Experiences and lessons learned from an ILO-EU project in Burkina Faso, Honduras and Cambodia"

    27 November 2012

    A conference will be organized to explore the experiences and lessons learned from the joint ILO/EU project "Improving social protection and promoting employment", implemented between 2009 and 2012 in Burkina Faso, Cambodia and Honduras. This interregional conference will be jointly organized by the European Commission and the ILO.

  3. Agenda of the two day Workshop for Validation of Mining Sector Guidelines on HIV and AIDS

    26 November 2012

  4. “Alien plants” boost green jobs in South Africa

    20 November 2012

    South Africa has become a success story when it comes to creating jobs and protecting the environment through its Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Many other countries in the global south are also benefitting from similar programmes.

  5. Beyond the MDGs: It’s all about jobs and livelihoods

    18 November 2012

    As the debate on the post-Millennium Development Goals agenda gathers pace, the ILO says the most pressing priorities are job creation and social protection.

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