SPF News

May 2011

• Nicolas Sarkozy a plaidé lundi pour la mise en place de "socles de protection sociale" minimum dans tous les pays du monde, à commencer par ceux du G20.
  23 May 2011 - L'Express, France - (ILO/05/11)
• G20 Latin American and Caribbean countries - Argentina, Brazil and Mexico - sign the Declaration of Brasilia on the Social Protection Floor.
  9 May 2011 - (ILO/05/11)
• Michelle Bachelet addresses opening Session of the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries and called LCDs to build up gradually social protection floors.
  21 March 2011 - Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, 9-13 May 2011, Istanbul, Turkey. - (ILO/09/11)
  Visit the site of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.
• Bachelet says social protection floors key to addressing rising social demands.
  21 March 2011 - The Chairperson of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group and Executive Director of UN Women, Ms Michelle Bachelet, said that the implementation of social protection floors can offer an effective response to the increasing demands for social justice in many countries - (ILO/03/11)
• Social Protection Floor Advisory Group - Consultative Committee
  17 March 2011 - The Workshop brought together members of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, leading experts of the SPF collaborating agencies and institutions, representatives of the social partners and international community to discuss the latest national and international developments related to the social protection floor policies - (ILO/03/11)
  See Ms. Bachelet statement.

April 2011

• The Global Jobs Crisis—Sustaining the Recovery through Employment and Equitable Growth
  13 April 2011 - The Director of the IMF mentions the joint IMF-ILO work towards building effective social protection floors in low-income countries - (ILO/04/11)
• Bachelet says social protection floors key to addressing rising social demands.
  21 March 2011 - The Chairperson of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group and Executive Director of UN Women, Ms Michelle Bachelet, has said that the implementation of social protection floors can offer an effective response to the increasing demands for social justice in many countries. - (ILO/03/11)
• Social Protection Floor Advisory Group - Consultative Committee
  17 March 2011 - The Workshop brought together members of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, leading experts of the SPF collaborating agencies and institutions, representatives of the social partners and international community to discuss the latest national and international developments related to the social protection floor policies - (ILO/03/11)
  See Ms. Bachelet statement.

March 2011

• Michelle Bachelet interviewed by Le Monde, Paris
  21 March 2011 Michelle Bachelet was interviewed on 21 March by the French newspaper Le Monde about her role as the chairperson of the Social Protection Advisory Group. During this interview, she mentioned that many countries face the dilemma of maintaining a social protection floor while reducing their budgetary expenditures. She also talked about the role that international organizations can play in promoting social protection - (ILO/03/30)
• Le G20 peut-il donner naissance à un socle universel de protection sociale?
  22 March 2011 - Conference at Sciences Po School in Paris with the participation of Michelle Bachelet, Martin Hirsch, Didier Tabuteau and Esther Duflo - (ILO/03/11)
• Ambassador He Yafei speaks on China's social protection at at the Social Protection Floor Initiative Advisory Group Consultative Workshop.
  21 March 2011 - Ambassador He Yafei said that the Chinese Government, adhering to the principle of putting people first, attaches great importance to and has made vigorous efforts in continuously improving the social security system - (ILO/03/21)
• Bachelet says social protection floors key to addressing rising social demands.
  21 March 2011 - The Chairperson of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group and Executive Director of UN Women, Ms Michelle Bachelet, has said that the implementation of social protection floors can offer an effective response to the increasing demands for social justice in many countries. - (ILO/03/11)
• Social Protection Floor Advisory Group - Consultative Committee
  17 March 2011 - The Workshop brought together members of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, leading experts of the SPF collaborating agencies and institutions, representatives of the social partners and international community to discuss the latest national and international developments related to the social protection floor policies - (ILO/03/11)
  See Ms. Bachelet statement.

February 2011

• Commemoration of the World Day of Social Justice: Achieving Social Protection for All
  17 February 2011 -
• UN pushes for social schemes to protect poor at mere fraction of national wealth
  14 February 2011 - Michael Cichon, Director of the ILO Social Security Department, spotlighted the issue of social protection and its importance in poverty eradication at a press conference on a United Nations-backed programme aimed at promoting investment in and access to essential services and social transfers for poor and vulnerable communities - (ILO/02/11)
• The right kind of global recovery
  1 February 2011 - Dominique Strauss-Khan, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, addresses to the Monetary Authority of Singapore and states that "Adequate social protection, drawing on a basic social protection floor as proposed by the ILO, can protect the most vulnerable from the brunt of the crisis. As fiscal consolidation gets underway in the advanced economies, we must also ensure that fiscal policy remains as job-friendly as possible" - (ILO/02/11)

January 2011

• How far can the World Bank and IMF defend workers' rights?
  27 January 2011 - IMF managing director, Dominique Strauss-Khan, mentions IMF's ongoing work with the ILO to establish a universal social protection floor.
• French President Nicolas Sarkozy presents the implementation of a Social Protection Floor at international level as part of the objectives of the French presidence of the G20 for 2011.
  24 January 2011

November 2010

• Global South-South Development Expo 2010
  22-26 November 2010 - The Expo took place at ILO headquarters in Geneva and had as its main theme Social Protection and Decent Work. The Expo brought together a wide range of actors on a platform to address the many available Southern development solutions to emerging developmental challenges. Ms. Michelle Bachelet participated to the launching of the event. She noted that developing countries did not need to depend on industrialized countries to solve their problems. “Innovative development solutions are coming from the South”, because “the solutions are where the challenges are.” - (ILO/11/10) See the video: Highlights from Social Protection and Decent Work Solution Exchange Forum -
• 2nd Inter-Agency Technical Meeting of the UN Social Protection Floor Initiative
  22-23 November 2010 - The 2nd Inter-Agency Technical Meeting of the UN Social Protection Floor Initiative was held at the ILO headquarters in Geneva on November 22-23 as a side event of the Global South-South Expo. Representatives from UN agencies (ILO, WHO, UNDP, UNICEF, UN-HABITAT) and other development partners and institutions like OECD, the European Commission EuropeAid Co-operation Office, HelpAge International, Save the Children, GTZ and the Education and Solidarity Network, participated in the meeting which gave an overview of the ongoing SPF activities at global, regional and national levels and included discussions about planning for the way ahead - (ILO/11/10)
• G20 urged to implement commitment to jobs, social protection ..., 12 November 2010 - Amidst widespread concern about the slow recovery in employment, Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, urged the G20 Leaders to implement their commitment to the central role of social protection and decent work in global recovery - (ILO/11/10)
  See the leader's Declaration - [pdf 93 KB]
  See the outcome documents

October 2010

• Michelle Bachelet, the head of UN Women and the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group, addresses to the United Nations "Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum, Beijing.
  17 October 2010
• President Michelle Bachelet visits Viet Nam to promote the social protection floor and gender equality
  14-16 October 2010 - See Ms. Bachelet's statement.
• 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) hosted by Belgium in Brussels
  4-5 October 2010 - See the final statement.

September 2010

• ASEM Workshop on Social Protection Floor and the Informal Economy, Nice, France,
  27-28 September 2010.


• UN High-level Plenary Meeting on the 65th session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals, New York
  20-22 September 2011 - See the outcome document.
• UN officials stress decent work and social protection measures to fight poverty
  20 September 2010.
• Joint ILO-IMF Conference in Cooperation with the Office of the Prime Minister of Norway, Oslo, Norway
  13 September 2010 -
  See the joint declaration.

August 2010

• French Government and ILO sign a new partnership agreement for the period 2010-2014
  26 August 2010 - The social protection floor is one of the components of the agreement.

July 2010

• Sharing Innovative Experiences on the Social Protection Floor, Turin, Italy
  8-9 July 2010.