ILO Working paper 32

Digital Work in Eastern Europe: Overview of Trends, Outcomes, and Policy Responses

25 May 2021

This paper presents the emergence and growth of digital labour markets in Eastern Europe over the period 1999-2019. It presents the profiles of digital workers, their working conditions and discusses how these are shaped by the business models of digital labour platforms.

ILO Working paper 31

Turning up the heat: Exploring potential links between climate change and gender-based violence and harassment in the garment sector

17 May 2021

This working paper highlights the intersection between climate change and gender-based violence and harassment by exploring how climate change, measured by increasing heat stress and extreme weather events, could lead to heightened violence being faced by the (mostly female) workers in the sector as a result of its impact on productivity.

ILO Working Paper 30

The impact of extreme weather on temporary work absence

12 May 2021

The study examines the impact that extreme weather has on temporary work absence in Jamaica, a central concern given the country’s negative experience with such events. The study uses quarterly data containing key labour market indicators on an unbalanced panel of individuals along with climatic data for the period 2004 to 2014. The findings are several.

ILO Working paper 29

Public Employment Programmes in the Care Economy - The Case of South Africa

29 April 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis have increased unemployment levels in the care economy, detrimental effects of which are felt by care workers, the majority of whom are women. The South African experience shows that Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) have contributed to the progressive realisation of decent work where as a first step in the trajectory, they have recognised and renumerated care related labour as work. This case study raises a series of questions for further consideration about the role of PEPs in this context, particularly their efficacy in the provision of direct care services.

ILO working paper 28

Social Protection in the Cultural and Creative Sector - Country Practices and Innovations

20 April 2021

ILO Working paper 27

Platform work and the employment relationship

31 March 2021

This working paper analyses national and supranational case law and legislation about the employment status of platform workers. It does so by referring to the ILO Employment Relationship Recommendation, 2006 (No. 198). It finds that this Recommendation provides for a valuable compass to navigate the issues that emerge from the analysis of the existing case law and legislation about platform work.

ILO Working Paper 26

Hurricanes and their implications for unemployment: Evidence from the Caribbean

09 March 2021

Although extreme climate events pose significant challenges to labour markets, there is a paucity of empirical literature studying their impacts. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of hurricane strikes on unemployment across a sample of Caribbean countries. In breaking down the unemployment data, our findings demonstrate that there is very little difference in the impact for adult males and females as well as male youth, however female youth may be slightly more disadvantaged. Finally, labour legislation appears to provide some mitigating impact from hurricane strikes.

ILO Working paper 25

Homeworking in the Philippines: Bad job ? Good job ?

09 March 2021

This report focuses on two categories of homeworkers in the Philippines: industrial homeworkers, who assemble or fabricate goods for factories, retailers or their agents under subcontracting arrangements; and online workers, who render services to their clients or employers via telecommunications technologies and digital platforms.

ILO Working paper 24

Online digital labour platforms in China: Working conditions, policy issues and prospects

02 February 2021

This paper summarizes the results of an ILO survey, conducted in 2019, of workers’ characteristics and working conditions on three major digital labour platforms in China.

ILO Working Paper 23

China's move to measuring relative poverty: implications for social protection

01 February 2021