Extending Social Protection to Migrant Workers, Refugees and their Families: ILO strategy and country practices

To accommodate participants across different time zones, this webinar is also held in the morning at 10:00 (CET) / 9:00 (GMT)

Simultaneous interpretation in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic will be available.

The ILO estimates that 3.8 billion individuals lack access to social protection. This includes migrant workers, refugees, and their families, who face legal and practical obstacles in exercising their right to social security and effectively accessing social protection benefits, including healthcare. Obstacles to their coverage can stem from the principles of nationality and territoriality, with their severity and prevalence varying based on the availability of social protection schemes, migration patterns, gender, employment and migration status, and inherent discrimination, among other factors.

The ILO Strategy on Extending Social Protection to Migrant Workers, Refugees, and Their Families aims to address the legal and practical barriers that migrant workers, refugees, and their families face in accessing social protection. It promotes a progressive approach through mutually reinforcing policy measures.

The Strategy’s policy measures will be highlighted in the webinar, along with good practice examples from member States. These policy measures include:

• Building inclusive national social protection systems
• Concluding bilateral and multilateral social security agreements and bilateral labor migration agreements (BLMAs)
• Implementing unilateral and complementary measures to facilitate access to social protection

The ILO has joined forces with ISSA to operationalize the Strategy by supporting social security administrations and institutions. This collaboration focuses on enhancing governance, improving service delivery, supporting the conclusion and implementation of social security agreements, and developing ICT solutions to facilitate portability and outreach.