Enhancing Linkages between Universal Social Protection and Employment for Decent Work

Employment creation and social protection, alongside rights at work and social dialogue, constitute the four pillars of decent work. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Goal 8 calls for the promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work, and Goal 1 on ending poverty, calls for the implementation of nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors. Social protection has also been acknowledged to play a catalytic role in accelerating progress across all the other SDGs. In recognition of the crucial role social protection and employment creation play in the face of the multiple crises we are facing in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, including crises of care, climate, cost-of-living, and energy, along with transformations in the world of work. Demographic change and the resurgence of violent conflict, the UN Secretary-General launched the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions. The Global Accelerator brings back the SDGs to the center of the development efforts and aims to make good the ground lost in the fight against poverty and inequality and to facilitate socially acceptable transitions in response to the above-mentioned crises.

Enhancing linkages between universal social protection and employment for decent work

A total of 2 billion workers – 61.2 per cent of the world’s employed population – are in informal employment and most of them are among the 4.1 billion people who do not have any access to social protection or are inadequately protected. Extending social protection coverage to workers in the informal economy is essential for enhancing their income security and access to health care, which can contribute to facilitating their transition from the informal to the formal economy. This includes the extension of social insurance through adapted mechanisms, which directly contributes to expanding formal employment and enhancing the living standards of workers and their families. At the same time, the formalization of enterprises and employment contributes to a broader contribution and tax base, which creates fiscal space for tax-financed social protection programmes for those who do not have sufficient contributory capacity, potentially triggering a virtuous cycle of development of higher productivity, higher tax revenues and better public services.

There are also other interlinkages between social protection and decent work. For example, social protection programmes can play an important role in supporting workers to access training or employment opportunities. This requires adequate design in terms of referral mechanisms as well as the availability of quality training and employment services.

The objective of the discussion during the side event is to showcase country experiences and discuss how to generate these mutually beneficial synergies through coherent policies and design of schemes that take into account linkages between social protection and employment policies for decent work.

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