'As the pandemic and the jobs crisis evolve, the need to protect the most vulnerable becomes even more urgent'
As job losses escalate in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of workers worldwide – 1.6 billion – in the informal economy are at risk of losing their livelihood, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The global workforce is expected to lose 305 million full-time jobs in the second quarter of the year, and global working hours are expected to be 10.5 per cent lower. In the first quarter of the year, estimates of hours lost stand at 4.5 per cent compared to the previous quarter, equivalent to about 130 million full-time jobs lost.
“For millions of workers, no income means no food, no security and no future... As the pandemic and the jobs crisis evolve, the need to protect the most vulnerable becomes even more urgent,” says Guy Ryder, ILO director-general.
This is due to lockdown measures or because they work in the hardest-hit sectors. It’s estimated the first month of the crisis resulted in a drop of 60 per cent in the income of informal workers globally. Globally, this breaks down to a drop of 81 per cent in Africa and the Americas, 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, and 70 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, says the ILO.
Sectors expected to be hit the hardest are manufacturing; accommodation and food services; real estate, business and administrative activities; and wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
- To address the situation, the ILO makes the following recommendations:
- Governments need to continue to expedite assistance to businesses and workers.
- Policies need to focus on providing income support for both businesses and workers to maintain economic activities.
- Tailored responses are needed to reach and support small businesses, through combined measures of direct financial support and loan guarantees.
- In the reactivation phase, policies should target the provision of timely information about the status of containment measures and exit strategies.
- Longer-term, large public investments are needed to boost employment and crowd in private investment.
- Job-rich recovery will lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth.
Quebec has said it is launching a virtual toolkit for employers and workers as the province prepares to reopen certain economic sectors. In Ontario, Unifor called on the government to consult with workers before proceeding with plans to reopen the economy.
A separate survey found that workers in Canada say they will only be comfortable with the government lifting restrictions to allow them to return to work when there are no new cases for at least two weeks (29 per cent) or when there are only sporadic cases being discovered and there are no pressures on the health-care system (25 per cent), among others.
