News Highlight:
The International Labour Organisation (ILO), on the lingering crisis of labour post-pandemic, recently released two reports that gave an indication of the global employment scenario post-pandemic.
Key Takeaway:
- Global Wage Report 2022-2023:
- The Impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power’ discuss the twin crises, inflation and economic slowdown, which created a “striking fall” in real monthly wages around the globe.
- The report blames the war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis for this situation. Another report, the ‘Asia-Pacific.
- Employment and Social Outlook 2022:
- Rethinking sectoral strategies for a human-centred future of work’ stated that the Asia-Pacific region lost about 22 million jobs in 2022.
- ILO says the decrease in wages places millions of workers in a dire situation. “Income inequality and poverty will rise if the purchasing power of the lowest paid is not maintained.
International Labor Organization:
- About:
- International Labour Organization (ILO) is the only tripartite U.N. agency since 1919. It brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member States to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
- It deals with labour issues, particularly international labour standards, social protection, and work opportunities.
- History:
- The ILO was established as an agency for the League of Nations following World War I.
- The Treaty of Versailles 1919 established it.
- It became the first specialised agency of the united Nations in 1946.
- The ILO has played a significant role in promoting labour and human rights. It held a significant position during the Great Depression (the 1930s) in ensuring labour rights.
- It played a key role in the decolonisation process and in the victory over apartheid in South Africa.
- The organisation got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 for peace among the classes and for promoting justice and fair work for the workers.
- Objectives:
- To develop and effectuate standards, fundamental principles, and fundamental rights at work.
- To ensure that men and women have equal access to decent work while enhancing opportunities for the same.
- To magnify the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for everyone.
- To strengthen Tripartism and social dialogue.
- Structure:
- The basis of the ILO is the tripartite principle. The ILO comprises
- International Labour Conference
- Governing Body
- International Labour Office.
- The basis of the ILO is the tripartite principle. The ILO comprises
Key Findings of Global Wage Report 2022-2023:
- Global wages declined in 2022 for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis due to increasing living expenses. This is threatening to worsen inequality and trigger social unrest.
- Monthly wages have declined by 0.9 per cent in real terms in the first half of 2022. This is the first negative growth of real global wages in the 21st century.
- Severe inflation and global economic slowdown – caused partly by the war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis – are causing a decline in real monthly wages in many countries.
- Lower-income countries have especially been hit because of significant losses in wages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The decline in wages comes despite the increased productivity. The year 2022 recorded the biggest gap between real labour productivity growth and real wage growth in high-income countries since 1999.
- Among the advanced G20 countries, the real wages in the first half of 2022 fell to minus 2.2 per cent. Real wages in emerging G20 countries grew by 0.8 per cent, which is 2.6 per cent lesser than in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
- There is a wide gap between the average level of real wages of the emerging G20 countries and that of the advanced G20 economies
- The average wage of advanced G20 countries is 4,000 USD per month, and for emerging G20 countries, it is 1,800 per month.
Key findings of Employment and Social Outlook 2022:
- Global Labour Force Participation estimated that in 2022 around 40 million people will no longer be participating in the global labour force.
- Global Working Hours will be roughly 2% lower in 2022 than before the pandemic, which translates to a loss of 52 million full-time jobs. This gap is twice as big as what the ILO predicted it would be in 2021.
- Until at least 2023, the world’s unemployment rate is predicted to stay above pre-Covid-19 levels. Compared to 186 million in 2019, the level is predicted to be 207 million in 2022.
- Numerous children have fallen into poverty as a result of the pandemic. In 2020, an additional 30 million adults were predicted to experience extreme poverty (living on less than $1.90 per day in purchasing power parity) due to unemployment. Eight million more people are now classified as extreme working poor, meaning they make insufficient money from their jobs to keep their families and themselves out of poverty.
- Certain industries, like travel and tourism, have been particularly hard hit, but other industries, like those involved in information technology, have prospered. The labour market crisis has affected women more severely than men, which is expected to continue.
- The report cautions that the crisis is eroding the economic, financial, and social fabric of practically every State, regardless of its level of development, and that there are significant distinctions in how it affects different worker groups and nations.
- The effects have been particularly severe for developing countries, which already had weaker social security systems, higher levels of inequality, and divergent working conditions. There is a lack of availability of vaccines in many low and middle-income countries, and there are few options for increasing government spending to deal with the situation.
- Without a broad-based labour market recovery, there can be no proper recovery from this pandemic. The ideals of decent employment, such as health and safety, equity, social protection, and social discourse, must be the foundation for sustained recovery.
- For a nation like India, where most work is done informally, the new labour market prediction can be essential for policy planning to prevent future job losses and reduce working hours.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu