Event “International Solidarity to Support a Robust and Inclusive Recovery - A Global Social Protection Fund”

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF), in partnership with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), is pleased to invite you to the event “International Solidarity to Support a Robust and Inclusive Recovery - A Global Social Protection Fund” that will be held in the framework of the Spring Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The event will take place on Thursday 25 March 2021, 10:00 – 11:30 hs (Washington D.C. time).

Featuring

Cathy Feingold, International Director of the AFL-CIO and Deputy President of the International Trade Union Confederation

Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights

Omar Faruk Osman, Secretary General of the Federation of Somali Trade Unions

Yolande Wright, Head of Child Poverty at Save the Children

Didier Jacobs, Senior Advisor at Oxfam

Michal Rutkowski, Global Director for Social Protection and Jobs at the World Bank

The devastating loss of jobs and livelihoods during COVID-19 has reaffirmed the importance of universal social protection, an agreed objective before the crisis.  There is limited capacity for low income countries to respond to the social and economic consequences of COVID-19 because of underdeveloped social protection systems and limited revenue. Greater international solidarity in the financing of social protection could support low-income countries to close the gaps. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights is calling for the establishment of a global social protection fund. This panel discusses the proposal and the potential role for the IMF and World Bank.

You may livestream the event here.

Interpretation in Spanish and French is accessible via the Civil Society Policy Forum livestream here.

To register for the Civil Society Policy Forum so you can ask questions during the panel, please click here by 22 March.

The full schedule of the Policy Forum is available here.

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“Solidaridad internacional en apoyo a una recuperación robusta e inclusiva
Un Fondo Mundial para la Protección Social”
     

La Coalición Global por los Pisos de Protección Social, en asociación con la Confederación Sindical Internacional, se complace en invitarles al evento “Solidaridad internacional en apoyo a una recuperación robusta e inclusiva Un Fondo Mundial para la Protección Social” que tendrá lugar durante el Foro de Políticas Relativas a la Sociedad Civil, en el marco de las Reuniones de Primavera del Banco Mundial y el Fondo Monetario Internacional

El evento tendrá lugar el Jueves 25 de marzo de 2021 de 10:00 a 11:30 AM (hora de Washington D.C.).

Puede acceder al evento mediante streaming en directo aquí. El evento se desarrollará en inglés y se facilitará interpretación en francés y español aquí.

Participarán:

Cathy Feingold, Directora Internacional de la AFL-CIO y Presidenta Adjunta de la Confederación Sindical Internacional

Olivier de Schutter, Relator Especial de la ONU sobre la extrema pobreza y los derechos humanos

Omar Faruk Osman, Secretario General de la Federation of Somali Trade Unions

Yolande Wright, Directora sobre reducción de la pobreza infantil en Save the Children

Didier Jacobs, Asesor Senior de Oxfam

Michal Rutkowski, Director del Departamento de Prácticas Mundiales de Protección Social y Trabajo del Banco Mundial

La devastadora pérdida de empleos y medios de subsistencia durante la COVID-19 ha reafirmado la importancia de una protección social universal, objetivo ya acordado antes de la crisis. Los países de ingresos bajos cuentan con una capacidad limitada para responder a las consecuencias sociales y económicas de la COVID-19, al disponer de sistemas de protección social poco desarrollados e ingresos limitados. Una mayor solidaridad internacional en la financiación de la protección social podría contribuir a ayudar a estos países a cerrar la brecha. El Relator Especial de la ONU sobre la extrema pobreza y los derechos humanos ha pedido el establecimiento de un fondo mundial para la protección social. Esta mesa redonda discutirá las propuestas y el posible papel del FMI y el Banco Mundial.

e-GCSPF # 50 - March 2021
   
 

Event at the CSocD59: Building Roofs and Raising Floors Through Inclusive Digital Technologies and A Global Fund for Social Protection

   
 

The video and the notes of the virtual side event “Building Roofs and Raising Floors Through Inclusive Digital Technologies and A Global Fund for Social Protection”, co-organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), are now online.

High level speakers from Governments, United Nations, civil society and academia tackled the diverse and interconnecting perspectives on social protection and homelessness, how digital technology can extend social protection floors to those who are living without roofs and the value and urgency of the Global Fund for Social Protection to deliver to all the right to social protection. The side event took place at the UN Commission for Social Development 2021 (CSocD59) and was held on Friday 12 February, 2021. Read more.

   
   
 

Event “International Solidarity to Support a Robust and Inclusive Recovery – A Global Social Protection Fund”

   
 

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, in partnership with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), is pleased to invite you to the event “International Solidarity to Support a Robust and Inclusive Recovery – A Global Social Protection Fund” that will be held in the framework of the Spring Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The event will take place on Thursday 25 March 2021, 10:00 – 11:30 hs (Washington D.C. time). Read more

   
   
 

Global Fund for Social Protection: Advocacy Letter to the G20

   
 

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors calls on the G20 to launch an initiative to establish a Global Fund for Social Protection. This year’s G20 is a critical opportunity for the world’s largest economies to come together and coordinate a response to overcome the consequences of the pandemic as such an act of international solidarity would unite the world on the path towards an equitable recovery from this pandemic. An advocacy letter was sent to members of the Employment Working Group that had two meetings in February. The letter calls for a Global Fund for Social Protection that would provide technical assistance for governments to offer a set of benefits that would guarantee a minimum income security for all over the life cycle. Read more

   
   
 

ITUC Campaign - A global social protection fund is possible

   
 

The Covid-19 pandemic has brutally exposed the fault lines of the global divide between those that have universal social protection, including health and income support, and those that don’t.
The world could fund the establishment of social protection systems or help bridge funding gaps with a clear path for sustainability.
The ITUC supports the idea of a global fund for social protection, which could help to bridge financing gaps for social protection for the world’s poorest countries, who lack sufficient fiscal space to build up social protection floors in the short-term on their own. It could also be accompanied by technical support to support States build up their capacity to finance social protection over the medium-long term. Financing a Global Social Protection Fund is an act of solidarity that can be realised. Read more

   
   
 

The vaccine against poverty, inequality and insecurity needs a stronger prescription

   
 

The blog by Michael Cichon highlights that “the COVID crisis is an opportunity to make the recognition of the role of social protection more permanent, and there is an almost unique opportunity to achieve this. This June it will be 10 years since the ILO’s 100th International Labour Conference (ILC) held a general discussion on social security. Still, under the dark shadow of the Global Financial Crisis, the 100th ILC in 2011 decided to request the ILO to develop a Recommendation on Social Protection Floors (SPFs). Just a year later Recommendation R. 202 concerning national floors of social protection was unanimously adopted by tripartite delegations from all 187 ILO member states (except for Panama, who abstained). The concept of the social protection floor originated from the work of a Joint UN Crisis Initiative that the ILO and WHO co-chaired since 2009. This June, the 110th ILC will review the ILO’s work on social protection in another general discussion. This is the time when the international community should commission the development of a stronger instrument of international law on universal social protection.” Read more

   
   
 

COVID-19 and the world of work

   
 

Unprecedented global working-hour losses in 2020. In terms of the pandemic’s overall impact in 2020, the new ILO annual estimates confirm that it caused massive disruptions in the world of work. In 2020, 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost relative to the fourth quarter of 2019, equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs (assuming a 48 hour working week). These losses were global and unprecedented.
While the disruption was global, there was substantial variation between regions. The labour market disruption in 2020 far exceeded the impact of the global financial crisis of 2009. The effect of the COVID-19 shock on global working hours has therefore been approximately four times greater than that of the global financial crisis. Read more

   
   

JOIN US TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL PROTECTION FOR ALL

GLOBAL COALITION FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION FLOORS - GCSPF

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Ana Zeballos spoke on behalf of the GCSPF at the Civil Society Meeting “Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond”, Cluster 2: socio-economic response: social protection, gender, youth, health, education, and human rights. The consultation with NGOs and Civil Society Organizations was held under the auspices of the International Labour Organization and coorganized by the NGO Committee on Financing for Development and the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP). The event was held on 11 March 2021.

The concept note and programme of the event are here. Ms. Zeballos highlighted the need for the establishment of a Global Fund for Social Protection, and notes of her intervention are below and the PDF version is available here. Members of the Global Coalition also participated at the High-level meeting.

The final report is here.

Background

One year has passed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the world is still struggling to curtail the health crisis alongside a growing socio-economic crisis. The impact on the health, livelihood, and well-being of people around the world has been dramatic. Even prior to COVID-19, many countries were struggling to cope with growing debt burdens and limited fiscal space to finance the SDGs. National budgets are strained, forcing policy makers to take tough decisions on financing public health or providing stimulus to offset the social and economic pressures. Efforts such as the Debt Service Suspension Initiative helped many countries slow the downward spiral but were just small steps and did not solve the problem. Much more far-reaching efforts are needed to meet the magnitude and scale of the crisis.

Recognizing the urgency to develop a coordinated response to enable ambitious financing solutions, the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica along with the UN Secretary General launched an Initiative in May 2020 on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond. Various stakeholders were invited to contribute to six open-ended discussion groups, which ultimately led to a comprehensive menu of policy options. The policies aim to address the current emergency and to promote a swift and sustainable recovery that will pave the way for a more inclusive, resilient development paradigm. Ministers of Finance reviewed the recommendations, which were subsequently welcomed by Heads of State and Government during the UN General Assembly in September 2020.

The overarching objective of this process is to identify concrete, ambitious and actionable recommendations for financing a socioeconomic recovery based on the Menu of Options (or if needed beyond). A work plan has been established for Cluster 2, organized around three main themes: 1) Global Standards and Norms which aims to commit governments to align national frameworks with human labour rights; 2) Alignment of national spending, planning and implementation to promote socio-economic impact investing in areas such as decent work, SMEs, social protection, universal health coverage, gender, youth and education; and 3) Enabling environment and private sector engagement aimed at promoting innovative finance instruments aligned with the SDGs and national priorities and developed through social dialogue.

To ensure the exercise benefits from a broad set of expertise and captures a range of considerations and priorities, a number of stakeholder consultations are planned. The consultations are expected to support FfD policy implementation and identify actions needed at both global and country levels that are aligned with the Cluster 2 ambitions. The outcome of the consultations will be compiled and incorporated into the final set of recommendations that will be presented during a High-Level UN meeting expected to take place during the General Assembly in September 2021.

Financing for development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond
Cluster 2: socio-economic response: social protection, gender, youth, health, education, and human rights

Consultation with Stakeholders
11 March, 2021; 8:00– 10:15 am EST

Universal Social Protection

Contribution by Ana Zeballos, Coordinator, Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF)1

Thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion. I am really pleased to speak on behalf of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF). We are a global network of civil society organizations, trade unions and think tanks committed to the realisation of ILO-Recommendation 202 on social protection floors.

We are calling for the implementation of the four Essential Elements of the ILO Recommendation 202, and the establishment of a Global Fund for Social Protection2 as a key strategy to make this happen.

Social protection is a universal human right that reduces and prevents poverty during the life cycle, demonstrated to have a direct and positive impact on health, food security, and inequality. It is therefore an important instrument to distribute wealth and to realise gender equality as well as to achieve more inclusive and socially cohesive societies, a key purpose of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The COVID-19 pandemic is showing us the urgency for universal social protection systems to protect people, and in particular the most vulnerable. While countries may have expanded social protection programmes on a short term basis many people are still falling through the net, among them undocumented informal workers, migrants, homeless, refugees.

Even though high income countries have put in place social protection responses these measures are very uneven between countries and in many cases, merely temporary.

An Oxfam study of emergency responses between April and September 2020 in 126 low and middle income countries shows that:

  • In 81% of the countries, emergency responses cover less than half their population.
  • In 29% of the countries, fewer than one in 10 people have been protected as workers in the informal sector.
  • Benefits provided to families are short-lived and too low to pay even for basic needs.
  • In low- and middle-income countries average investment has been just 0.46% of GDP, with only two of these countries reaching 2% (“Shelter from the storm”, Oxfam).
  • Most programmes recently set up are not long term
  • 2.7 billion people still have absolutely no access to social protection
  • The financing gap for low-income countries is about 78 billion USD, about half of total official development assistance provided in 2019 by OECD countries

The Corona crisis urges strengthened international solidarity, global cooperation and pooled funding to ensure investment in and development of inexistent or underdeveloped social protection systems in low-income countries, underpinned by strengthened tax capacity and international regulation to reduce tax evasion and avoidance.

There is political momentum for a Global Fund to support countries with financial and other resources - according to the financial capacity of states and disbursed according to social needs. Excellent financial management, transparency and accountability of the Fund, together with effective engagement of social partners, civil society organisations is essential. Decisions regarding design and implementation of social protection programmes to be supported by the Fund have to be taken by the government of the recipient country, based on national dialogues with social partners and civil society with support by the UN and its specialised agencies.

We believe the Fund is necessary to fulfil the right of millions to have social protection in line with International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as well as international labour standards and to achieve SDG goal 1 target 3.

Social Protection is a human right, as yet unrealised. The gap is still large. The time is right for the Fund, the time is now.

Thank you very much.

Notes:

1 This is based in the internal document “Q&A on the Global Fund for Social Protection” prepared by the GCSPF working group for a Global Fund for Social Protection.

2 A Global Financing Mechanism for Social Protection. A proposal for the decade of action on the Sustainable Development Goals 2020-2030, April 2020, https://www.socialprotectionfloorscoalition.org/2020/04/a-global-financing-mechanism-for-social-protection/

Civil Society Call for a Global Fund for Social Protection

Over 200 civil society organizations and trade unions unite to call for a Global Fund for Social Protection to protect the most vulnerable during COVID-19 and beyond.

Read the Call

SP&PFM Programme

The programme Improving Synergies Between Social Protection and Public Finance Management provides medium-term support to multiple countries aiming to strengthen their social protection systems at a national level and ensure sustainable financing. The programme aims to support countries in their efforts towards achieving universal social protection coverage.

This initiative is implemented jointly by the ILO, Unicef, and the GCSPF.

Read more

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