The majority of adults – 2 billion workers – are caught in the so-called informal economy, with the trend towards casualisation of work tendentially increasing this number. Women are particularly affected, both because of the gendered inequitable nature of their employment, and their multiple roles in the care economy, as are other socially marginalised groups. The informal economy, or casual labour, means meagre wages, minimal workplace or environmental safety, no job security or claimable work contract, no protection from harassment, and no form of employment-related insurance. Only 16 per cent of the lowest-income quintile in low-income countries has any social protection coverage. Thus, when these workers fall ill, have an accident, become disabled or grow old, or lose their job, there is no income replacement, since social insurance is in general only accrued in formal economy jobs. Social assistance remains under- developed in most low-income countries, so there is no fallback on publicly funded income support, such as for example unemployment pay, a disability benefit, or a social pension.
To measure whether employment conditions are “decent”, the ILO measures data for 14 SDG indicators, grouped under 5 of the 17 Goals. The indicators include, among others, working poverty, average hourly earnings, the share of informal employment, social protection coverage, and women in managerial positions, each disaggregated, to the extent that country data are available, by sex, age, ability status.
In our panel on the Challenges of Decent Work and the SDGs, we will discuss these issues, drawing on the volume edited by Madelaine Moore, Christoph Sherrer and Marcel van der Linden. See the ILO conference programme on regulating for decent work. Our session is on Thursday 3 July at 9 a.m.
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The centrality of work that is decent
The majority of adults – 2 billion workers – are caught in the so-called informal economy, with the trend towards casualisation of work tendentially increasing this number. Women are particularly affected, both because of the gendered inequitable nature of their employment, and their multiple roles in the care economy, as are other socially marginalised groups. The informal economy, or casual labour, means meagre wages, minimal workplace or environmental safety, no job security or claimable work contract, no protection from harassment, and no form of employment-related insurance. Only 16 per cent of the lowest-income quintile in low-income countries has any social protection coverage. Thus, when these workers fall ill, have an accident, become disabled or grow old, or lose their job, there is no income replacement, since social insurance is in general only accrued in formal economy jobs. Social assistance remains under- developed in most low-income countries, so there is no fallback on publicly funded income support, such as for example unemployment pay, a disability benefit, or a social pension.
To measure whether employment conditions are “decent”, the ILO measures data for 14 SDG indicators, grouped under 5 of the 17 Goals. The indicators include, among others, working poverty, average hourly earnings, the share of informal employment, social protection coverage, and women in managerial positions, each disaggregated, to the extent that country data are available, by sex, age, ability status.
In our panel on the Challenges of Decent Work and the SDGs, we will discuss these issues, drawing on the volume edited by Madelaine Moore, Christoph Sherrer and Marcel van der Linden. See the ILO conference programme on regulating for decent work. Our session is on Thursday 3 July at 9 a.m.
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