India - COVID-19: social protection for all informal workers!

The situation in India is extremely bad for internal migrants and the informal workers WSM partners are working with (domestic workers, daily wage earners, construction workers and agricultural workers). Current lock-down measures in India, which are at the high end of the University of Oxford’s COVID-19 Government Response Stringency Index, have impacted these workers significantly, forcing many of them to return to rural areas. There are no transport facilities and no economic backups to meet their daily needs. Unorganized workers are walking hundreds of kilometers to their homes. Also, the crisis-ridden livelihoods of farmers have been completely ignored. Although the Indian government had announced an aid package for the unorganized and vulnerable, it is still not enough compared to countries that have already provided similar support to the vulnerable.

The WSM India partners hope there will be universal social protection for all and that the vulnerable will receive 20.000INR per month (243 EUR).  AREDS also took the initiative to draft an open letter to the Indian Prime Minister. Staying at home is a luxury for some, but, as is written in the open letter, unorganized workers cannot work from home, nor can they afford to stay home for several days, weeks or months. The unorganized workers staying home means the number of deaths by malnutrition could be higher than the number of deaths by COVID-19. “It’s a good opportunity to re-distribute and show solidarity. Our long pending demands of social protection are more relevant than ever”, said Samy, founder of AREDS. For now, many organizations and movements are demanding pro-active programs. Certain media and political parties have joined in advocating for more concrete actions to halt economic loss for the unorganized.

AREDS also works in the field directly and ensures the payment of certain social protection government schemes (Old age pension, destitute, widow pension, differently-able and orphans) for which they are mandated and commissioned by SBI bank. In the past days, they reached close to 10.000 people in 20 districts in Tamil Nadu. Their staff and volunteers go to the residence of these people who are unable to travel and deliver the schemes through bio-metric procedures. A total of 37.556.500INR (450.155EUR) was distributed to the most vulnerable. From 9th of April, AREDS has the regular 185.000 elderly to reach, for a total amount of 185.000.000INR (2.139.718EUR).

AREDS staff distributing elderly allowances with bio-metric verification

CWM leadership and members also joined the emergency volunteering teams by door-to-door delivery of Government essential goods (sanitizer, mask, food) as well as the 1.000INR relief allocated by the government. Thus, CWM assisted migrants workers from Bihar, Odissa, West Bengal and north eastern states as well as agricultural workers in six districts and construction workers around Trichy and five other districts.

CWM members in volunteer teams

Domestic workers relief packages

 Millions of the Indian domestic workers and members of the National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM) are affected due to lock-down. Though the Government has instructed the employers not to cut the wage till the lock down is relaxed, it is unclear how many domestic workers will get their wages. Though the Government has announced relief packages, many State Governments still haven’t come out with clear mechanisms on how the relief packages will reach the people, as it can be availed by only  those who have ration cards, so many will be left out of the Government benefits, like senior domestic workers who have no one to help, single head women-widows, deserted and many interstate migrant workers. Even those who have a ration card still need food till they can get the rations. NDWM is identifying the domestic workers who are in need of immediate help and support and are contacting different sources for financial support. The way the situation is evolving, it looks like people will die of hunger before the virus. To avoid this, NDWM has taken the following actions:

1. Linked up with Voluntary Organisations, Gurudwara, Transgenders group, food banks etc. to distribute food and food to the very poor Domestic Workers. For those who don’t have ration cards, NDWM is distributing our food kits and cooked food. NDWM so far has distributed to 7000 workers in beginning of April.
2. Appealed to the Chief Ministers, Members of Parliament and Labour department to transfer direct cash to workers enrolled in the Welfare Board
3. Released Press statement to the media to highlight the plight of Domestic Workers in lockdown. 
4. Contacted the local rationing officers, District administrators to extend our collaboration to distribute rations
5. Appealed to them to issue special ID to distribute food materials, which was already obtained in some states
6. Contacted employers requested not to cut salaries during lock-down
7. Contacted well-wishers to donate for domestic workers who are in need of urgent support

ILO overview of COVID-19 measures implemented by governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the ILO for India: link

Bangladesh - COVID-19: corona testing kits and food distribution

Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK), the biggest health provider in Bangladesh after the government, is at the forefront by developing a corona-virus testing kit (see our previous post here), GR Covid-19 Dot Blot, which would allow detect infection in 15 minutes.
After the green light to import the needed material, GK plans to have a first batch finished by the 11th of April, so that it can be submitted to WHO and the Bangladesh Government. If they approve it, they can start mass production. As previously reported, they want to make this testing kit available for as many people as possible, at a very affordable price of 200BDT(2 EUR), to avoid a massive outbreak.

GK has also started food distribution, with over 2.000 families assisted last week. These packages include rice, lentils, cooking oil and other necessities, with which a family should survive for one month. GK hopes to be able to help 100.000 families in one month. Follow their Facebook Page for more details. GK also invites people to support them here.

 The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) distributed rice, lentils, potatoes, onions, soap, and other essentials to 213 garment workers. Also,  Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) distributed masks, gloves, soap and awareness leaflets among the ready-made garment workers. They called upon the Bangladeshi government to declare COVID-19 an Occupational Disease under the labour law.

According to OSHE, at present over a million of workers and employees in health service, waste recycling, food and medicine supply chain, ready made garments, tea plantation, mass media, bank and financial services etc. in Bangladesh continuing to serve at workplaces due to urgent national and commercial needs with potential health hazard and inadequate health and safety protection. Many of them potentially get infected with corona virus at work and on the way to work or get back home during this pandemic period require necessary legal protection.

Repon Chowdhury, Executive Director of the OSHE Foundation said “This is very much a genuine and timely demand under the context of present reality in Bangladesh. COVID-19 needs to be declared as an occupational disease under the present national Labour law immediately through an official executive order by the government towards ensuring health and safety rights of the working population at workplaces passing time with the vulnerability and risk of Covid-19 infection”.

Urgent efforts are needed to ensure that vulnerable group of workers and employees with COVID-19 should have appropriate access to proper housing, with space for quarantine and social distancing while sleeping and eating, potable water and proper sanitation facilities on and off the job, free health care, safe transport, safe work practices and income protection.

ILO overview of COVID-19 measures implemented by governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the ILO for Bangladesh: link

"We do not want to be portrayed as heroes who have been thrown to the battle without the protective gear and support from the government to fight our unseen enemies. We cannot accept to end our lives in vain" Philippines - COVID-19: Health workers on the frontlines

Nurse from Philippine Orthopedic Center with
her call: Stop Discrimination to Health Workers

Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) pushes the government to urgently take measures that will ensure the safety and well-being of health workers. Health workers are overworked and underpaid, and public hospitals are understaffed. The pandemic of COVID-19 has worsened the situation of health workers. They have to work 12 hours duty for 7 straight days without any additional compensation. Therefore, AHW urges the government to begin conducting mass testing to all public hospital workers and in communities as well, in order to prevent rapid infection.

The Department of Health has already purchased 1 million of personal protective equipment (PPE).  However, this is not enough: “lack of PPE and health personnel means death to our frontline health workers”, said Mr. Sobinsky, AHW Public Relations Officer. “To strengthen the public hospitals the government should increase the health budget with 5% of the GDP and hire and train more regular health workers to handle COVID-19 patients”.

 AHW denounces the increasing number of cases of discrimination against health workers. In a press statement, AHW also expressed their solidarity regarding the harassment and mass arrest perpetrated by police forces against the residents of Sitio San Roque in Quezon City last April 1st who decried the government to provide them food for their subsistence.

Find below the AHW statement for April 9, 2020, the DAY OF VALOR: So much of Appreciation, Health Workers need Protection
AHW joins the Filipino people in commemorating the “Day of Valor” also known as “Araw ng Kagitingan” which commemorates the bravery and heroism of the Filipino people who helped bring democracy and freedom in the Philippines during World War II era. 

ILO overview of COVID-19 measures implemented by governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the ILO for the Philippines: link

Indonesia and COVID-19: KSBSI facilitates pre-employment card and SPMI assists returning migrant workers

Indonesia has one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 testing, and it is concentrated in greater Jakarta where the country’s best medical facilities are. It is still unclear what containment measures Indonesian authorities will take, beyond social distancing and handwashing, to lower the rate of infections. The Indonesian President, however, has announced to allocate 2,55% of GDP or 15,9% of the APBN (state budget) for COVID-19 mitigation. It’s aimed at keeping Indonesia’s economy afloat during the coming weeks. For the moment, they’re mainly focussing on prevention. “The more individuals in the community learn about the preventive messages, the more chance they have to beat the virus”, said Yurianto, Government’s spokesman for COVID19-related matters.  The Indonesian government will implement a "Large-Scale Social Restriction (PSBB)" starting in Jakarta and surroundings city on 10 April. Every region in Indonesia can ask the Central government for PSBB implementation when it meets the requirements, such as data on increased number of COVID-19, prepared health facilities, quarantine plan, food distribution, cash transfer plan, limitation of public transport, etc.

WSM partner, the trade union KSBSI negotiated with management to set up hygiene and safety measures in the companies and factories to protect workers from the virus.  MPBI (KSPI, KSPSI and KSBSI) provides disinfectant spraying for the general public and distributes hands sanitizers to people in need.

KSBSI is also socializing and assisting members to collect data on workers lay-offs so that they can be registered for pre-employment benefits card, which has a cash transfer of 1 million IDR per month (around 80 Euro), for the next 4 months due to COVID-19.

WSM other partner in Indonesia, SPMI (previously SBMI) was involved to collect data from and assist at least 3.000 migrant workers that returned to Indonesia. They also had to pressure management for the payment of outstanding salaries for workers who had to leave.

ILO overview of COVID-19 measures implemented by governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and the ILO for Indonesia: link

Cambodia - COVID-19: Garment orders cancelled and factories closed

Kong Athit

On the 25th of March the Cambodian Prime Minister announced that Cambodia enters a state of emergency. So far, there are no official cases in the garment sector, but there are also no tests done. According to Kong Athit, Vice President of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union (CCAWDU), brands like Indytex and C&A are discontinuing their orders and not even collecting their produced orders. All the unions therefore have a public statement towards the government and will write a letter to the Brands, in which they request them to contribute to a suspension fund.

The garment sector is different than other sectors in Cambodia, since they will face massive suspension due to the drop of orders from the EU and the USA. That’s why IndustriALL is working on a global strategy between brands and suppliers, with 3 points in particular:

• Ask brands to pay for completed orders;
• Establish an emergency relief fund by the brands;
• Urge the Cambodian government to strengthen the social protection system to support the garment workers.

Moreover, the lock-down is unclear for other sectors in Cambodia. Beginning of April, 91 garment factories closed, meaning that there are over 3.000 workers without income. More than 400 hotels closed and some hotels are paying 50% salaries to the workers, but in most hotels without unions, the workers just have to take unpaid leave. Also in the construction sector, there’s little specific information on the lock-down. Cement factories are still working for example and no measures are announced. Therefore, BWTUC wrote a letter to the Government requesting similar measures as for the garment sector workers.

The next challenge will be lack of food and money to pay rent. “Unions will need support for awareness and Protective Personal Equipment materials. Union must use this opportunity to organise and to support the workers. Even if we lose members, we need to show that the unions are looking out for them”, said Athit. They will increase their communication with members in suspended companies and monitor the situation. There’s also a need for a national dialogue on the contributions from employers, government and brands according to Athit.

India: COVID 19 follow up

We all welcome the India government’s announcement of aid package to the unorganized and vulnerable. It is the result of many organizations and movements, including ours, demanding pro-active programs and help to the unorganized and the most vulnerable. Now the entire media and political parties have joined in advocating for more concrete actions to halt economic loss for the unorganized. The Corona pandemic has shaken the world beyond all predictions and so-called progressive economies have almost come to a standstill, with a lot of uncertainty for the future.
We see a change in the attitude of leaders of fundamentalist parties and rightists who have also started demanding more budget to be allocated to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and the daily wage earners. The unpreparedness and the lack of listening to experts have created more problems for the internal migrants and the vulnerable in India. No transport facilities, no safeguards to make these people get back to their homes and no economic backup to meet their daily needs for food etc. The visuals we see in the news and in social media of police brutality and the type of punishments given to the so-called violators of the curfew is are inhuman and one wonders whether these police have been trained to assist and help or to escalate and cause more pain in already exiting sores. We see unorganized workers walking hundreds of kilometers to their homes. The pandemic has taken away almost all the working possibilities for unorganized and they lack safe shelters and food storages forces them to venture out and risk their lives.

Nepal: relief package for workers

The Government of Nepal responded to the demand of GEFONT and issued the following relief package to workers affected by Corana-virus pandemic on 29th of March 2020:

1. Government shall pay 31% of basic salary needed to pay to the Social Security Fund by employer and employee. Employer shall pay remaining amount only to the employees.
2. Employers should not cut the salary of employees during the pandemic-ensued lockdown.
3. Local government should manage and provide food during the lock-down to all daily waged and informal economy workers.
4. Unemployed people, migrant returnees and those who cannot fly to their country of destination due to the pandemic may join the Prime Minister Employment Program and get subsistence allowance.
5. Private school fees for this month may not be paid by workers.
6. 2,5 Million NPR insurance to the medical person, ambulance driver, garbage cleaners and other employee.
7. Subsidized electricity supply during the pandemic.
8. Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) shall be provided free of cost to the employees concerned.
9. The treatment for people infected by COVID-19 shall be done free of cost.

Corona virus in India shows need for universal social protection: WSM partners in India address an open letter to Prime Minister Modi

Unfortunately, India has not been spared from COVID-19. But WSM’s partners in India are doing whatever is in their power to prevent its spread and to keep the situation as human as possible. On the one hand, they wrote an open letter to the India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to ask for comprehensive and adequate social protection support measures, especially in these crisis times. On the other hand, they were already performing a lot of work on health care, which can limit the risks of contamination.

Since Tuesday 25th of March, India has been placed in lock down for a three-week period. This measure should curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus. The question remains how India, with 1.3 billion inhabitants and the second largest country in the world, will manage to enforce such a widespread lock down. As of 26th of March, nearly 500 infections have been confirmed. That number has clearly increased since last weekend and is probably a significant underestimation. 9 people have already died of the lung virus. According to Samy, founder of AREDS, the reply from the government came too late, because there was no screening at all of people coming to India. India still doesn’t have the required capacity to screen people with symptoms. Moreover, some travelers have taken to ingesting medication such as paracetamol to avoid being detected with fever and enter the country.

GK to develop Corona test for Bangladesh

Dr. Kadir is the Coordinator of Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK) in Bangladesh. GK provides health care and health insurance to vulnerable populations in Bangladesh. He shares with us his current impressions regarding COVID-19 in Bangladesh, which is one of the most populated countries in the world and has a very poor health system:

As of 18th March, there are over 10 confirmed cases in Bangladesh. Moreover, the government has recently started to quarantine people. Recent figures tell that there are 2.314 people in quarantine.  Furthermore, schools and other institutions closed since yesterday (17th of March). But still, I think the government is already too late in taking serious measures, which they should have done two or even three weeks ago.

Nowadays it’s flu season, meaning there are more patients at the hospitals than normal. It is not always clear whether it’s just a cold, a normal flu or the corona virus. Bangladesh's largest vernacular daily Prothom Alo reported that only 1,732 testing kits were available in a country of nearly 180 million people.

That’s why GK is developing a coronavirus testing kit, using the Rapid Dot Blot technique. We were recently joined by Dr Bijon Kumar Sil, a micro-biologist, who was also involved in the making of a similar test in Singapore during the SARS outbreak in 2003. This meant we have the necessary skills to develop a testing kit, as this is the biggest challenge in Bangladesh now.  We are 70% finished with the test kit and hope to be able to start mass producing them soon, now that government also has given the green light (link).

How much will your corona test kit cost? 
I think it’s important to make this testing kit available for as many people as possible. We want to use it in our own GK hospitals, as well as in other health institutions, so we will sell the kit at a very affordable price (200BDT), since we’re not trying to create any profit from it, our main goal is to avoid a massive outbreak.

Which populations are you especially worried about?
The garment workers are of particular concern to us, since this sector employs over 4 million people in Bangladesh and they are mostly, women working in very crowded and small confined spaces. The risk of contamination is thus very high. So far, all garment factories are continuing working and very few are taking preventive hygiene measures. That’s why in the factories GK is present, GK is mainly focusing on prevention measures, such as hand washing, producing hand sanitizers, mouth masks, posters etc.

Also elderly are an important at-risk group, with worldwide much higher mortality rates if they get infected. However, so far in Bangladesh, very few elderly have been diagnosed with the virus. This is a bit of a paradox: many elderly are living more isolated, since they don’t have a job or most often continue living in the rural areas, while the young go to the city to work. Since they often have problems of mobility, they are already more likely to stay at home. While this issue of isolation is currently maybe preventing them from getting infected, if the virus becomes a pandemic, this might be a very big problem for them, since these same factors will put them even more at risk.

25 March update: Bangladesh in one week time has had 20 reported cases and one death, of an elderly gentleman.

Bangladesh: NGWF demands six months maternity leave

In light of the International Women’s Day 2020 on 8th of March, National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) has demanded 6 months maternity leave in private sectors, including for the garment workers. The rally was held on Friday 6th of March 2020, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. M Amirul Haque Amin, President of NGWF, said that the government already declared 6 months maternity leave for the public sector, but the country’s private sector, including the garment industry, still has only 4 months maternity leave. NGWF also demanded the government of Bangladesh to ratify ILO Convention 190 to stop all types of violence and harassment against women. More than two hundred women joined the procession in front of National Press Club, carrying banners and festoons with demands of 6 months maternity leave and ratification of ILO Convention 190. The rally started in front of National Press Club and went to the High Court, Palton Circle including some other street and ended at Topkhana road.

Indonesia: Social Protection for Informal Workers - ILO refers to KSBSI and SBMI for good practice

The ILO published a Condemium of Practice which compiles examples of how trade unions have reached out to workers in the informal economy, improved their working conditions, and supported their transition into the formal economy, as linked to ILO Recommendation 204. In it, they refer for Indonesia to WSM partners KSBSI and SBMI.

The ITUC was involved in helping the ILO identify good examples for inclusion in this publication, and the final result can be a very valuable resource because it provides a large number of concrete examples to contradict claims from some that ‘’trade unions are not representative of informal workers’’. Download the full publication here. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE INFORMAL ECONOMY AND GENDER:
In Indonesia, the proportion of informal employment amounts to 83.5 per cent of total employment (including agriculture).

For 2018, applying this proportion to total employment results in an estimated number of 104 million informal workers in Indonesia. All contributing family workers are in informal employment by definition. Own-account workers have the next highest percentage of informality.

Many people in the informal economy are employees (47,8 per cent of total informal employment). Over 84.8 per cent of Indonesia’s total female workforce is employed in the informal economy, against 82.7 per cent for men. A significant portion of these women are unpaid workers.

MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION, SERVICES AND INCLUSIVENESS OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE:
• Improved trade union organization, representation and provision of services to informal workers.
• Extended social security for informal workers, including migrant workers.

THE STORY:
The Confederation of Indonesia Prosperity Trade Union (KSBSI) is a national trade union centre in Indonesia. It was founded in 1992 and has 2.1 million members. From 2017 until 2021, KSBSI and the General and Informal Construction Federation (FKUI), (the federation organizing informal economy workers) will be offering a training programme for workers in the informal economy (street vendors, motor taxi drivers working for the Go-Jek online package delivery application, and others). In this training programme, the trade union is raising the awareness of informal economy workers about the Indonesian social security system, which includes universal health insurance for all and different social security schemes covering workers, such as working accident insurance, a pension scheme and an old age and death allowance.

In addition to training, KSBSI also conducts campaigns, workshops and advocacy to improve the concrete implementation of the social security system, to make sure that workers in the informal economy are able to claim their social security rights.

Both the KSBSI and the FKUI have recorded significant progress in organizing informal economy workers in the construction industry, home-based and domestic workers, on-line drivers and street vendors. Bringing them into the trade union fold has contributed to the union’s strength, in particular addressing decent work deficits in the informal economy. One of the greatest achievements of their campaigns is that the central government is committed to attaining universal health coverage by 2019.

Another big achievement for KSBSI, in partnership with the Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Union SBMI, was the adoption by the Indonesian Parliament of the new Migrant Workers’ Act on 25 October 2017, which creates the legal basis for the inclusion of millions of Indonesian migrant workers in the social security system, which should increase their access to social insurance significantly. The new law came after years of campaigning by migrant workers’ rights groups to end exploitation and modern slavery. The new law places the responsibility on regional and local administrations to oversee their residents who want to migrate abroad for work. As a part of this shift towards local governance, regional administrations are now in charge of providing pre-departure vocational training and ensuring that workers receive proper placement, thus taking away much of the unchecked power of private recruitment companies to charge exorbitant fees, often trapping workers in debt bondage.

RESULTS:
Better representation, improved skills and enhanced social protection for informal workers, through their participation in trade union activities, will contribute to formalization and decent work.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION:
• Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ILO-ACTRAV): actrav@ilo.org
• ILO COOP Unit: coop@ilo.org
• ILO Country Office: jakarta@ilo.org
• Konfederasi Serikat Buruh Sejahtera Indonesia KSBSI: denksbsi@gmail.com
• ITUC Asia-Pacific: gs@ituc-ap.org

A one man show on elderly in Belgium and Bangladesh at the Flemish Parliament

Aren’t we happy? That is the title of Peter Lambert’s piece, looking at how elderly live in Bangladesh and in Belgium. Addressing the audience, he started: “You all look good, at least for your age. Shows you are healthy, which is the most talked about topic among elderly. You all managed to get here, so you are all still getting around. We are all here together, so not alone. And you managed to pay the entrance fee, so not too tight with money. Those are the same issues Bangladeshi elderly worry about: health, mobility, loneliness and finances.”

But while ageing is increasingly drawing more attention from policy makers and the ILO, “We talk a lot about elderly, but how often do we talk with elderly?” underlined Marc DeSoete from OKRA. So he asked the invited parliamentarians two questions: do you realize the importance of ageing in the world, and do you recognize the necessity of social movements like OKRA to ensure our voices are heard? “My father lives in a rural area, and OKRA is really the only thing that still gets him out of the door. Of course, we also visit him, but often, there are only caregivers that come to see him during the week. His most social events are, sadly, funerals...” shared Ann De Martelaer from Groen. “We can learn a lot about the respect for greet hairs from other countries, to keep the connection between generations.” said Joachim Coens, CD&V.
Even at 27, the youngest political party president in Belgium, Conner Rousseau from Sp.a, explained how, through his mother who studied gerontology and wrote a book “Grijs is wijs” (grey is wise), the importance of taking care of elderly was emphasized to him since the earliest years.

While most of the time, audience was laughing and giggling, the play also had moments of silence and respect. Peter explaining how his mother struggled to communicate in the last years of her life. An allegory of all the elderly of a village having to climb in a tree and hang on for dear life while the rest of the village shakes it draws a frightening image of what happens when a society has no social safety nets and we push survival of the fittest too far.

The one man show will tour many OKRA meeting points in order to provoke thoughts and discussion about elderly and international solidarity, as OKRA partners through WSM with GK in Bangladesh to set up elderly clubs.

Going global: the next step! Founding meeting of our international network on the right to social protection

As part of its efforts to achieve the decent work agenda and to promote access to social protection, WSM and its partner organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America have been creating a real network involving different social movements (trade unions, youth organizations, women's movements, social organizations).

Since 2008, this strategy has led to the gradual and progressive development of an international thematic network on the right to social protection. This network is organized first at the national level, in 18 countries, then at continental level, in Africa, Asia and Latin America. And this, through the participation of representatives from each partner organization from the same country, then from the same continent, who meet, work together and reinforce each other during key meetings and sharing. In this way, partner organizations interact, learn from each other and jointly carry out advocacy. The principle of the network is based on a conviction: together, we are stronger!

At the international level, the network partners were already active and collaborated with WSM, ACV-CSC and Christian Mutualities in order to influence different political processes. For many years, they have participated jointly in the International Labor Conferences (ILC), which take place annually, to develop the ILO's normative framework. WSM and its partners have, as such, made a valuable contribution:

• negotiations on decent work for domestic workers (C189 and R201),
• on social protection thresholds (R202),
• on the transition from the informal economy to the formal economy (R204)
• and on workplace violence (C190).

It is within the framework of this dynamic that WSM organized, on 29 and 30 November 2019 in Geneva, the very first meeting of an international thematic network. The delegation composed of 35 partners from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Belgium has thus achieved its objective by reaffirming the desire to work together, globally in solidarity, in favor of the right to social protection. This meeting took place on the sidelines of the ILO's 'Global Social Protection Week' (25-28 November), to which the delegation also actively participated.

Like a true founding meeting, this meeting laid the groundwork for an 'International Steering Committee'. The latter will facilitate the organization, between continents, of effective and concerted international actions designed to create a world that offers more protection to its citizens.

35 people from WSM and its partners in the world take part in the ILO Global week on social protection in Geneva

Four days of high-level conference on universal social protection (# USP2030) allowed to share a lot of key information and to network. Many high-level personalities talked about the importance of social protection and how it will be achieved by 2030. So many changes await us: climate - demography - globalization - growing inequalities – changing labor markets. A transition is needed and social protection must be part of this transition! You can find the outcome document here.

Currently, social protection as a human right is far from being a reality.
Barely 29% of the world's population has access to comprehensive social protection systems, 55% are totally deprived, while the global economy is worth over $ 100 billion. This means there is enough money to send all the children of the world to school, to provide everyone in the world with quality health care, to ensure that everyone in the world has adequate social protection. But, here is the catch: “there are 2.000 billionaires!”, says economist Jeffrey Sachs: “There is enough, it is just not distributed properly." So don’t point your finger at low-income countries, but blame the Donald Trumps, Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerbergs.

For social protection to be possible for all, for it to be affordable, that it is not perceived as a cost but as an investment depends on political priorities. Over and again, the same messages came back during the Global Social Protection Week in Geneva. The International Labor Organization (ILO) brought together over 600 people from governments, private companies and social movements to chart the way to universal social protection. It invites us to accelerate to increase the likelihood of reaching the goal by 2030. That being said, there is still a lot to do!

"It exists on paper, but practice is different!"

The goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically number 1.3, is to put in place social protection systems that protect everyone, including the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the population. Social protection starts with social dialogue, a necessary exchange between employees, employers and government. Many social protection systems are based on the labour relationship and their legal status (employed or self-employed). These systems must evolve to adapt to changing contexts around the world.

"There is already a social protection system in the Dominican Republic - at least on paper - the practice is somewhat different, since more than half of the working population is employed in the informal sector, they are not entitled to benefits when they become ill". Altagracia Jimenez, representative of our union partner AMUSSOL, immediately tackles one of the many problems. Setting up an official social protection system is one thing, covering the whole population is another.

Moreover, it should not be forgotten that there is no single universally applicable social protection system, it needs to be adapted to the realities of each country. Therefore, social protection should be seen by states as a global investment and not a cost. Investing in social protection contributes to peace, more equality and more democracy, it is a public investment in social justice. And, when rolled out, it shows a clear multiplier effect for many of the other Sustainable Development Goals.
However, let us not forget that there is a financial gap, namely that the poorest countries alone can’t fund it. Solidarity is therefore needed from richer countries, as well as from the rich, towards the poorest countries. According to experts, "comprehensive social protection" is needed, and goes well beyond the "safety nets" that many countries rely on. The best systems are "universal"!

Will we solve this problem simply by organizing an International Conference?
In the end, it seems difficult to formulate a global answer while each continent, each country, each region has its own realities. According to Koen Detavernier, Advocacy Officer at WSM, such a conference is still relevant: "A conference like this can reinforce the belief that it is possible. If a country like Mexico in one year is able to provide pensions in one year and thus make a great leap for universal social protection, other countries will be convinced that they, too, can make it happen. This conference really encourages countries to invest in social protection and prioritize it in their international cooperation."

The network supported by WSM
WSM was very present at this Social Protection Week in Geneva. Our delegation of 35 people was mainly composed of representatives of our many partner organizations from Africa, Asia and Latin America. According to Koen Detavernier, there are two main reasons for being here. "On the one hand, we are here to learn more about the topic: experts present their points of view, explain future strategies, give concrete examples and share the results of their research." But the idea is also to do and achieve things. "We are looking for new collaborations, for example, to work on very concrete aspects of social protection on the ground, through informal conversations, meetings in the corridors, etc. Being seen and heard in this conference makes a difference and helps get things moving."