High-level Event on Jobs and Social Protection…

Almost two years into the COVID-19 crisis, a huge divergence in the recovery is undermining global trust and solidarity, according to a new policy brief on jobs and poverty eradication, outlined by UN Chief António Guterres on Tuesday. During the presentation, Mr. Guterres announced the creation of a new Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for a Just Transition, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO). The aim of the Accelerator is to create at least 400 million jobs by 2030, primarily in the green and care economies, and extend social protection floors by 2025 to 50 percent of people currently not covered, he said. The Policy Brief recommended several measures to achieve this: - Integrated national and inclusive recovery strategies, expanded investment in Social Protection. - Policy measures to extend social protection to workers in the informal economy, and to formalize employment in the care economy. - Policies should be introduced to help workers upskill and re-skill. - Sound financial architecture must be developed to mobilize investments. - Collaboration with the private sector should be made to scale up investments in strategic sectors and strategies must be aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. The upcoming meetings of international financial institutions, the G20, and COP26 will be “a pivotal moment to put the world on a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive path,” Mr. Guterres said. “Global cooperation is indispensable to building resilience to future shocks, through economies that work for everyone.” Speaking at the event, Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), warned that the differences between developed and developing countries are growing, “the contrary of building back better.” He said that “the world was not prepared for COVID-19”, but now “must be ready to deliver a recovery that benefits all.” For him, this means injecting the necessary finance to support all countries. “The Global Accelerator for Jobs & Social Protection is designed to channel national and international, public and private financial flows to provide social protection floors for the 4 billion people who fall outside any existing coverage and to the creation of decent jobs, above all in the green economy and in the care economy om the scale now urgently needed,” he said. For Mr. Ryder, “the level of ambition is high, because it would be irresponsible to be less ambitious.” The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) pointed to the fight against tax evasion and illicit financial flows, speaking to correspondents in New York. Alicia Barcena said these were “fundamental obstacles to the mobilization of internal resources” in her region and have a value of about $325 billion a year. She also mentioned the illicit financial flows resulting from the manipulation of the international trade in goods, saying they have an estimated value of about $85 billion, or 1.6% of the GDP. Latin America and the Caribbean is the most indebted region in the developing world, with the highest debt service, representing 59% of its exports of goods and services. For Ms. Barcena, debt relief is one of the measures that must be implemented, especially in the Caribbean. ECLAC proposes the relief of 12% of the total debt of the regional and the creation of a Caribbean Resilience Fund. She said the region “faces inequality, underfunded health systems and accumulated structural gaps in social protection."