People and technology sustain business and services. As new information and communication technologies were acquired, social security institutions in the Americas woke early to the efficiencies of blending human skills and digital technologies.
The COVID-19 crisis is driving rapid transformation and innovation in the labour market, social security and occupational safety and health. At today’s Sixth BRICS Labour and Employment Ministerial Meeting, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) emphasised the need to take advantage of
Italy was one of the countries most affected by COVID-19 during the first semester 2020. In addition to a generalized lockdown starting on 10 March, wide-reaching social security measures to mitigate the health, social and economic impact of the coronavirus crisis were implemented. Two early decrees
On 10 September 2020, G20 labour and employment ministers met virtually to discuss the impact of, and necessary responses to, the COVID-19 crisis. Social protection was one of four priority areas highlighted in the declaration from the meeting. The ministers emphasized the need to work closely with
Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) has mapped over 1400 social security responses from more than 200 countries, territories and areas around the world. The ISSA’s database on Coronavirus country measures is now part of the Oxford Supertracker
Partial unemployment schemes, sometimes called short-term work schemes, are one of the key mechanisms to reduce both the degree of sudden economic downturns and their labour market and social impacts. As reported by the ISSA in March, these schemes, which allow employers to flexibly reduce working
To mitigate the social impact of the COVID-19 crisis, a significant number of countries have introduced temporary cash transfers to population groups in, or at risk of, poverty. These payments have responded to the specific needs of these vulnerable groups who are immediately affected by a reduction
North African countries reacted quite swiftly to the spread of the coronavirus. They declared national states of emergency, imposed widespread lockdowns and closed their borders from the very first cases of infection. Systems for testing and systematically monitoring confirmed cases were also put in
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a heavy toll on migrant workers around the globe, who are particularly vulnerable in terms of social protection coverage, and assistance is required from origin, transit and destination countries. While the specific type of support is linked to various factors, most
Malta implemented early measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and flatten the curve. Preparedness, physical isolation and quarantine, alongside a comprehensive programme of testing and contact tracing, allowed Malta to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
