World Labour Report 2000

Income security and social protection in a changing world

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE, GENEVA

Preface

Acknowledgements

Contents

Overview

Increasing globalization and trade liberalization are creating greater insecurity for many income earners. This flagship study examines the changing context in which women and men are trying to achieve income security for themselves and their families. Drawing on detailed, worldwide data, the World Labour Report 2000 examines the vital role played by social protection in supporting, supplementing and replacing market incomes in the event of old age, incapacity for work, bearing and raising children, and unemployment. Also included is health care - without which many in the developing world are unfit to earn their living.

The report discusses the effects of rising unemployment and underemployment, and of labour market developments which have exposed a growing number of workers, especially women, to low pay and precarious conditions. It considers other factors, such as changing family structures and demographic trends, that have created new needs and imposed new constraints. Prominence is given to measures addressing the unacceptable bias that still leaves women with lower levels of social protection than men.

According to the report, the positive impact of social protection on the economy has often been neglected, and this impact can be enhanced by better coordination between social protection, labour market and anti-poverty policies. With many social secruity systems now under reform, future prospects are outlined and an alarm is sounded about the implications of pension fund growth for the instability of global financial markets. Top priority must be given - by civil society, as much as by the State - to finding the most effective means to bring social protection to the majority, especially in developing countries, who still go without.

An efficient economy and an effective system of social protection are both essential for the attainment of income security and a stable society. The report underlines the direct and immediate relationship between the provision of social protection and decent work, as underlined by Juan Somavia, Director-General of the ILO, in his first report to the International Labour Conference in 1999.

Freedom and democracy provide the context for workers' participation in the decisions that affect them. For social protection schemes to reflect workers' legitimate aspirations, democratic institutions must be in place. Good governance is also essential. The ILO is committed to working unstintingly for a world in which all workers benefit from an affordable level of social protection. The report makes concrete suggestions for achieving that goal.